Igor Tudor enjoyed ‘the best debut I could’ve hoped for’ after a last-gasp victory over Juventus, aiming to get the best out of Lazio including Adam Marusic and Daichi Kamada.
The coach took over during the break for international duty after Maurizio Sarri resigned and Giovanni Martusciello held the caretaker role during the win away to Frosinone.
Despite that situation, Tudor did not waste time, transforming Sarri’s 4-3-3 tactics to a 3-4-2-1 formation with players in different roles, bringing back Kamada to the midfield.
It all paid off, as with the last kick of the game substitute Matteo Guendouzi floated in a ball to the back post for the Marusic header.
“This is the best debut I could’ve hoped for,” Tudor told DAZN.
“It is wonderful to win this way and we could not have started this experience better. I am glad for the lads, the way they interpreted the match and to have started on the right foot.”
Tudor played for Juve, then was on their staff for one season as assistant manager to Andrea Pirlo. So was it his destiny to begin against them?
“I don’t believe in good or bad luck, only in hard work. We train hard and what happens on the match day is a consequence of what we do during the week in training. We want to have no excuses.”
The transformation to a three-man defence certainly seems to be getting the best out of Marusic.
“Marusic scored a great goal, he was waiting for me to come here and make him understand that he is a winger and not a full-back,” smiled the coach.
There were other surprises too, as Daichi Kamada had dropped right down the pecking order under Sarri.
“He had a good game, I think his characteristics are suited to the style of football I want. He is tactically so intelligent, I liked his readiness to suffer under pressure when needed. We will slowly add more things, it’s about building one brick at a time.”
Taty Castellanos started the match rather than Ciro Immobile, who had already been dropped by the Italy squad for their international friendlies.
“Immobile knew that it was only right Castellanos start when he scored two goals in the last game. I am here to motivate the players, but they need to give me determination. I saw Immobile hungry, he wants to get the best out of these two months and I am glad about that.”
Felipe Anderson’s contract with Lazio is running down and he is widely reported to be joining Juventus as a free agent. Can Tudor urge the club to keep him?
“I can express my opinion. He is a professional who never holds back, has quality and pace, I think he is an extraordinary player.”
This victory allows Lazio to leapfrog Napoli in the table and keep themselves in the race for a Champions League spot, albeit a very tough ask.
Curiously, they will meet Juventus again on Tuesday in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, then next weekend it’s the Derby della Capitale against Roma.