Lazio Player

Juan Pablo Carrizo (born 6 May 1984 in Villa Constitución) is an Argentine footballer (goalkeeper), who plays for S.S. Lazio in the Italian Serie A.

Career

River Plate

He had been with River Plate since he began his professional career, making his debut on the 29th of January 2006 against Tiro Federal where he kept a clean sheet in River's 5-0 win.

Carrizo played in his last game for River Plate in the last match of the 2008 Clausura on 22 June.

Lazio

Carrizo was supposed to move to Lazio in the summer transfer window in 2007 but the deal fell through over complications over Carrizo's eligibility for European citizenship. He finally registered with the Lega Nazionale Professionisti on 6 June 2008.

On July 8, 2008, Carrizo arrived in Rome and was formally presented to the media and fans as a Lazio player for the first time, stating his ambition of winning the Derby della Capitale against hated rivals Roma.

International career

He made his International debut for Argentina against Chile, 18 April 2007.

External links

Tommaso Berni (born 6 March 1983 in Florence) is an Italian football goalkeeper currently playing for S.S. Lazio.

In summer 2003, he joined Ternana of Serie B. Right before the January transfer window closed, Lazio bought his full ownership for €1,5 million from Ternana.

Néstor Fernando Muslera (born June 16, 1986 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan football goalkeeper who currently plays for Italian Serie A club S.S. Lazio.

Muslera joined Lazio at the close of the August transfer window for €3 million from Nacional as a replacement for the retired Angelo Peruzzi and after plans to sign Juan Pablo Carrizo fell through. Interest had been showed in Muslera from Benfica, Arsenal, Juventus and Inter.

Muslera made his debut for Lazio in a 3-1 home win against Cagliari on 16 September 2007, and made four more consecutive starts, the last which was a disappointing performance in Lazio's 5-1 home loss to Milan on 7 October that saw him benched in favor of veteran Marco Ballotta.

Muslera has also been called up for the Uruguayan national team, but he has yet to earn his first cap.

External links

Goal.com profile

Ştefan Daniel Radu (born 22 October 1986 in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian football player. He currently plays for Lazio as a full back.

On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of România, Traian Băsescu for the results on Qualifying to EURO 2008 and qualification to UEFA Euro 2008 Group C with Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

Dinamo Bucureşti

Radu began his career with major Romanian club side Dinamo Bucureşti. Radu played four seasons of first team football with Dinamo, gaining a reputation as one of his country's brightest talents.

He has often been considered "The new Chivu" by Romanian media and was at varying stages been linked with moves to Juventus, A.S. Roma and Genoa[citations needed].

In January 2008, major Italian Serie A side Lazio came calling, and signed Radu on a loan deal until the end of the season. Radu impressed and at was signed permanently in June, for a transfer fee of 5.4 million euro.

Lazio

Radu made his Lazio debut in a Coppa Italia match versus Fiorentina shortly after joining the team on loan. He has since been a revelation for Delio Rossi's team, as the young starlet has added extra quality to the backline and started all matches he featured in.

By the end of his loan spell, Radu impressed Rossi and club president Claudio Lotito enough to justify a transfer fee in excess of five million euros, and has now joined the club on a permanent basis.

International career

Radu made his debut for the Romanian national team in 2006, following the country's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Over the course of Euro 2008 qualifying, Radu gained international experience and was selected in the squad for the final tournament in Switzerland and Austria. At Euro 2008 however, Radu remained a subsitute and did not see any game time.

External links

Career stats at romaniansoccer.ro (English}

David Sebastian Rozehnal (born July 5, 1980 in Šternberk) is a Czech football player who plays for the Serie A club Lazio, and has also represented his country at Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.

Biography Career

Rozehnal began his career at SK Sigma Olomouc, where his performances earned him a place in the Czech Republic under-21 team. In 2003 he was signed by Belgian club Club Brugge. In 2004 Rozehnal played for the Czech Republic at the European Championship where the team made it to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Greece. He won the Belgian Cup in his first season with Brugge and the Belgian League in 2005. He signed for Paris Saint-Germain in June 2005.

Rozehnal played in all three of Czech Republic's matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and is actually the 33rd most capped player in Czech history. At Paris Saint Germain in the 2006–07 season, he was named as the club's Player of the Year. His form resulted in reported interest from Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United and Sevilla. Sources close to the defender confirmed that he would favour a move to Newcastle.

On June 22, 2007 it was confirmed by the player's agent that a "definite agreement" had been reached for the player to join Newcastle United. He underwent a medical on June 25 and Newcastle confirmed the transfer had been completed on June 29 for a fee of £2.9 million.

On August 11, Rozehnal made his debut for Newcastle against Bolton Wanderers. In a game against Derby County he missed an open goal as Newcastle were defeated 1–0.

Rozehnal left Newcastle for Lazio, on loan until the end of the 2007/08 season, on January 31, 2008, despite having only signed in August 2007. After only playing 7 times for Lazio during his loan spell, it remained unclear if they wanted to sign him on a permanent deal. On 9 June 2008, Lazio officially announced they had signed Rozehnal on a permanent basis, with Newcastle recouping the full £2.9 million which they initially paid for the defender.

