Sarri and Lazio were never suited to each other

Maurizio Sarri and Lazio were never a good fit and the comments from Aurelio De Laurentiis about him being a ‘loser’ just confirm the similarities with Claudio Lotito, writes Susy Campanale.

Eyebrows were raised when Sarri took charge of the Aquile in the summer of 2021, as nothing about this seemed like it would work. And, despite the blip of securing second place in Serie A last season, for the most part it really lived down to those expectations. His departure was very much in the Sarri style, leaving money on the table that he could’ve pocketed, acknowledging for everyone’s good that if this season can still be salvaged with a Coppa Italia victory, it probably wouldn’t be under his guidance.

Sarri is a man who perpetually seems to be in a foul mood, although that might just be because he is not allowed to smoke 24 hours a day. He has always viewed football as being a passion and not a job, it was something he did in his spare time when working in finance and getting to finally do that as his profession felt like a dream come true. The trouble with doing what you love as a job is that eventually, inevitably, it starts feeling like a job. Even coaching football – or writing about it.

I lost count of the number of comments Sarri made in press conferences and interviews this year about this “no longer being fun” because the packed fixture list means training sessions are practically obsolete. This was what he got into it for, the joy of moulding a team to his vision. The modern coach is more like that of a national team than a club, he’s a ‘selector’ of talents who can give only the most basic instructions. His Napoli was a machine because everybody knew how to move and where to be. That did not come about by chance, it was down to drilling in training, the same players with barely any squad rotation. Modern football is not for Sarri.

Did Sarri succeed or fail at Lazio?

There are plenty of other reasons why it was never going to work at Lazio, of course. You know those friends who keep picking the wrong partner and you can see the disaster looming, but can’t do anything about it? This is how long-term Sarri fans felt watching him join the Biancocelesti. It was Napoli all over again, because much as they bicker and argue about everything else in football, Lotito and Aurelio De Laurentiis are like two peas in a rotting pod.

Of course ADL came rushing to Lotito’s defence as soon as the news broke and called Sarri a “loser” for resigning mid-season. Because both Presidents love to take credit for any success and shift all the blame when things go awry. Sarri may pride himself on not getting involved in transfer strategy, but it’s an area where he really needs to stop leaving all the decisions to people who don’t know or care about his tactics, who just want to tighten the purse strings and raise expectations without the investment to back it up.

Everyone knew Sergej Milinkovic-Savic would be sold and nothing was done to replace him. The biggest problem at Lazio is that there are several absolutely key players and they are all painfully inconsistent – think Ciro Immobile, Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson. On a good day, they are fantastic. On a bad day, you’d better have some suitable back-up. And Lazio do not have those quality alternatives.

Sarri told everyone repeatedly that this Lazio team could not handle multiple tournaments and people did not listen. Perhaps if he had stayed, the team would’ve improved now he has a whole week to prepare and train for the rest of the season. But the moment they qualify for Europe, the whole process starts again. It is better for everyone that Sarri walks away. Perhaps he should go back to basics and find a club that isn’t in any UEFA competition, one he would enjoy training and developing, without an overbearing President.