Unbeaten in Turin for two years, that’s 57 games in all competitions, this was the record Juventus held until Simone Inzaghi brought his team to the ‘J-Stadium’. The performance represented another emerging facet of this Lazio squad, dogged, determined and on this occasion, even more ruthless than ‘The Old Lady’. They recorded their first league win against them since 2003 and proved that the team from the Eternal City are not just an attacking threat. Inzaghi has his men in good form and they show little sign of slowing down.
Even after falling behind from a Douglas Costa goal, Lazio showed character to fight back thanks to a brace from in-form Ciro Immobile. This took his tally to 11 in eight games and lifted his team ahead of Juventus to third place. The game was not without drama, Paulo Dybala missed from the penalty spot at the end but the performance given by Lazio on the night certainly showed that they had earned it. This was a display that showed that they are learning to defend, a statistic perhaps not evident by the table, they have conceded 10 times, the worst record out of the top seven clubs.
Lucas Leiva summed up the collective approach to better themselves and shed light on what their coach demands from them after the game. In his post-match interview he stated that “I think the team’s good form helps the players grow individually. We have a well-defined style of play, we impose our style wherever we play, we act in the same way and try to make use of our most dangerous weapons.” The backed up what had been seen throughout the season, this was a determined effort by the team to work as a collective and deliver a game plan that, if they could find their most dangerous assets like Immobile could be devastating.
The mood in Rome is that this feels like Inzaghi is coming into his own as a coach and now potentially, if this season continues as it is doing, he could become was of the most sought after in Serie A. Whilst he is will always be ‘Pippo’s younger brother’ and did not have the same success in his playing career as Filippo, he is certainly reaping the rewards as a coach. Whilst Pippo was sacked by Milan and thereafter went to manage Venezia in Serie B, Simone is now coaching the team he always dreamed of.
Simone played 133 times for Lazio scoring 33 times and he holds the club dear to his heart. He started working as the youth team coach in 2010 and six years later was given the chance to take the top job. Speaking at his opening press conference he said “My objective was always to become manager of Lazio. I’m proud and I cannot wait to start. I am the manager today but I want to be manager for the future as well.” This is something that is looking more and more long-term as in June he renewed his contract until 2020, not bad for a man who was thrown in last minute after Marcelo Bielsa left the post.
It is Inzaghi’s tactical intelligence that has been becoming more and more evident. He has a philosophy where he bases his game plans but they are loose when it comes to formations. He is adaptable and will switch from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 or even 4-2-3-1, it really doesn’t matter which shape he plays, as his players stick to their principles. His objective is to defend in numbers, especially putting pressure on the midfield to defend but then break with pace. This again focuses heavily on the central midfielders and wing-backs as he asks them to start the moves off and move the ball quickly. He has a focal point (normally Ciro Immobile) and one or two creative wide men or forwards to supply them. He will drop to five in defence against the big teams and is not scared to react.
These reactions, in game, are becoming more and more decisive and impressive as his tenure goes on. His defensive structure against Juventus was impressive and potentially is evidence that Lazio have yet again turned another corner. Inzaghi confesses he takes great interest in the players off field habits and wants to know what is going on with them. It is perhaps this attention to them that is the reason they all seem to be such agreeable pupils.
Lazio don’t have the biggest budget, the most settled fans nor does their structure always mean they will make it easy for themselves to succeed but in Inzaghi they have a gem. The Eagle once again fly’s in Rome and it is their coach who is making the Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico, one of the places no team can go and pick up easy points.