Honours With Club Brugge:

* Belgian Cup: 2004
* Belgian League: 2005
With Paris-SG:

* Coupe de France: 2006

Personal life

David is married to Petra and their first child, Luka, was born on October 3, 2007

External links

Stephan Lichtsteiner (born January 16, 1984 in Adligenswil) is a Swiss footballer. Having represented Switzerland at every junior level, Lichtsteiner has played in the 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Football career

Lichtsteiner began his career at Grasshopper Zurich in 2001–02, and come the next year he became a first-team member, helping the Swiss team gain the league title. During the 2004–05 season he sealed a transfer to Lille OSC as one of five Swiss players to enter Ligue 1 during the summer of 2005. Since July 16, 2008, he's an official member of SS Lazio.

In the end, he signed for S.S. Lazio for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of 1.5 million euros and is going to take the place of fellow Swiss international Valon Behrami who is leaving the club, his most probable destination being England with West Ham United.

International Career

Stephan Lichtsteiner was first called up to the Switzerland national football team in 2005.

He was called up to a major tournament for the first time in the UEFA Euro 2008 and he was given the number 5 shirt. His main achievement in his international career to date came in this tournament where he played in every minute of every game that Switzerland played as a right back, leaving much more experienced and Liverpool FC right back Philipp Degen on the bench.

Switzerland were eliminated in the group stage after losing to Czech Republic 1-0 and Turkey 2-1 with a last gasp goal by Arda Turan. But, in their last group game against Portugal, they went on to win 2-0, both goals scored by attacking midfielder Hakan Yakin. Stephan Lichtsteiner played in all these games and because of his performances in these three games, he attracted interest from a number of clubs and in the end signed for S.S. Lazio.

Sebastiano Siviglia (born 29 March 1973 in Palizzi Marina) is an Italian football defender currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Italy. This long-time defense player has played on all of the fields at all levels of Italian football. He is currently with Lazio, with which he has been playing since the 2004-2005 championship season. In his career, he has played for Ravagnese, Parma, Nocerina, Verona, Atalanta, Roma, Lecce, and currently Lazio, starting off with Verona in 1996 in the match against Fiorentina (although the match was a 2-0 defeat) on September 22, 1996. In the 2005-2006 season, with Lazio, he also played three UEFA Cup matches. Since then at Lazio, he has been a steady, reliable defender, scoring 6 goals in 4 seasons. Going into the 2008/2009 season, his experience has paid off and he has been made temporary captain of Lazio, in the absence of Tommaso Rocchi.

Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Коларов born November 10, 1985) is a Serbian football (soccer) player who is currently contracted to Italian Serie A giants S.S. Lazio. Kolarov plays as a left back and has represented Serbia at the Under 21 level.

Kolarov has been nicknamed the Serbian Roberto Carlos due to his long-range strikes and similar free-kick abilities to the Brazilian footballer, as seen in the decisive goal scored in the 2007 Under 21 semi-final match against Belgium.
Career

He formerly played for FK Čukarički and OFK Beograd before signing a four-year deal with Lazio in 2007, the team he attests to have long supported. He was named in the 'UEFA Team of the tournament' of the 2007 U-21 Championships held in the Netherlands where they became second. Kolarov has also been compared to Siniša Mihajlović for his great free kicks.

Controversy

Kolarov's switch from FK Čukarički to OFK Beograd in February 2006, during the 2005/06 season winter break, was highly controversial. Under contract with Čukarički at the time, Kolarov filed a request to be released dated January 31, 2006 on the grounds that his "contract just expired" even though it was good until January 2007. Soon after his request, Kolarov's desire to join OFK Beograd became public. Seeing that they had a disgruntled player on their hands, Čukarički set a €300,000 transfer fee for Kolarov due to the fact he still had one more year left on his contract with the club. OFK on the other hand did not even acknowledge this and simply signed Kolarov without paying any fee. Over the coming years Čukarički took the case in front of Serbian Football Association, where all of their official complaints got rejected.

Year and a half later, in summer 2007, when Kolarov was sold by OFK Beograd to S.S. Lazio for €800,000, Čukarički president Aleksandar Mihajlovic publicly stated that Kolarov "was stolen from Čukarički by OFK Beograd". For that, he was immediately punished by Serbian FA on the verbal delict grounds and given a 1 year ban on performing any functions in Serbian football.

The entire Kolarov case was featured on B92 television's investigative journalism programme Insajder that focused on criminal activities in Serbian football. The programme claims that Kolarov's case was part of an initiative by Serbian FA president Zvezdan Terzić (formerly the president of OFK) who made sure young promising players signed for OFK and then raise their transfer price by making sure they get playing time in the u-21 national team.

External links

Emílson Sánchez Cribari (born 6 March 1980 in Cambará, Paraná, Brazil) is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Lazio. He normally plays the role of centre back, and is predominantly left-footed.

Cribari started his career in his home state of Paraná, with Londrina Esporte Clube. From Londrina, he mnoved to Italy where he began his Serie A career with Empoli and Udinese.

