International 0 - 4 Lazio2005 (392818239)

Clear skies welcomed the 38662 spectators who had made their way to Peppino "Magic" Prisco IX Arena. Kosta Varga was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Felix Petreanu and Sergio Carrozzo. International tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: La Spina - Ghizzoni, Oleggini, Franzosi, Sale - Heuberger, Ramov, Yüksek, Juřena - Bernegger, Bello.

Lazio2005 started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. Lineup: Valencia - Ferranti, Strikanov, Vivas - Fehér, Licitra, Borrego, Paterson - Di Lorenzo, Astorri, Ciarrocchi.

Some things can only be learned through experience, and M. Ghizzoni should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Lazio2005 a goal with 5 minutes of the match played. The referee showed Lazio2005's L. Astorri the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. International were forced into a substitution as F. Sale couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing T. Dufraisse to come in off the bench. M. Franzosi got left behind when Lazio2005's L. Astorri made a sudden run forward after 17 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 0 - 1! After 31 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed Á. Fehér to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 2. The Lazio2005 free kick 34 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of S. Licitra, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 0 - 3! By now, the players in Lazio2005 felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. J. Bello did everything he could to get one back for his International, but keeper M. Valencia denied him with a spectacular block. 0 - 3 was the halftime score. Lazio2005 enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

After 48 minutes, Lazio2005's A. Ciarrocchi burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 4. L. Astorri came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over A. La Spina but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Lazio2005's M. Valencia left the field after 71 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was W. Bellucci. The home crowd cheered when, after 73 minutes, E. Ferranti's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. Lazio2005 claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 54 percent.

Most important International player was S. Bernegger. However, T. Dufraisse made a disastrous appearance. Lazio2005's top performer was clearly C. Borrego. W. Bellucci was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 4.