Rome, 30 March 2024 – After the long break for the national teams, it’s time to return to the pitch for the A league. Championship eve for Lazio, who will host the Juventus in one of the big matches of this thirtieth day. The first of Tudor on the bench at a crossroads of destiny, already because the Croatian’s first on the white and blue bench coincides with a match against the team that made him great as a player. A challenge that the coach himself wanted to present in the press conference. Here are his words.
What signals have you received from the team this week? How are the national team? “They all returned in good condition and without ailments. This is important, except that some arrived late and did little work. We worked well with the others, they immediately made themselves available as I said at the presentation. The boys had the right application and desire.”
Excited and tense for your debut? And what did Juventus represent for you? The first two matches against Lazio against the Bianconeri are destined.
“I don’t believe in destiny. The sensations are always positive, in sport you always think about the challenge and winning. Sport is joy. It will be nice to have a full stadium, there will be high motivation, with an important opponent. However, the match must be prepared in the right way from every point of view. I think about preparation, giving what I am to the team and not to emotions. The team must be the mirror of the coach, but it takes time and patience to transform this Lazio. I’ve been here a little while. I’ll try to do it quickly, but the team won’t be perfect, but we will work. From the Juventus I can say that I spent 7-8 years there, from 20 onwards, that is when a person is built. I am grateful to the Juventus. I had teammates and managers who made me become who I am now, especially due to the work culture.”
The profound difference with Sarri is in the defense. Previously the ball was the reference, with it instead it is the man. Will he make this transition right away?
“There are two things that penalize this change. Lazio have been working this way for three years and then it happened Sarri that he is a strong coach and coaches like this convey their ideas well. You have to be smart. The form is important, but not that much. You can start one way and change along the way. Tomorrow we’ll see how to get on the field.”
Do you already have a typical formation in mind or will you change many players, managing the men in the next close matches?
“It’s a particular situation, everyone will necessarily have to play, due to the national teams and the double commitment. The 5 changes are important: being able to change half the team is wonderful. I also have to understand the team, training is one thing, matches are another. I have to evaluate players who can improve and who can follow your football. Then you have to win, you have to do well right away, you need to be tough and have the right quality. Do what you want both offensively and defensively. I think I did some important, even demanding training. We’ll see tomorrow when the race starts.”
In Sarri’s last days there was talk of managers to act as a liaison between the team and the owners, a Peruzzi-like figure. Have you talked about it?
“I don’t think this question is for me. We didn’t talk about the past, we immediately got to work.”
There has been a lot of discussion on social media in general about Lazio, but also about Immobile in the national team. Did he talk about it with Ciro?
“I don’t read social media and newspapers, it would be suicide. A coach must always think about working. I spoke with Ciro a couple of times on this topic, I saw him very motivated. I think he cares about the national team, he was an important part of it. I think it just depends on him in these two months. He has always scored, I think he will do it again. I’m counting on it a lot, he’s a boy with not only footballing but also human qualities. I know him, I’m convinced that he will have an important two months.”
Will he rely on the hard core or will he start from scratch? Kamada’s location?
“In Germany he played both front and back, he is a complete player, he has running and playing quality. I think that, if I’m honest, he is better suited to this football than the previous one. He is not technically very clean, but he has other qualities that I have seen in recent days and I like them a lot. He has the right mentality and then he scores goals, a skill that makes the difference. I also saw him looking very cheerful and eager, we’ll see on the pitch. Hierarchies? There is always respect for the past, but we don’t live by the past. Football is cruel. We have to win, the team counts.”
How is Lazzari? Can he play with Pellegrini or Felipe Anderson on the other wing?
“We can see his condition today, he had a small problem. The balance is both offensive and defensive. We always need players with goals, but also players who play the defensive phase. Then he chooses based on the opponent and the match. I like attacking, but not conceding goals. Felipe Anderson to cover the entire band? I haven’t tried it, I don’t know the answer. He is very available, he has skill and quality. You are convinced that we will play with a 3-man defense, but maybe that won’t be the case.”
What kind of locker room did you find from a human point of view?
“They are eager and very proud. They are not ninth place players, they want to redeem themselves. In 10 days they are all perfect because the new coach is there, but with time we will understand better. Real people can be seen later, in battle, when they aren’t playing or have to take over.”
How did you find Lazio from a physical point of view? “We’ll see tomorrow if he’ll be able to fulfill my requests. In physical data, the Lazio she has always been at the top. We’ve talked a lot about this, it’s an important topic, it’s the distances that will be different. They will have to make different runs, but also some similarities because Sarri wanted to go and get the ball up, the same thing I want.”
Can Marusic or Hysaj play in the defensive trio?
“Everything is hypothetical. If I don’t want to tell you something, I can not answer (laughs, ed.). Patric he’s back, I’ve always liked him from the outside, he can be a player for me. I like how he defends in the open field too. Three difficult games in a row? I’ve thought about rotations a bit, but in the meantime I’m thinking about the next one.”
Lazio scores little from the head, unlike their teams in the past…
“Yes, each team has different characteristics. However, you need malice to score goals, this makes the difference.”
In eight days he will have three games that could be worth a season. Has he managed to transfer his winning mentality? “If a coach can do it in 5 training sessions he’s a magician (laughs, ed.). The climate in the locker room is nice, I see motivated people. Tomorrow we will need courage and we will have to play without too many thoughts. There will be little problems with the new things we do, but it’s my responsibility. The key is to attack and defend everyone, I want a team that is difficult to beat. There are no games in life, it’s all an exaggeration, it’s all smoke. These are things that don’t belong to me. They left. I’m interested in the team, preparing them well, today I want to charge them. This belongs to me. The rest is all smoke.”