Lazio

Cribari joined Lazio in 2005 from Udinese. In his first two seasons, he established himself as a regular in the Biancoceleste defence, and gained a reputation as a quality and uncompromising player. Cribari was a key man in Lazio's successful season in 2006-07, when they achieved a third place finish to qualify for the Champions League.

He fractured his jaw and cheekbone in Lazio's UEFA Champions League clash with Dinamo Bucharest and was ruled initially ruled out for over two months, but managed to return for Lazio's second leg win only two weeks later. However, his recent form since returning from the injury has been poor, and not of the high standards he set during his first seasons at the club.

International career

Cribari has never played international football, however he is eligible to play for both Brazil and his adopted country of Italy. Recently it has been speculated that Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was interested in calling Cribari to the Azzurri due to his Italian heritage, but he has refused this option, stating his desire to one day be called up for the Seleçao.

Manuel Belleri (born 29 August 1977 in Brescia) is an Italian football defender currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Italy.

Football career

Belleri started his career at Lumezzane. He played in Serie A for Empoli in the 2002-03 season. When Empoli failed to protect his place in 2004, Belleri, Di Natale and Emílson were sold to Udinese in a co-ownership deal, with Almirón and Nomvethe moving in the opposite direction. Emílson and Belleri were sold to S.S. Lazio the next year.

In summer 2007, Belleri was loaned to Atalanta B.C.

Modibo Diakité (born March 2, 1987 in Bourg-la-Reine) is a French football player currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Rome, Italy.

Football career

He prefers to play as a central defender, and has only played 2 games during the 2006-2007 campaign, suffering from a knee ligament damage that season. He made his Serie A debut against Udinese on 1 April 2007. He was severely injured in the first match of season 2007-2008, in the match against Torino, after he fell with a clash.

External links

Luciano Zauri (born 20 January 1978 in Pescina) is a professional football player for the Italian team ACF Fiorentina of Florence.

He is a versatile and powerful full-back. He is right footed but is particularly noted for some excellent performances at left back. He is also adept at playing as a holding midfielder.

Career

Zauri made his debut in Serie A in the 1996-97 season with Atalanta in a 4-0 loss at home to Roma.

He spent the following season with Chievo Verona before returning to Bergamo with Atalanta in 1998-99. Zauri then spent the following five seasons with the Orobici, three of which were in Serie A and two in Serie B. Over this time, he established himself as one of the best full backs in Italy.

In 2003, following Atalanta's relegation, Zauri, along with teammate Ousmane Dabo, was sold to Lazio. With Lazio, Zauri won the Coppa Italia in 2004.

He became a regular at the capital club, and has evolved into a leader. In January 2007, following the sale of World Cup winner and captain Massimo Oddo to Milan, Zauri was chosen as the new captain.

Zauri played a pivotal role in helping the club reach the UEFA Champions League and scored his first goal in the competition in the 1-1 draw away to Olympiacos

Transfer to Fiorentina

The 18th of July, 2008 Zauri moved to Fiorentina on a loan deal with the option to buy out the player for e fee of 3.2 million euros.

International career

Zauri has won five appearances with the Italian national team. He made his Azzurri debut in 2004, yet has never been selected in the squad for any major tournament and is not currently in contention for a national team place.

Lorenzo De Silvestri (born May 23, 1988 in Rome) is a very promising Italian football defender currently playing for S.S. Lazio.

Playing characteristics

De Silvestri plays as an attacking right full back, known in Italian as a terzino destro. His pace is useful for his attacking runs up the wing, and possibly his greatest attribute. Since making his Serie A debut, De Silvestri has continued to improve the technical and tactical aspects of his game under the guidance of manager Delio Rossi, and is becoming a very valuable player. He is widely regarded as one of the most promising talents of his generation.

Career

Lazio

A product of the highly successful Lazio youth system, De Silvestri was promoted to the senior team during the 2006-07 season, during which he made his first two league appearances.

His first senior appearance was a match in the Intertoto Cup in 2005 at the age of 17. His debut in Italian competiton came a year later, during a 4-0 Coppa Italia victory over Rende, scoring the fourth goal of the match.

De Silvestri then made his Serie A debut coming on as a substitute, in a 1-0 home loss to Fiorentina, on 22 April 2007. He then made his first start in the penultimate match of the season at the Stadio Olimpico against Parma.

During the 2007-08 season, De Silvestri established himself as a regular in the Lazio side with several impressive performances as an attacking right back. He made 24 league appearances, as well as six in the UEFA Champions League, three as a starter and three as a substitute. His greatest effort in Europe, was a stunning game in which Lazio were unlucky not to beat Spanish champions Real Madrid, with De Silvestri completely outplaying Dutch winger Arjen Robben.

As a 19 year old home grown player, and a boyhood Lazio fan, De Silvestri also became a fans' favourite, with many considering him a potential successor of former captain, now Milan defender Alessandro Nesta.

In 2007, he signed a contract renewal with the club believed to be worth around 350,000 euros, keeping him at Formello until 2010.

