Lazio Appear to Be Team on the Rise Following Impressive Serie A Season

Lazio defeated Napoli 4-2 at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday night in an enthralling Serie A curtain-closer. The win guaranteed the capital club third place in Italy's top division for the 2014-15 season and sees them grasp a UEFA Champions League play-off spot for the new campaign.

As with any club surging from nowhere—as Lazio most certainly have done, finishing ninth in 2013-14 and spending modestly last summer—finishing the job and securing that top-tier European adventure became of paramount importance during the closing stages. Despite the admiration factor undoubtedly attached to their rise, failing to clasp third would have been disastrous for Stefano Pioli.

Why? Because Lazio now do not have to go through the pains that Southampton will this summer—the pains of falling short, then losing your best players to higher-ranking vultures as a result. While the Saints will likely lose Morgan Schneiderlin and perhaps Nathaniel Clyne this summer to veritable big fish, Pioli can plan for the 2015-16 campaign knowing he's going to have Felipe Anderson, Antonio Candreva, Stefan de Vrij and many more in tow.

There will be no tumultuous summer in the blue half of the capital, no rotating door as a result of failing to reach the so-called promised land.

What Pioli has done this season is nothing short of magnificent, having fended off Fiorentina, Napoli and flickering interest from Sinisa Mihajlovic's Sampdoria to clamp down on one of the three coveted, top-end spots in the Serie A table. Lazio have been the second-best side in the league in 2015—behind only Champions League finalists Juventus in performances and results—having scored the second-most goals and have conceded the third least, per WhoScored.com.

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They won nine of 10 games between mid-February and mid-April, drawing the odd one against Napoli. It was an unbeaten streak broken only by Carlos Tevez and Juventus.

It's been clear Lazio would have to fight off Napoli directly for third as the season drew to a close, and it's perhaps this specific duel that helps to highlight the phenomenal performance of the club as a whole.

Per James Horncastle of ESPN FC, Lazio make between €25-30 million less than their southern counterparts per year. Rafa Benitez earned €3.5 million per year to Pioli's measly comparative €600,000 per year, while Kalidou Koulibaly, a work-in-progress central defender, cost more than World Cup 2014 third-placed Dutchman Stefan de Vrij did.

Lazio have been solid as a rock when necessary, playing out of a base 4-3-3 but also mixing in some other looks. Pioli has unearthed the best from obscure gems (Marco Parolo), established stars (Miroslav Klose) and hot prospects (Anderson). Goals have flown from every area in the side, sharing the responsibility as a team and as a unit.

“We are only at the beginning. This year we laid the foundations for something important in the future," Pioli told Sport Mediaset after the Napoli victory (via Football Italia). “We’ve already started to talk about the transfer strategy and made a few suggestions. The club shares my ideas. We want to improve the squad, as next season will be complicated.”

For Pioli, that's a positive complication: a European-themed, extra game-load complication. Lazio have broken into the elite by showing pragmatism, tactical talent, a hunger to succeed and, above all, an obvious smartness in what they do.

They represent a welcome fresh face on the continental stage, and they'll be warmly welcomed by ravenous, hungry eyes.

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