Gattuso ‘Happy’ With Lazio Progress, Opens up on Taylor Incident: “That’s the Spirit”

Lazio manager Gennaro Gattuso saw some positive signs in his team’s 6-3 win over Avellino on Saturday morning.

Lazio Put Six Past Avellino

This was the Biancocelesti’s toughest pre-season test thus far, having already beaten their Primavera team as well as their amateur neighbors Flaminia. While the Serie B boys took an early lead, Lazio youngster Federico Serra scored the equalizer, and Petar Ratkov followed it up with a brace.

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Reda Belahyane netted right after the interval, while Gabriele Artistico added the fifth from the spot. Avellino responded by scoring twice in quick succession, but the Aquile had the last word through Kenneth Taylor.

Gennaro Gattuso Happy With Lazio Performance

In his post-match interview with the club’s social channels (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Gattuso expressed his satisfaction with the team’s progress, while admitting that further improvements are required.

The team is starting to do what we want. We’re pressing high, keeping a high defensive line, and going man-to-man when opponents try to play out from the back. There’s always some risk involved, but our fitness is improving too. We’re happy because there’s real enthusiasm. Naturally, we still need to raise our level and there are things we’re missing. Right now we’re focusing on the players we have, we’re working well, and it’s only natural that we have to raise the bar. It’s a pleasure to coach them.

Gattuso Dampens Kenneth Taylor Incident

Gattuso didn’t shy away from discussing his training-ground spat with Taylor. The head coach kicked the Dutchman out of the squad in Thursday’s morning session for the way he complained following a challenge from a teammate. Nevertheless, the midfielder rejoined the squad in the afternoon and was handed a light-hearted ‘punishment’.

The other day, some people had fun writing about Taylor, but that’s part of the game. Anyone who knows me knows how I think and the kind of approach I have. As far as I’m concerned, after 30 minutes it was all over, and you saw that in the afternoon session too. That’s the spirit we need to have. We’re happy because simply getting through this period without losing players to serious injuries means we’ve kept the damage to a minimum, and that’s a big advantage. Now we need to be consistent and reach higher levels of intensity and speed.

Gattuso Glory Days with Alessandro Nesta

The Lazio boss was delighted to reunite with his former Italy and AC Milan teammate Alessandro Nesta. The Biancocelesti legend returned to Formello as Avellino’s head coach.

Nesta was a fantastic teammate with the national team and at Milan. We’ve always maintained a great relationship and we speak often. He’s a bit calmer and more composed than I am, while I’m more emotional. As a player he was a champion, and as a coach he has some very good ideas. We often exchange views. He’s a friend I’ve always cared about and still care about deeply, and I have enormous respect for him.

Gattuso Pays Homage to Franco Baresi

Finally, Gattuso paid tribute to Milan and Italy icon Giuseppe Baresi, who sadly passed away on Friday at the age of 66.

My condolences to the Baresi family. Whenever I spoke to him, I almost stood to attention. He was the captain—a man who spoke little and smiled even less, but every word he said carried weight. He was unique, a legend. Whenever you spoke to him, you could feel that. He passed away too soon, but now he’s keeping company with so many other great champions. He’ll remain part of football history forever. He deserved a lifetime Ballon d’Or for the way he revolutionised the sweeper role. He was like an assistant referee too—when he raised his hand, he was almost never wrong about an offside. That’s how I’ll remember him.

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