On December 19, 2007, just over a year after his debut goal against Rende, De Silvestri scored again in the Coppa Italia, this time against Napoli. He dedicated his goal to his close friend and fellow Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, who was shot dead by a policeman at a service area near Badia al Pino (AR).

International career

De Silvestri has represented Italy at every youth level.

Since september 2007 he is a menber of Italy U-21 squad. He was also called up by Olympic manager Pierluigi Casiraghi to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Titles

* 2008 Toulon Tournament - (Italian under-21 national team)

Trivia

On November 19, 2007, English football magazine World Soccer included De Silvestri in their list of the 50 most promising talents. He and Andrea Russotto of S.S.C. Napoli were the only Italians to make the list.

External links

Official SSLazio.it Profile

Guglielmo Stendardo (born 6 May 1981) is an Italian football defender currently playing for S.S. Lazio. His brother, Mariano, is a footballer who plays for Messina.

Stendardo began his career at SSC Napoli in 1997 and has played for a number of top Italian football clubs, Sampdoria included. After a 3-2 defeat to the hands of Juventus, Stendardo had a falling out with Lazio manager Delio Rossi and demanded a transfer in the January 2008 transfer window.

In January 2008, Juventus officially announced the signing of Stendardo on a 6-month loan deal, with an option to buy him outright in the summer.

On 1 September 2008, Lecce sealed the loan for one season from Lazio, beating bids from West Ham United and Newcastle United.

External links

Fabio Firmani (born 25 May 1978 in Rome) is an Italian football midfielder currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Italy.

Career

Firmani began his career in Rome in the with A.S. Lodigiani in the 1995-96 season before moving the next season to Vicenza. Firmani remained in Vicenza for seven years making 70 appearances for the club. He also scored an important goal in the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1997-98 against Dutch outfit Roda JC.

During his time in Veneto, Firmani headed south for a year, spendingt the 1998-99 season at Reggina on loan.

After leaving Vicenza in 2001, Firmani was unsettled, becoming a journeyman as he moved to Chievo Verona, but during that same season, was immediately transferred to Bologna. The next season, Firmani played with Venezia and then transferred again, this time to Catania.

The following year, the Roman midfielder was signed by hometown club Lazio to replace the Juventus-bound Giuliano Giannichedda. Firmani made a good start to his career in the capital, but suffered a serious injury mid season that forced him out for the remainder of the season.

On the 25th of November, Firmani scored his first goal for the Biancocelesti against Parma at the Stadio Olimpico. The goal came only a week after the death of his good friend Gabriele Sandri, who was shot by a policeman, and Firmani's celebration with Lazio fans in Curva Nord earnt him a place among the fan favourites.

International career

Firmani has never been called up to the senior Italian national team, but has 10 caps for the under-21 side and scored 1 goal.

He was a member of the side which won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He also played at the Sydney Olympics in the same year.

External links

He has previously played for Rennes, Internazionale, Vicenza, Parma, Monaco, Atalanta, Lazio and Manchester City. He has represented France three times at full international level. His younger brother, Moussa, is currently without a club and also plays as a midfielder.

Football career Early career
Dabo started his career at Rennais, where he made his first team debut in the 1995-96 season.

Italy

In 1998 he and team-mate Mikael Silvestre were signed by Inter Milan. Dabo was not a regular first team player for Inter, and a few months later he was loaned out to Vicenza, where he made 13 Serie A appearances. Dabo spent the following season at Parma under Arrigo Sacchi, making sixteen appearances. In June 2000 he changed clubs again, returning to the French league with Monaco in an exchange deal involving Sabri Lamouchi. Six months later he returned to Vicenza on loan, and in the close season made a permanent move to Atalanta. At the Bergamo club he secured regular first team football, and in 2003 he gained a call-up to the France national team for the FIFA Confederations Cup, which Dabo described as "a surprise". In the 2003 close season, Dabo joined Lazio.

Manchester City

After interest from a variety of Premier League clubs in 2006, Dabo joined Manchester City on a Bosman transfer, signing a three year contract. Dabo cited a positive impression of the club arising from a friendly match between Manchester City and Lazio at the City of Manchester Stadium as one of his main reasons for joining Manchester City. His debut for the club came in the opening match of the season, a 3–0 Premier League defeat to Chelsea. On his third City appearance he received a red card for an aerial challenge with Reading's Steve Sidwell, and was suspended for three matches. However, a knee ligament injury sustained in training resulted in a much longer absence, and he did not make another appearance until mid-December. He then had a run of thirteen consecutive appearances, but was sidelined by injury. Upon his return to fitness he struggled to regain his place in the team, making only one further appearance in the 2006-07 season.

On 1 May 2007, Dabo was assaulted by his team mate Joey Barton at City's training ground. Dabo stated that he had been hit several times, and had to go to hospital after suffering injuries to his head during the incident, including a suspected detached retina. Dabo requested that the police press charges against Barton, and as a result, on 16 May 2007, Barton was arrested and questioned by Greater Manchester Police. Barton plead guilty to the assault.

Return to Lazio

He was put on the transfer list by Sven-Göran Eriksson along with team mates Danny Mills and Paul Dickov. Mills and Dickov both ended up going out on loans, but Dabo remained at the club. After just played the League Cup game in 29 August 2007, he finally re-signed for S.S. Lazio on 30 January 2008. He signed a contract until 30 June 2010.

