Kafkaesque situation. Ten days of dinners, breakfasts, phone calls and meetings. Of trips from Split to Formello. But the climate of violins and honeymoon it was long over. Lazio did not share the Tudor’s extreme choices: he had imposed on him the confirmations of Guendouzi, Rovella and Isaksenhe demanded total autonomy on the market and had fallen out with Kamada, the first of Igor’s sergeants. He waited patiently for the coach to take a step back. Facade wedding, up to the moment resignation of the Croatian, who left the scene on Wednesday. A week of tactics and pauses for reflection, waiting to explain the reasons for the divorce. “Tudor asked us to change eight players, too many for a group that we consider to be up to par, but he left like a good person. We will be competitive”Claudio Lotito told Ansa yesterday evening.
It shouldn’t be such a difficult exercise to try restore some harmony and normality to Lazio. Especially for a president who proudly defines himself as the guardian of the values of a club and a fanbase. The last year has certified a series of painful empty passages. The club found itself unprepared after a second place. He was unable to exploit the Champions League wave: he considered it a point of arrival. Lazio failed to identify a worthy heir to Milinkovic and of Motionless despite the sixty million guaranteed by the UEFA tournament and the forty received by the sheikh of Al-Hilal. The promises made to Sarri on the quality of purchases were not maintained. Mau did not come to terms and left twelve salaries on the table: eight million gross. Luis Alberto he asked to terminate a contract in front of a camera, immediately after the match against Salernitana: a scene never seen before. Felipe Anderson he didn’t want to end his career at Lazio, accepting the offer from Palmeiras. Now it’s time to empty the cupboard Tudor: adventure lasting seventy-nine days. Eighteen points in nine games, qualification for the Europa League and some disagreements with the team. Hombre vertical, no compromises. In the last three months the quiet has always lasted the space of a sneeze. Transversal conflicts and messages. Lotito denounced that Sarri “he had been betrayed” from one part of the group and has now sworn that “he will drive out the mercenaries”. Fabiani declared that around Lazio there exists “an octopus”. A serious accusation that was not accompanied by names and surnames. Then there was the Kamada case. And again the sporting director, commenting on the refusal of the Japanese and his agents to renew the agreement, spoke “of blackmail and extortion”. Without clarifying why, last summer, the midfielder was granted the right to establish his future by May 30th through a unilateral clause. A claim never made even by Messi.
Lazio has decided to start again from Baroni, who did an excellent job first in Lecce and then in Verona. A trained technician, almost 61 years old, he knows the jungle of football. He is aware that the fans were expecting a big player: da Allegri to Sergio Conceiçao. Seriousness, apprenticeship, application, style. He has earned this opportunity and will deserve to be evaluated without prejudice. Bayern, 33 titles and 6 European Cups, took over Vincent Kompany, second last in the Premier League with Burnley. There is a reality, however, that must not be overlooked. Lazio finished the championship with seventh place and thirteen points less than in 2023. They would have slipped into the Conference if Italy had not climbed the ranking. Qualification for the Europa League was achieved thanks to a draw with already relegated Sassuolo. Understanding recent mistakes must be the foundation. The debate on the choice of coach it cannot become pre-eminent: the substance of the programs will count. The team needs to be strengthened. Felipe Anderson, De Vrij, Luis Alberto, Milinkovic had arrived with Tare. As well as two champions of the caliber of Klose and Lucas Leiva. We need talents and certainties. Tchaouna has an interesting repertoire, but it is desirable that we also invest in already tested profiles, such as Wieffer and Dovbyk, followed in the past: the Dutchman was consecrated in Feyenoord, the Ukrainian scored 24 goals in Girona, who took him for 7.5 million, half of the money received by Lotito for Castellanos. Valuable young people who have international experience: this is the identikit traced by Fabiani. No chances and a commitment: don’t lose the most promising baby of the Primavera, Jacopo Sardo, midfielder, 2005, without a contract. A club with 124 years of history is not a laboratory for experiments. Dismantling Sarri’s Lazio in twelve months was one enormous responsibility. Baroni won’t be the only one who feels under scrutiny.
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