At an event held today in Campagnano di Roma, LaLazioSiamoNoi.it spoke to Claudio Lotito, where he revealed some of the curiosity surrounding choices that he is made during his time at the club. He started with the decision to entrust Igli Tare with the role of sporting director.
“Many did not share this choice I had made; instead it was a great choice. We had made the commitment to extend his contract and he came to the meeting with his agent and I told him: ‘Look, I am not renewing you for that of a footballer, but that of a part of management – I told him I was going to let him be a sports director’. Tare responded by saying: ‘But how? I don’t even have the license.’ At this point, I said: ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get that. Think about it, I’ll give you 30 minutes.’ He returned half an hour later and said yes.”
Next, the backstory of Simone Inzaghi with the touch of Marcelo Bielsa.
“When I took to the office to renegotiate the contracts of the players on the team, Simone Inzaghi was next in line back in 2010. With his agent, we proposed 5.3 million euros for the next 5 years. His agent was satisfied. I said: ‘Do you understand? He will make 5.3 million in 5 years.’ He said: ‘Per year.’ I said: No. In total.’ At this point, Inzaghi asked me: ‘Can I speak to you alone President?’ I said to him: ‘What do you want to do next?’ ‘Be a coach’, he replied. I told him: ‘I’ll let you be a coach here, at Lazio.’ Inzaghi then went to Sampdoria and Atalanta; a difficult time passes from a family point of view and when he no longer played Walter Sabatini (the former sporting director) told me: ‘It’s time to let him go.’ I said no, called ‘Simò your career seems to me to be over. However, I’ll offer you a coaching position, that for the Regional Students’. He then went to win the National Students Championship. Following this, Alberto Bollini (former manager of the Primavera side) went with Edy Reja to Bergamo. So I took Simone and put him at the helm of the Primavera, where he was very good. However, when the story emerged of me talking to Inzaghi in the Piazza, I launched the story of Bielsa – I kicked myself with Bielsa… When I was in France Tare called me and said that he told me he had bought players that the manager wanted. After three minutes, it was not going well. I returned to the Formello and with Tare, we called the coach and started a conversation of a certain type. Tare spoke to him, and he replied as if he were a scientist. At one point I was mortified and picked up the phone: ‘Listen, mister, you must go.’ Tare was pale.”