External links

Massimo Mutarelli (born 13 January 1978 in Como) is an Italian football midfielder.

Mutarelli started his career at Serie A club Atalanta, making his debut in April 1996 in a 3-1 loss at home to Lazio.

After four seasons in Bergamo, Mutarelli was sold to Genoa in January 1998. With Genoa, Mutarelli made 138 appearances in Serie B.

In 2002, Mutarelli moved again, this time south to Palermo. He spent two seasons in Serie B with the rosanero, before the club made a glorious return to Serie A in 2004-05. He continued his excellent form in the top flight, and after one season was rewarded with a move to capital club Lazio.

Mutarelli's first season with the Biancocelesti was a good one, and he capped off a quality first season in Rome, with a goal in the historic 3-0 Derby win over inter-city rivals Roma.

In 2007-08, Mutarelli was hampered by injuries and did not have a season as successful as the last. He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League, but was sent off against Werder Bremen.

Mourad Meghni (Arabic: مراد مغني‎) (born April 16, 1984) in Paris, France, is a French football player of Algerian and Portuguese origin who is currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Italy's Serie A.

Meghni is a player with excellent technique, and is right-footed. In France, as a young footballer, his ability earnt him the nickname "petit Zidane".

Along with Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec he helped inspire the French Under 17 team to victory in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Trinidad & Tobago.

Career

As a youth player, Meghni moved from the renowned Clairefontaine academy to Bologna, where he played from the 2000-01 season to the 2004-05 season. He made his Serie A debut on January 12, 2003 in a 2-0 loss at home to Milan. Meghni then spent the 2005-06 season on loan to French Ligue 1 side Sochaux, before returning to Bologna.

While at Bologna, Meghni was never able to turn his talent into success and consistency, and as such was never a favourite among the fans. He made a statement following Bologna's relegation to Serie B, in which he declared he would never play in what he considered to be a sub-standard competition. He did spend a year in B, his last at the club, where he was a regular for the entire season, yet only found the net twice.

In the 2007-08 season, Meghni joined Lazio on a co-ownership deal for a fee of approximately 2.5 million euro.

His early performances for the Biancocelesti were not impressive, and he failed to nail down a regular place in the lineup, only starting seven matches for the season. He did make his debut in the UEFA Champions League, setting up a crucial goal for Tommaso Rocchi, which gave the club their only win in the competiton, at home to Werder Bremen.

At the end of the season, Meghni was fully bought by Lazio from Bologna, as part of the deal taking Gaby Mudingayi to the newly promoted team.

External links

Goal.com profile

Roberto Baronio (born May 11, 1977 in Manerbio) is an Italian football midfielder currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Rome, Italy. He plays in the position of deep-lying playmaker.

Career Club career

Baronio is a youth product of his hometown club Brescia. He made his Serie A debut in 1995, against Bari.

In 1996, he was bought by Lazio, and loaned out to Vicenza. He did not become a regular at Vicenza and returned to Lazio, who once again sent him on loan to gain experience. This time he was sent south to Reggina where, along with Andrea Pirlo, he was a key protagonist in their Serie A survival.

Following his spell in Calabria, Baronio was sent to Fiorentina, and continued to develop, firmly considered one of Italy's brightest young talents, yet unable to find a place in the Lazio squad which at the time was one of the best in the world.

In 2000, he was awarded the title of Serie A Young Footballer of the Year.

In 2002, Baronio was sent to Perugia, where he had a poor year in a side which was relegated to Serie B. Baronio then headed to Chievo and Udinese where he became a regular and began to show signs of becoming the elite footballer many expected. This culminated in a return to Lazio, as well as a debut with Marcello Lippi's Azzurri in 2005.

Baronio failed however, to seal a place in the national team, missing the World Cup and he also failed to establish himself as a regular at Lazio, with Cristian Ledesma filling the void left by Fabio Liverani.

Offered a loan spell in La Liga with Levante, Baronio instead refused and opted to try and force his way into the Lazio side. He has never managed to achieve this, and remains an unfulfilled talent.

International career

Baronio first represented Italy with the under-17 and under-18 sides.

In 1997, he was part of Under-23 side that won the Mediterranean Games and also won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with the Under 21 team led by Marco Tardelli.

In 2005, Baronio was called by Lippi, and made his senior debut in a summer tournament in the USA against Ecuador, in what remains his only Azzurri appearance to date.

External links

Matuzalem Francelino da Silva, commonly known as simply Matuzalem (born June 10, 1980 in Natal, Brazil) is a Brazilian footballer. He plays for S.S. Lazio. He is hardworking, skillful and prolific midfielder.

Career

Early career

Known as a goalscoring midfielder, he first emerged in the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt. There, he scored 3 goals in 6 games, including a critical goal in the final match.

Italy

In 1999, Matuzalem left Vitoria, and joined southern Italian club S.S.C. Napoli, where he remained for two seasons, the first spent in Serie B and the second season in what would be Napoli's last in Serie A for six years. Matuzalem was a regular at Napoli, but only scored twice during his time there.

