Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri and Fiorentina defender Lorenzo Venuti attended an event in Tuscany on Tuesday night and the coach joked about Cristiano Ronaldo and Ciro Immobile: ‘It wouldn’t be bad to have them both.’
Sarri and Venuti attended an event in the town of Castelfranco Piandiscò province of Arezzo last night, discussing the importance of the dressing room and their non-ideal rapport with journalists.
Football Italia also participated and spoke to the coach about Lazio’s transfers before the beginning of the discussion.
“Some things should never come out of the dressing room because a season is also made of difficult moments and confrontations, which sometimes are tough,” the Tuscan coach said when asked how to manage a football team.
“The excessive use of social media makes it even more difficult to manage the dressing room, especially when girlfriends put their hands on it,” he added smiling.
“To protect the dressing room is something everyone should do, including footballers. Sometimes those with more personality are not the best players in the group but have a fundamental role in the team.
“The whole environment must work to achieve this target, the coach, his staff and the club.”
Sarri was asked what’s his rapport with clubs’ press offices and journalists.
“It’s always a bit conflictual,” he admitted.
“It’s impossible to have a direct rapport with journalists. Once upon a time, only two or three reporters followed a team. Now, there are radios, TVs, websites…
“The level of professionalism has changed with websites which are mainly managed by kids with no culture or experience. However, I have no prejudice and respect everyone, answering everyone’s questions.
“After a match, a coach must do 18 interviews with different media, it’s heavy, especially after a game,” Sarri continued.
“It’s easier after a victory and more difficult when you lose. Coaches want to decrease the number of interviews, but our target is not the same as journalists’.
“I go to the press room to send messages to my players, who are now putting more attention to external messages. If the question is not obvious, I always reply with a message for my players.
“However, most of the time, the level of questions is not that good, and I miss talking about football. Before a game, there are questions on everything except football.”
Venuti also doesn’t seem to have a great rapport with journalists.
“It’s not easy because there is a lot of pressure from the media. Often our words are misinterpreted because the journalists aim to get views. They don’t care about who we are. We should all strive for a common target: the team’s good.
“When I was younger, I cared more about what journalists said. With time, I’ve understood that it makes no sense because a journalist judges our game without knowing what the coach wants from us. The boss is the only one who can judge what we do. I always try to keep a distance from them [journalists] because I know they don’t like me.”
At the end of the event, the public was allowed to ask questions to Sarri and Venuti. A kid took the microphone and asked the Lazio boss: “Who is better, Ronaldo or Immobile?”
“I can’t reply to this question,” Sarri said, smiling. “But having them both would not be bad at all.”
Sarri coached both strikers: Ronaldo at Juventus and Immobile at Lazio. The Portuguese star had his most prolific season in Turin under the Tuscan tactician, while the Italy international became Serie A’s Capocannoniere last season. Sarri’s Lazio ended the previous campaign in fifth place, earning a Europa League spot.
Wise words and great insight from Sarri. Statements that make you reflect on the football world today.