Matias VecinoLazio midfielder, spoke into the microphone of Lalaziasiamonoi.it for an exclusive interview, during which he also focused on the team’s ambitions: “We are only at the beginning of a new journey, in which many players and a different coach have arrived. We must enjoy the moment, continue to pedal as we are doing and thinking match after match. There is no time to do anything else. Now almost half of the team has left with the national teams, it is normal that we will have fewer days to prepare for the next match the coach also transmits and I think he is bringing some good ones results.”
How is the team physically? In Monza you were slightly more tired than usual after a long series of matches
“It’s normal, it was the seventh match in about twenty-one days. We had played on Monday against Cagliari, then on Thursday against Porto, which was a very intense match, and on Sunday at 6pm in Monza. It’s normal to give the last half hour more than usual because we also found a team that had eight days to prepare. If we had made it 2-0 we would certainly have been able to manage it differently. We are suffering, the important thing is to always remain compact and fight to the end as we did, regardless of the tiredness. Then I think they didn’t have many chances, except for a header that Ivan saved (Provedel, ed.). We conceded a bit of space, but they didn’t create much.”
In mid-November, Lazio is first in the Europa League maxi-table and second in the league. In your opinion, does this team have more of a European profile or can it potentially go deeper into Serie A?
“The way things are going now, the team has shown that they know how to play both in the league and in European competitions. The coach was good at rotating several players, also because it’s not easy to get on the pitch every three days. There is no one who can play all the matches, it’s impossible. We have to think about short objectives, about the series of 6/7 matches that we will have with important clashes. Then at the end of the year we will see where we have arrived.”
Is this a slightly ‘bad’ Lazio side? Who are the three most aggressive players in the squad? One for example is Guendouzi, but also Vecino…
“The baddest for me is Gigot. The first training session he made two or three entries and Pedro had to tell him to be calmer. He’s aggressive, I like him, he’s tough. Even Gila when he slides. The same goes for Marusic, in training he is clean, he doesn’t make bad interventions, but when the ball is high it’s hard to go and jump with him. It’s a wall. From my point of view these are the three that I would always like to avoid (laughs, ed.)”.