Following his Napoli spell, Matuzalem was signed on a co-ownership deal by Parma and Piacenza in the summer of 2001.

He spent the 2001-02 season with Piacenza who finished 14th. The second season of the loan spell saw Matuzalem switch to Brescia on loan, where he played nearly every match and the deal was made permanent at season's end. However, he only lasted one more year, before Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk signed him.

Ukraine

In 2004, Matuzalem moved from Brescia to Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around $18.75 million, a Ukrainian record at the time. After the transfer of Anatoliy Tymoschuk to Zenit Saint Petersburg, he became the new captain of the club for the 2006-07 season and was voted the club's player of the year.

Spain

In July 2007 Matuzalem left the Shakhtar training facility without notice and returned home to Brazil, citing family issues. However, on July 18th he was presented as the latest signing of Real Zaragoza. Shakhtar’s officials have claimed that this is illegal, as no agreement took place between the two clubs and Matuzalem is still under contract to Shakhtar, and that the club is planning a lawsuit against both Matuzalem and Zaragoza.

After played 4 games and scoring once, Matuzalem was injured since September 2007 and returned in March 2008. He finished the season with just fourteen appearances.

Lazio

In July 2008, Real Zaragoza reached an agreement for a season-long loan. Matuzalem returned to Italy after four years, joining S.S. Lazio on a one-year loan deal worth an estimated 800,000 euro with an option to buy at the end of the season.

Honours

Team

* Ukrainian Premier League: 2005 and 2006 with Shakhtar Donetsk

International

* FIFA Under-17 World Cup 1997

External links

• (Portuguese) CBF
• (Portuguese) Sambafoot.com Profile

Christian Manfredini (by Italian parents), real family name Sisostri, (born 1 May 1975) is a Côte d'Ivoire-Italian footballer.

Born in Port Bouet, Manfredini was adopted by Italian parents at the age of 5. He made his debut in Serie A with A.C. ChievoVerona. After a good 2005-06 season at Lazio, Manfredini was called up by Côte d'Ivoire for the first time, against Spain in a friendly match, on March 1, 2006, as an unused substitute. Not called up to the national team for the 2006 World Cup, Manfredini returned to the national team on 16 August 2006, against Senegal, as an unused substitute.

Cristian Brocchi (born 30 January 1976, Milan) is an Italian footballer, who currently plays for S.S. Lazio.

Career

Early career

Starting his career at his native club A.C. Milan youth system, he was loaned to Pro Sesto and Lumezzane in early years.

Hellas Verona

In 1998, Brocchi was sold to Hellas Verona in Serie B. Brocchi followed the club promoted to Serie A.

Internazionale

After a year in the top-division, Internazionale signed him in 2000.

Milan

In the summer of 2001, A.C. Milan re-signed him in exchange of Andrés Guglielminpietro, who went to Inter. In AC Milan, Brocchi had to compete with Fernando Redondo, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, etc. He only made not more than 15 appearances a year, and often as a sub. His contact was once renewed in September 2003.

Fiorentina

Brocchi was loaned to ACF Fiorentina in July 2005, with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season but at the end of 2005-06, he returned to A.C. Milan, partly due to both club faced problem to find new recruitment due to 2006 Italian football scandal.

Third Spell in Milan

Brocchi played his career high for Milan, made 29 Serie A appearances in 2006-07 seaon. Although Emerson arrived in the next season, Brocchi also made 24 appearances, 10 as starter, effectively became the the choice replacement of the midfields.

Lazio

A.C. Milan and S.S. Lazio reached an agreement for a permanent transfer with Lazio on 28th August, 2008. He was sold to Lazio in a three year deal with a transfer fee of €2.7 million.

International career

He made his international debut for the Italy national football team in a friendly against Turkey on 15 November 2006.

Personal life

Brocchi has other interests outside of football, he opened a cafe in Milan along with AC Milan teammate Christian Abbiati, and started his own clothing brand (Baci & Abbracci) with close friend and footballer Christian Vieri and model Alena Šeredova. The brand is becoming very popular in Italy at the moment.

External links

• http://www.cristianbrocchi.it/
• Brocchi and Vieri's clothing line
• Profile and stats. at Inter Archive
• (Italian) Profile and stats. at ACmilan.com
• (Italian) Profile and stats. at Fiorentina official site
• uefa.com short bios.
• (Dutch) stats. at Voetbal International

Pasquale Foggia (born 3 June 1983 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian footballer. His contract is currently held by Lazio. He is a left winger and attacking midfieder. He is known for his dribbling.

Club career

Foggia started playing football at a young age for his local Neapolitan side Cral Banco di Napoli. He was then spotted by Padova and spent some time in their youth system before briefly playing in AC Milan's youth team before being involved in two long-term co-ownership deals.

Professionally, he made his debut with Serie C1 side Treviso in 2000. Foggia played for three seasons with Treviso, gaining his first honour by helping the club to promotion into Serie B during 2003. A move to Serie A side Empoli followed, it was during the 2003–04 season that he made his first appearance at the top level of Italian football.

