Barcelona is one of the most romantic European football destinations: Maurizio Sarri, for example, dreamed of playing there in the Champions League with his Lazio team a few months ago. For Monza, however, it became the new starting point from the misfortune that first struck Caprari, then Izzo, up to Ciurria. Three of the most important elements of Palladino’s first Monza, which for different reasons had to start again from Professor Ramon Cugat’s clinic. Raffaele Palladino commented on the news of the “diagnostic arthroscopy surgery on the right knee, with evidence of a lateral meniscus tear and consequent meniscal suture” for Ciurria: “football would be nicer if there were no injuries, but they are part of sport and our work”, revealing his dreamer side which continues to give him enthusiasm in his adventure on the bench.
Speaking of Maurizio Sarri, tonight’s Lazio will be something very different. On the bench is Tudor who has given spirit back to a team that seemed to have no more motivation. On the other hand, there are Pessina and his teammates who haven’t stopped having that motivation since the beginning of the season despite the difficulties. This is why “what we have done this year is something extraordinary”, says the coach who is no stranger to this type of emphasis. Especially now, that his Monza team are coming off five games without a win, the longest period of fasting since he has been at the helm of the greats: “Points were missing in these five games, but for the performances we put in we would have deserved more – says Palladino -. Growth, mentality and performance are always first and the team has never given me the feeling of having given up.” The focus on the present, without pointing the antennas to the future, also because studying the countermoves will be more complicated with a coach, Tudor, who has recently been in charge of the new team. The challenge on the bench, however, is also a reminder of a past that reaches as far as Marcello Lippi’s Juventus: at that time Palladino was a boy attached to the adults, in the first stages of a career that had reached this far, both on and off the pitch. . Now, as a loose cannon in the championship, he aims to finish strong without setting limits. With an extra Dany Mota, who is available again from his ankle problem.
(4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Birindelli, Izzo, Pablo Marì, Kyriakopoulos; Akpa Akpro, Bondo; Colpani, Pessina, Zerbin; Djuric. LAZIO (3-4-2-1): Mandas; Patric, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Marusic, Guendouzi, Kamada, Zaccagni; Felipe Anderson, Luis Alberto; Motionless.
