Although Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri is suspended today, the match with Spezia at the Stadio Olimpico offers him the chance to reunite with his former Chelsea assistant Luca Gotti.
It’s the fifth official meeting between Sarri and Gotti. The ex-Chelsea and Juventus tactician has won two matches and lost one, while the last meeting between them (Lazio-Udinese in December 2021) ended in a spectacular 4-4 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.
Sarri and Gotti know each other well having spent a year together at Chelsea, where Gotti was Sarri’s assistant coach.
They won the Europa League before Sarri was appointed Juventus boss in the summer of 2019. However, he decided not to bring Gotti to the Allianz Stadium picking Giovanni Martusciello as his assistant in Turin.
Gotti joined Igor Tudor’s staff at Udinese that same summer and was promoted in November when the Bianconeri sacked the ex-defender.
He spent more than two years at the Dacia Arena before his sacking in December 2021 and was appointed by Spezia last summer.
“Life can be surprising,” Gotti said yesterday when asked why he didn’t follow Sarri at Juventus. “Sometimes things that seem negative turn into positive and vice-versa.”
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