Goran Pandev and Pasquale Foggia both returned to fitness for Lazio in the lead up to this match; however, they had to do without the services of their Brazilian midfielder Matuzalém, who missed out through suspension. Sampdoria welcomed back defensive duo Pietro Accardi and Stefano Lucchini, as well as Paolo Sammarco, who passed a late fitness test, to assure him of a spot in the final.[5]
Sampdoria coach Walter Mazzarri said that the final should be played in a neutral venue, and that it would give more balance to the match.[6]
Ticketing
Although the usual capacity of the Stadio Olimpico is over 72,000, not every single ticket has been sold. In fact, Lega Calcio decided to sell about 20,000 tickets for each club, and the remain tickets at the neutral public (even if they had been bought for the most part from Lazio fans because the final was in Rome). Lazio fans took place in "Curva Nord", while the Sampdoria ones at the opposite side. Between Lazio fans and Sampdoria fans a sector, the "Distinti Sud Est", has been left empty to leave a large space between the "Curva Sud" and the "Tribuna Tevere", due to avoid fights between fans. That space was occupied in part by children of the youth Lazio teams. At the end of the match, it has been counted about 50,000 Lazio fans and 18,000 Sampdoria fans.
Kits
Having been designated as the official "home" team, Lazio could wear their usual kit, that is the light-blue one. Nevertheless, Sampdoria could wear their home kit too, but with blue shorts instead of white ones.[7]
Rocchi receives the trophy form Giorgio Napolitano.
After the match, some Lazio players wore a T-shirt to joke A.S. Roma rivals with written on it Io campione, tu zero titoli (I'm a champion, you have no honours), quoting a sentence said by José Mourinho who had, earlier in the season, correctly predicted that Milan, Juventus and Roma would have completed the season with no honours.[9][10]
Cristian Brocchi and Lorenzo De Silvestri dedicated the victory to Gabriele Sandri, a fan who was killed last season,[11] and coach Delio Rossi said that the triumph was also dedicated to the fans and everyone who had made many sacrifices to get the team to the final.[12]
After the match, a minority of Lazio fans clashed with police and tried to smash shops in Rome city centre following the win over Sampdoria, according to a statement on 14 May 2009. Police said three arrests had been made before and after the final and added that five police officers had been injured.[13][14]