During the following two years Foggia was loaned out to gain more experience, first to Crotone and then to Ascoli where he spent the 2005–06 season in Serie A.

After a loan spell at Lazio in the summer of 2006, he was transferred to them permanently in January 2007 from AC Milan; the transfer deal involved Massimo Oddo moving in the opposite direction. He was sent on loan to Reggina the next day for the rest of the season.

While on loan at Cagliari during the 2007–08 season that Foggia began to impress which is largely due to scoring two goals scored against Juventus.

However, Cagliari president Massimo Cellino turned down the chance to sign Foggia and he has since returned back to Rome, where he will once again play for Lazio.

International career

Foggia was also a member of the Italy national under-21 football team, making four appearances. After showing good form while on loan to Cagliari, he was called up for the Italy national football team, and made his senior international debut against Georgia on 13 October 2007.

External links

Official website

Stefano Mauri (born 8 January 1980 in Monza) is an Italian football player, playing a midfielder role for Lazio. An attacking midfielder/winger, his key attributes are dribbling and passing. He is predominantly left-footed but is also skilled with his right.

Career

Club

Stefano Mauri started his career at 16 years of age with Brugherio. Two years later he moved to Meda, where he spent three years between Serie C2 and Serie D.

In 2001, he joined Modena, and in September 2002, he made his Serie A debut in a 3-0 loss to Milan. With the gialloblù, Mauri spent two good seasons before moving on to Brescia.

Here he played another good season presences with 30 appearances and 7 goals. In 2004, he joined Udinese on a co-ownership deal. He spent two seasons at the Stadio Friuli, yet lost his place as a regular starter in the second season.

In 2006, Mauri moved south to Rome where he joined Lazio. He made his Biancoceleste debut in a Coppa Italia match against Inter and continued to establish himself as a regular, becoming a key player in a high flying Lazio team.

Manager Delio Rossi began to use him as a trequartista, behind Goran Pandev and Tommaso Rocchi, and he continued to shine, being a protagonist in Lazio's qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

Mauri did not keep this form going into the new season, and after losing his place as a regular was linked with a move to Torino

International career

Mauri made his international debut in November 2004 against Finland, and currently has six caps to his name. He has not been selected as part of a squad for any major tourname

External links

Cristian Ledesma (born 24 September 1982 in Puerto Madryn) is an Argentine football midfielder currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Rome, Italy. He transferred from U.S. Lecce to Lazio in 2006.

Ledesma is a central midfielder with excellent vision and great technical ability. His role is mainly in build up play and creating goalscoring chances. Ledesma has a powerful shot, and occasionally scores goals from long range. His most famous goal from distance, coming in the Derby della Capitale of December 2006, which gave Lazio the lead over Roma.

His jersey number at Lazio is 24, his date of birth.

Career

He spent his childhood in Puerto Madryn, in the province of Chubut, Argentina. He joined the youth system of top Argentine club Boca Juniors.

In 2001 he was noticed by Lecce, whose sports director Pantaleo Corvino decided to bring Ledesma to Salento, where he immediately became a regular in the team. At Lecce, despite being young, he was captain until November 2005.

In July 2006, Roman club Lazio signed Ledesma, after Lecce were relegated to Serie B. With Lazio, Ledesma signed a contract that worth 450,000 euro per season until 2011.

Ledesma's first year in the capital, the 2006-07 season, saw him establish himself as a key player despite a difficult start. His first moment of magic, came in the Derby, when he scored a rocket of a strike from 25 metres out. He continued this good form until the end of the season, by which time Lazio had qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

Ledesma's standout first season in Rome, attracted the interest of Spanish outfit Real Betis who were willing to offer up to 20 million euro for him. Lazio president Claudio Lotito refused, yet Ledesma stated if Lazio failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League, he would make a transfer to Spain.

Following these comments, which many at Lazio were disappointed to hear, Lazio did indeed progress to the group stages, yet Ledesma had a difficult season, struggling to recapture the form of the year gone by.

External links

Simone Inzaghi (born April 5, 1976, in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Serie A club Lazio.

He is the brother of Filippo Inzaghi, who is also a professional footballer. He has a son, Tommaso, born April 29, 2001, with ex-girlfriend model/actress Alessia Marcuzzi.

Playing career

Inzaghi started playing professional football in the 1993–94 season with his hometown team Piacenza, although he did not get to play a first team game in that season. The next season he was loaned out to Serie C1 side Carpi, where he played nine games. His first goal came in the 1995–96 season, playing for Novara in Serie C2. After two more loan stints, at Lumezzane in 1996–97 and Brescello the following season, Inzaghi came back to Piacenza, and played his first game for the team (also his first Serie A game) during the 1998–99 season. He scored a total of 15 goals in 30 games for Piacenza that season.

The next season he was signed by Lazio. He had a productive first season at his new club, scoring 7 goals in 22 league games, and 9 in just 11 UEFA Champions League matches (including four in a single game against Olympique de Marseille, on 14 March 2000, with which he equaled the competition record held by Marco van Basten since 1992). He also made his debut for the Italian national football team on 29 March 2000 against Spain. Lazio went on to win both the Scudetto and Coppa Italia that season. Inzaghi again won the domestic cup with Lazio in 2004.

