Gattuso Confirms Icardi Decision, Insists Lazio Don’t Need a ‘Ringho’
· Yahoo Sports
Lazio head coach previewed Saturday’s game against Venezia while tackling other matters, including the club’s interest in Mauro Icardi.
Lazio Travel to Venice
With three wins and a draw, the Biancocelesti are off to a brilliant start in Serie A, and they’ll be looking to finish off the first stretch with a positive result in Venice before the extended international break. The Lagunari will host Lazio on Saturday (20:45 local time).
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Gennaro Gattuso Warns Lazio About Venezia
On Friday, Gattuso held his pre-match press conference (via Lazio News 24) and began by warning his players against complacency, as he believes Venezia can give them problems, despite losing all of their four league fixtures thus far.
Now we must not fall into the trap of presumption, we must be good at continuing along this path and not think that we are all good now. We need judgment and mentality, not presumption. Tomorrow we have a tough game, against a team that deserved more points, that marks you man-to-man, and we must not be presumptuous or tomorrow will be very difficult. If we have got this far until now, it is because we have played as a team and stayed focused. This must not be missing.
Gattuso Blocks Out Investigation Noise
The 48-year-old preferred not to discuss the ongoing investigation surrounding Claudio Lotito’s sale rumours, urging his players to remain focused on the pitch.
I don’t want too much talking in the dressing room. I avoid talking about things that don’t concern us and we have to do our job well and train in a certain way. We can only complain if the salary is missing. I read little of the things outside football because it is something I have seen leads nowhere. I dedicate myself to my daily work and I want to transmit this to the players. Tomorrow is important and we have to make up for the second half we played against Milan.
Lazio Injury Updates
Gattuso confirmed Danilo Cataldi is fully available again. On the other hand, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is fit, but the manager prefers not to risk him. Adam Marusic and Nicolo Rovella will remain out until the restart.
Cataldi is with us. Marusic is running and after the break he will be available, as will Rovella, who has an MRI on Thursday to understand how he is doing. Dele-Bashiru has recovered but there is no point throwing him in and risking him again. There is a long break and now that he has trained, we will get him back into shape. They are all good lads and with him we preferred to preserve him and not take risks. Isaksen had a small problem but he will be available.
The Difference Between Gattuso The Player & The Manager
The Lazio boss insisted he has always aspired to play attractive football, recalling his time at Napoli, when he missed out on a Top-four spot on the final day of the season (2020/21). He feels his coaching system is drastically different from his playing style, when he was best known for his grit and hard-tackling approach.
I did not go to the Champions League with 77 points and if we had won instead of drawing with Verona, we would have finished second. That team played good football. I played football and won a few things with my character. With my nickname ‘Ringhio’, they give you a label, but you have to look forward. I do this job with passion. A player with my characteristics today perhaps would not play with me. Someone like me perhaps would not have found a place here, given the way I have seen football for a few years now.
Gattuso Wouldn’t Have Selected Himself
The Calabrian coach thus feels that his current Lazio squad doesn’t need a ‘Gattuso’ on the pitch, preferring to field midfielders capable of creating play and pushing forward.
Are we missing a Gattuso? For the way we want to play, we don’t need one. We want to take risks, bring men forward, apply offensive pressure so that, if we win the ball back, we have many men to hurt the opposition. We don’t need a Gattuso; we need to keep the level high and be good at dropping back and understanding the moments of the game. Either you work as a unit or you go on references. Like we did in the final 10 minutes. Another team would have conceded another two against Milan, instead we started pushing up again.
Gattuso Doesn’t Need Mauro Icardi at Lazio
Gattuso confirmed he didn’t support Mauro Icardi’s pursuit because he preferred to preserve the squad balance, taking nothing away from the Argentine striker’s credentials.
Icardi is a player who has scored 250 goals in his career. But we made choices: Pinamonti, Gudmundsson, and when you speak with players you have to be honest. We cannot get ourselves tangled up. I spoke about it with the sporting director and the president and, without taking anything away from him, someone has to stay out. Just like Pellegrini, who trains with us even though he is outside [the squad]. We have to be good at not ruining the balance in the dressing room.
Lazio Squad to Remain Intact
Lazio had initially left two vacant spots in their Serie A squad list, and while the first was filled by Diogo Leite’s arrival, Gattuso revealed they don’t intend to make another signing.
Now we are not thinking about filling the slot. There is no point taking people just to leave someone out. You can afford to do it with young players, but then the management becomes problematic.
Gattuso Wants Humble Lazio
The Lazio coach urges his player to keep their feet on the ground, noting how expectations can change rapidly in football.
I don’t let myself get carried away by enthusiasm. Tomorrow is the fifth matchday. I am interested in the mentality of the team and that what we want to do can be seen clearly, then we will see where we arrive. With this shirt, there is always pressure. It has written important pages of history. We must not make mistakes through presumption. A month ago, they thought we had to fight to avoid relegation after the embarrassment against Mantova. But we have to prepare for each challenge one at a time.
Andrea Pinamonti Must Remain Patient
Gattuso suggested that Andrea Pinamonti still needs time to find his best physical shape after a difficult summer.
The rotation with Noslin? Pinamonti knows how he arrived, he wanted to come here and trained little at Sassuolo, but he is a lad who has desire and has to stay calm. Rome wasn’t built in a day. We know that he took a knock to his ankle and we know his qualities. Then it also depends on how the other teams play. Apart from Zaccagni, I am rotating them all. Noslin gives us more depth and, game after game, we choose how we want to put the opponents in difficulty.
The Centre-Back Options
Regarding the backline, the manager feels he has four capable centre-backs who should all be considered starters. These are Danilho Doekhi, Josip Sutalo, Oliver Provstgaard, and Diogo Leite.
No hierarchy, we assess it game by game. We have four centre-backs of incredible reliability. They are four starters. We have a unit with strong players and a great mentality. Four starters.
Gattuso Apologises to Stadio Olimpico Crowd
After the AC Milan game, Gattuso made an X-rated rant, lamenting the absence of the supporters in the stands. But on second thought, the 2006 World Cup winner felt he should have instead thanked those who turned up to the stadium, few as they were.
I apologise. I let myself be taken by nervousness when I said that football is awful without the fans. I apologise to those who were at the stadium. I didn’t want to create a controversy, but with the 10,000 who came to the stadium, I didn’t thank them. It was my mistake and I apologise, and I hope there will be many more in the future.
On Gudmundsson & Isaksen
Finally, the Milan legend discussed Albert Gudmundsson’s best role and offered advice to Gustav Isaksen.
We also tried Albert out wide. He can play in all positions because he is complete. As for Gus, he is strong and has three gears, but he has to be fit and we have to put him in the condition where he has to work and recover because he is a pneumatic drill, but it is an aspect he has to improve. Getting help for the little pains and discomforts: you lose half an hour, but you avoid damage, and he has to help us with this. He is strong and I am happy to help him, but we need to know how to manage him and make him understand certain things. He does some things out of goodwill, but his body is different.