Gennaro Gattuso is Performing Miracles with Lazio
I Biancocelesti are currently undefeated in Serie A in a season where many expected to see the capital side struggle.
Lazio fans must be glad right now that Gennaro Gattuso did not follow through on his World Cup promise. It was just over a year ago that the Italian joked that, should Italy miss out on a third consecutive World Cup, he would have to leave the country and move far away. Sure enough, Italy failed to qualify, but Gattuso stayed. He’s now leading an unlikely title charge.
The Gattuso era at Lazio could not have gotten off to a worse start. Right away, many doubted his ability to replace the legendary Maurizio Sarri, a valid concern given Gattuso’s uninspiring managerial path. Prior to Lazio, Gattuso led clubs in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France, Croatia, and, perhaps most memorably, Greece, thanks to his famous expletive-ridden press conference with OFI Crete.
He was most recently in charge of the Italian national team, where, after a promising start, Italy failed to qualify for yet another World Cup. Italy lost to underdogs Bosnia & Herzegovina on penalties, and Gattuso was criticized for his perceived stubbornness. Within a week, he had resigned.
Gattuso already faced an uphill battle in returning to Italy, and Lazio is far from a stress-free environment. The club president, Claudio Lotito, has faced backlash for his lack of spending. Sarri had taken aim at Lotito in the past, while Lazio fans have led protests and boycotts. Star center-back Mario Gila was sold in the summer, as well as first-choice goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and other key veterans.
Everything seemed to be heading for disaster. Gattuso clashed with midfielder Kenneth Taylor, once forcing the Dutch midfielder to leave training. Lazio seemed to miss out on several key transfer targets. Even so, a 2-0 loss to Serie B side Mantova in the Coppa Italia came as a complete shock.
Gattuso was criticized heavily in the following days. Not anymore. Lazio have won eight of their nine games since, drawing the other. New-look Juventus, led by Luciano Spalletti, were swept aside 3-0. Most recently, Lazio battered Sassuolo 6-2 away despite missing two penalty kicks to move top of Serie A.
Gattuso has found the right balance with a 4-3-3 formation. In a league famous for its defending, Lazio are defensively the best side in Serie A, with seven goals conceded in nine games. Lazio are also effective going forward, as only Internazionale and AS Roma have scored more than the Biancocelesti‘s 22.
All this has been achieved with a budget. After losing Provedel, Christos Mandas has taken over as the club’s number one. The Greek hasn’t been a regular starter since leaving OFI Crete in 2023, and served as back-up for AFC Bournemouth last season. He’s kept four clean sheets so far.
The club’s number nine, Tijjani Noslin, is not a natural striker. The Dutchman is by trade a winger, but with Lazio lacking quality options up top, he’s taken over. Noslin leads Lazio with four goals, including a fantastic brace against Sassuolo. It’s already his joint-best goal-scoring season for Lazio in Serie A since he joined in 2024.
Alongside Noslin, left winger Mattia Zaccagni has bounced back from a quiet season, with two goals and five assists. The 31-year-old currently leads Serie A in assists. On the other flank, Gustav Isaksen has seized his recent chance to establish himself on the right, with three goals and an assist in his last four matches.
In midfield, Davide Frattesi is rebuilding his career on loan from Internazionale. After scoring off the bench in Lazio’s opener, Frattesi has started all nine matches since, alongside Kenneth Taylor, who has evidently recovered from his blow-up with Gattuso in the summer. The Dutchman has started every match this season, trailing only Zaccagni and Mandas in minutes.
After star Nicolò Rovella went down with an injury in Lazio’s second match of the season, the inexperienced Reda Belahyane has stepped in. He’s quickly become a fan favorite, impressing in a defensive midfield role. He has taken advantage of the opportunity in a way that he could not last season under Sarri.
In defense, left-back Nuno Tavares has become one of Serie A’s best. At 26, his peak comes later than expected, five years after joining Arsenal, but Gattuso has unlocked the Portuguese defender. On the right, Romano Floriani Mussolini has filled in after replacing the injured Adam Marusic. At this time last season, the Italian was on loan with Cremonese, but he has become a reliable starter and scored his first goal against Sassuolo.
Center-back Oliver Provstgaard has enjoyed a breakout season. After seeing only limited minutes last season, the departures of Gila and Alessandro Romagnoli have seen the Dane elevated to a key role. Aside from Provstgaard, a rotation of cheap signings from this summer in the form of Danilho Doekhi, Diogo Leite, and Josip Šutalo have featured.
Few of those names are impressive on their own, but Gattuso has this team performing better than the sum of its parts. Even statistically, little jumps out about this Lazio side. Home field advantage is nonexistent with the fans’ protests, with most reports putting the club’s average attendance at just under 10,000, the worst in the league.
Very little should be going right for the club at the moment, but that’s not the case. Lazio have already defied the odds with their start to the season: the Biancocelesti have never picked up 25 points in their first nine games. Lazio have now achieved that with a failed Italy manager at the helm, in front of a largely empty stadium.
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Images via X (OfficialSSLazio).
