Lazio president Claudio Lotito discussed the summer transfer window and his thoughts on the squad under Maurizio Sarri yesterday.
Speaking to gathered reporters in a press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi) last night, the Biancocelesti president first commented on if he was satisfied with the work in the summer transfer market.
I don’t judge the market, I’m not used to it and it’s not up to me to do so. We’ll see what they can do on the pitch, we’ll see what the club will be able to do further.
I think we’ve done our homework as things stand, also on the basis of how the market has gone in general.
I can’t pass judgement because it would be wrong for me to pass judgement on my own actions.
We hope that what we’ve done will be functional and in line with the objectives we’ve set ourselves.
He touched on if he was personally involved in any transfer dealings.
My work as a representative of the company, because the company has various parts. This is a team game, the team wins.
Let’s see what we have done what it will produce. We’ll see what we can do in the future.
The Italian businessman discussed if he thought the squad could be improved further.
I don’t want to get into technical choices. It’s not about improving, it’s about putting the squad to good use.
Our aim is to make the team that the coach has at his disposal express its potential 100%.
In the case of the club, to provide the coach with a team that has the greatest potential to achieve certain goals. Sometimes the pitch betrays certain expectations.
Lotito spoke about if this was the strongest iteration of Lazio during his time in charge.
I can say that Lazio has had an evolutionary course of growth, both in terms of infrastructure and ambition and potential. The best never ends.
If you go to a harbour, and you think you have the longest boat and it’s 100 metres long, maybe there’s someone else who has a 150-metre boat.
The problem is how this boat is steered and what results it brings. The results are the result of a team effort made up of the players, the technical staff, the club, everyone: we all win and lose together.
Victories and responsibilities belong to everyone. I think that through this work that has been undertaken we can achieve goals that are satisfying for all the fans and for the club.
Such as? You don’t claim goals, you achieve them. I’ve never made proclamations, the facts will speak for themselves. In life I’ve been silent, I’ve said nothing, I’ve never spoken.
Then it’s not up to me to judge what I’ve done, as a company, whether it’s right or not, whether it’s fair or not, whether I’ve worked well or badly.
This applies to everyone and it applies to all positions and roles. Posterity will be the judge of that.
He discussed if the club would look to sign a defender if the opportunity arose.
I am not a coach. I think the team we have is capable of competing on equal terms with everyone, and then we’ll see.
I said that the market is never closed because, as they say, the worst is never dead, but neither is the best. Things are in progress, we’ll see what happens.
We think we’ve put together a team in light of the technical requirements and demands. Then we’ll see what the players are able to express on the pitch.
The Lazio president did not have any regrets about the summer transfer window.
I don’t think we had any targets that we didn’t achieve, at least as far as our initial intentions were concerned.
Again Lotito discussed if the club would look to bring in a new defender.
These are situations that are not part of my role. I’m the president, I’m not a sporting director or a coach. Conditions have to be assessed by those who believe they might be necessary.
Have I spoken to Sarri about it? I don’t have to say what I talk about with the coach, otherwise what’s the sporting director for? There are choices that are made by mutual agreement, I take responsibility for the choices made because I’m the head of the company.
And so it’s only fair that the choices that others make, and that I accept, are also my choices. It’s not that I posed any problems. It’s normal that we started from a team that was used to playing with a completely different tactical set-up, now we’ve revolutionised the team.
We had players who were suited to playing in a certain tactical set-up, from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3: it completely changes the set-up of the team. It’s not a problem of who to buy. It’s like a car when you do the warmup, you have to see if it’s rebalanced or not.
It’s also up to the driver’s handle and the car itself. Because if the car is not up to scratch it’s a problem, but we’ll see as we go along, certainly not today. How can I say if it works today or vice versa, if it needs to be improved.
I think that the people who are there now are suitable for that role. We’ve changed players who were playing with a certain tactical set-up and who were no longer working well.
We gave Correa away: he was a good player, but he couldn’t play with us anymore because he didn’t fit into that type of tactical set-up.
It’s not about the quality of the players, it’s about whether the players we’ve kept have the ability to adapt to that type of formation. It seems to me that they are showing it.
Then the great experience of the coach, a master of football, will lead to the 100% expression of the potential of individual players. From this point of view he is considered capable of improving the potential of the players.
We have taken players who have great potential, which is recognised by everyone, but then they have to show it on the pitch. I can’t make any predictions right now.
The Biancocelesti president spoke about his relationship with coach Maurizio Sarri.
I have a good relationship. I consider Sarri a quality person, a good person, so the relationship is good. I’ve seen Inzaghi grow, I’ve only known Sarri for a short time. We have a great relationship based on mutual respect.
I’ve never asserted my role as president in working relationships. As far as I’m concerned, a club is governed by authority and not by force. If you are authoritative and behave correctly, you will receive all the respect you deserve.
If I behave badly I will receive a certain kind of consideration, if I behave well I will receive another. Everyone makes their own considerations, it is not for me to decide and evaluate.
I can evaluate people’s work, I never enter into the private sphere. I get into the quality of the work he does and I can say that Sarri is a great worker and he is a quality worker.
The Italian businessman commented on if he was upset with the end of the relationship with former coach Simone Inzaghi.
In life everyone reaps what they sow. This does not apply to me because I thought I would reap in a different way. I take note of people’s behaviour, but I don’t make a drama out of it.
Everyone is useful and no one is indispensable, so it’s not a problem. He will continue to coach, I will continue to be president. We’ll see who stays in the system the longest in the end.
Lotito touched on if he was proud of Francesco Acerbi and Ciro Immobile’s Euro 2020 success with the Azzurri.
It’s not a question of being proud. We have a squad of players who are recognised by everyone as players of great quality. When I brought Ciro Immobile to Lazio, no one was aiming or had the awareness of what he could do at the time, then he won the Golden Boot.
It’s obvious that he owes this to an organisation and a team that has always supported him and above all to his qualities. His great humanity that makes him a reference person.
These qualities are also repaid on the pitch: in his attitude, in the way he plays, in the sacrifice he makes, in his attachment to the club, in the Biancocelesti colours he represents. All these things are part of a system that is fundamental.
Finally, Lotito discussed if he had seen these qualities from other members of the squad.
Absolutely. The coach has seen that the team sacrifices itself, is reactive. There is no longer the concept of ‘Lazietta’, there is the concept of Lazio.
A great organisation, a great club that wants to grow and prove its worth. I have to do it from a management point of view, they have to do it on the field with sports results
