“I Would Have Said No” – Gattuso Reveals Why He Accepted Lazio Offer, Opens up on Italy Woes | OneFootball

It is both a privilege and an honour to introduce Gennaro Gattuso. His career as both a player and a coach speaks for itself, and for us it is a source of great satisfaction. We reached an agreement immediately—there was no need for lengthy discussions. We thank him for accepting this role. I’ll keep it brief and leave the floor to Rino and your questions.

I’m proud to be here. Over the last three days, my staff and I have completed all the assessments, and I have very positive feelings. I already knew about the issues before accepting the job, from my conversations with the sporting director and the president. I know everything. I know this is a time to put on the helmet, keep pedalling and work hard. It’s up to me, my staff and everyone here, who have all made a great first impression on me, to work as hard as possible. I can’t do anything about the other issues. My only objective is to put a team on the pitch that honors Lazio’s glorious history. I’ve been close to joining Lazio on more than one occasion in the past. I could have come before. I won’t hide the fact that without these circumstances, I probably would have said no again. This is a challenge. I’ve already worked with some of these players. I know how I think and the kind of football I want to play.

Hopefully our strength will now become the attack. I don’t want to talk about 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. I like a defensive line that steps up aggressively and plays higher. Maurizio is a fantastic coach and did an outstanding job, but we’ll try to do things differently. Now that Gila has left, I’ve asked for a little patience. We start on Monday and we’ll evaluate players like Gigot and the others. We don’t have a lot of money, so it’s right to take our time, spend it wisely and make as few mistakes as possible.

We need a centre-back. Then we’ll assess the attack as well. Ratkov also had some difficulties. A centre-back is needed, and there are another couple of things to address, but there’s no point discussing them publicly today. I think it would be disrespectful to the players already in the squad. We’ll make our evaluations, but the foundations are there. We have good midfielders and plenty of full-backs. We’ll see what’s possible. We already have an important base. Mandas is back, Motta is here too. It’s not a squad that needs throwing away. We also need to isolate ourselves a little. We all know the current atmosphere isn’t ideal. We need a real sense of belonging. My staff and I will try to change people’s perception. It won’t be easy, but commitment and belonging must never be lacking.

I’ve had many opportunities to come back. In my opinion, coaching abroad makes you better because you combine your own football culture with new ideas. We Italians always think we’re the best tactically, but football is changing incredibly quickly. My decision over the years was to complete myself as a coach. Then Lazio called, they convinced me, and I came back. Otherwise, my path was leading elsewhere.

I have to thank the Italy players—they gave me everything. Football is decided by moments. As a player I had a bit of luck at times, while as a coach I’ve taken a few blows. One day things will go my way too. The wound I’m carrying will stay with me for the rest of my life. That’s football, and that’s life. “But I’m grateful to everyone who stood by me. The players gave me everything. The penalties, the red card… I’ve been in football for years and you move forward. My mentality has never changed. I have even more determination and anger now. I believe in what I do and what I propose, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.

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