He is one of the absolute revelations of recent years in Serie A Marco Baroni. The Tuscan coach, after the two miraculous saves against Lecce and Verona, earned “the opportunity of a lifetime” by sitting on the Lazio bench and his adventure started off great, despite the initial skepticism. Twelve victories in the first sixteen official matches, no one in the history of Lazio had managed to do what Baroni did in these first three months. The coach spoke yesterday on the official Biancocelesti channels and perfectly summed up his thoughts, rather than his football. “I never bring my own football model, but a team model. I can’t ask a player not to do something he knows how to do well because it doesn’t work for my football.” And here lies the analysis of the individual, the concrete objective of making the most of every player, from a young player like Rovella to a veteran like Pedro.
Lazio, Baroni’s team model
First of all we need a reference, an example to follow. From the first day of the retreat in Auronzo di Cadore Baroni elected Pedro a reference for his teammates. From there a model is created to follow in terms of seriousness and application, setting standards to be respected. Then the idea is structured that is needed to enhance the team, propose dynamic, physical football without fixed positions. With players like Guendouzi and Rovella you can take more risks, lighten the midfield and “charge” the attacking phase more. With Castellanos fighting in the middle of the central defenders and opening spaces, an atypical attacking midfielder can be inserted, much more of an attacker than a finisher like Boulaye Dia. The chains on the wingers must be made up of two players, there must always be two wingers capable of interacting with each other. One who creates danger from the back, one who fills the penalty area. So Zaccagni and Isaksen come into the field with their feet reversed, leaving room for Lazzari and Tavares to push as they please. Two wingers added, leaving the central players alone. Here courage takes over, the desire to accept Gila’s one-on-one matches and Romagnoli’s ability to read every situation. And then the human aspect, the approach with the group. Everyone must feel important and above all everyone must trust the coach. “Consistency for a coach is fundamental. I want to make mistakes second, I want to understand the things that don’t work and understand it quickly. I want to be more authoritative than authoritarian, as a footballer I hated the coach who made fun of the players and who was not coherent. I didn’t like those who looked for alibis and weren’t honest, it’s better to have a truth that hurts but helps you grow rather than a fake truth to protect. I am a man of the sea and in the sea you have to take precautions. Attention is always focused on understanding what can happen, if you react after something has happened it is already too late. This is true at sea and on a football pitch.”