In the 2004–05, season Inzaghi was involved in a one-year player exchange with Fabio Bazzani, going to Sampdoria for the season. He returned to Lazio in 2005–06 and stayed for 2006–07, with twelve appearances overall in two seasons.

The following season, Inzaghi joined Atalanta on loan. Although he struggled to find his form early in the season, he managed to play in 19 league contests, mostly as a second half substitute, but did not find the net.

External links

FootballDatabase.com profile

Simone Del Nero, (born August 4, 1981 in Ortonovo, La Spezia) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays in Serie A with Lazio, after joining on a free five-year deal from Serie B club Brescia .

In his career he has also played for Empoli. With the Italy U-21 he won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and a bronze medal at 2004 Summer Olympics.

External links

• Official Lazio profile (Italian)

Stephen Ayodele Makinwa (born 26 July 1983 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian football striker, who currently plays for Italian Serie A side Lazio and the Nigerian national team.

Tommaso Rocchi (born 19 September 1977 in Venice) is an Italian football forward who is currently playing for S.S. Lazio in the Italian Serie A.

• Tommaso Rocchi at FIGC.it

Mauro Matías Zárate (born March 18, 1987 in Haedo, Morón Partido, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine professional footballer, currently playing for S.S. Lazio in the Italian Serie A on loan from Al-Sadd of Qatar.

Mauro is the brother of fellow footballers Rolando (Barcelona (Ecuador)) and Ariel (All Boys), as well as former international Sergio Zárate

Playing career

Zárate made his full debut on April 21, 2004 against Arsenal de Sarandí. He shared the top-scorer award for the Apertura 2006 with Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors) with 12 goals each.

On June 18, 2007, Zárate signed a two-year deal with Al-Sadd in the Qatari League in a deal thought to be worth around $20M.

In 2007 Zárate helped the Argentina Under-20 team to win the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against the Czech Republic.

On January 21, 2008, he joined Premier League side Birmingham City on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season, with a view to a permanent deal. He made his debut for the club in the 2–0 defeat at Sunderland on January 29, 2008, and made his first start in March against Portsmouth. He scored his first goal for the club against Reading on March 22, 2008, followed by a brace in their next match against Manchester City and an equalising free kick against Everton. Zárate left the club at the end of his loan spell, their relegation from the Premier League meaning that no extension to the loan would be considered

Lazio

The player completed a move to S.S. Lazio on July 5, 2008. He joined initially on loan, with Lazio having an option to make the deal permanent, and following a successful medical was presented to the media a few days later.

Zárate immediately endeared himself to the Lazio faithful, scoring a brace in his Serie A debut against Cagliari and dedicating the second to the Lazio supporters. Zarate also scored on his home debut, with a left footed strike from outside the penalty area.

External links

• (Spanish) Argentine Primera statistics at Futbol XXI
• Mauro Zárate career stats at Soccerbase

Goran Pandev (Macedonian: Горан Пандев, [ˈgɔran ˈpandɛf] ) born July 27, 1983 in Strumica, Republic of Macedonia, is a football striker from the Republic of Macedonia who plays for Italian Serie A club, S.S. Lazio. He is also considered as a star key-player of the Macedonian national team and one of "the greats" in his homeland.

Career

Pandev began his football career as a 16-year-old, with Belasica, the club with which he progressed through the youth academy. He only spent one season in the local Prva Liga though, before being signed by major Italian Serie A club Internazionale in the summer of 2001.

Inter sent young Pandev on loan to Spezia, where he was a regular in Serie C1. The following year, he was again sent on loan, this time to newly promoted Ancona. Despite the Dorici having a nightmare of a season, the worst of any club in Serie A history, Pandev made twenty appearances and scored one goal, gaining valuable experience.

In 2004, Serbian star Dejan Stanković was signed by Inter from Lazio and Pandev was sent to the capital in exchange on a co-ownership deal. Pandev impressed in his first year at Lazio, as he made 29 appearances, scoring 3 goals including a memorable effort away to Juventus where he beat Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta, before beating Gianluigi Buffon with an angled shot.

The following season, Delio Rossi was appointed manager of Lazio, and Pandev began to form a deadly strike partnership with Tommaso Rocchi. Lazio opted to purchase Pandev's full contract in the summer of 2006, bidding around 4 million euro for Udinese's share in the contract, which they had bought from Inter.

In 2007-08, Pandev began to attract attention from some of Europe's greatest clubs, especially after a fine performance in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid in which he scored twice.

Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Tottenham all showed keen interest, however Pandev decided to remain in Rome, until his contract expires in 2010.

International career

Pandev is the star player of the Republic Macedonia,[2] and is widely considered to be one of the two best players the country has produced alongside former Yugoslavia and Red Star Belgrade great Darko Pančev.

Pandev so far, has won 37 caps for his country and scored 13 goals, and is the man who is currently leading an unlikely but not impossible charge for Macedonia to reach their first ever FIFA World Cup.

External links