Lazio Under Baroni: What Does a Successful Season Look Like? | OneFootball

Lazio are only weeks away from kickstarting their new project under Marco Baroni in Serie A, so what should be expected of the team? To place an early bet on where they will finish in the Italian top flight for the 2024-25 campaign, visit this range of trustworthy betting apps.

The Biancocelesti have been in a state of flux over the last four months, seeing three different coaches in the dugout, starting with Maurizio Sarri before a brief spell of Igor Tudor. Now Baroni has taken over, agreeing to a two-year contract in the capital. Lazio have essentially closed the door on Simone Inzaghi’s memorable cycle at the club, saying goodbye to long-time heroes Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile in recent weeks, forcing President Claudio Lotito and Sporting Director Angelo Fabiani to try and find a new core to build around.

The Biancocelesti have been incredibly active in the early stages of the summer transfer window, bringing in Salernitana’s Loum Tchaouna, Hellas Verona’s Tijjani Noslin, Hatayspor’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Barcelona’s Cristo Munoz, Virtus Francavilla’s Gabriele Artistico, Free Agent Gaetano Castrovilli, and Arsenal’s Nuno Tavares. A new centre forward or playmaker is also expected to arrive; whether it be the likes of Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham, Sassuolo’s Armand Lauriente, or Napoli’s Giovanni Simeone is yet to be decided upon.

On paper, everything is looking fairly positive for Lazio, who’ve started to proactively build a new cycle and project under a relatively young group of players, placing trust in players like Valentin Castellanos to lead the line. It will surely be a surprising and unusual year compared to recent seasons, as Laziali do not even know what to expect; if the new signings click it could go very well, but it will more likely than not be a year of massive transition which fans will have to understand and give time to.

Baroni’s appointment wasn’t met without controversy, however, as many fans expressed significant concerns regarding his ability to lead a winning team considering journeyman career history at various provincial clubs. His last five clubs were Hellas Verona, Lecce, Reggina, Cremonese and Frosinone. The veteran coach will now have to quickly prove himself to the Biancocelesti faithful, needing to put on a strong showing right out of the gate after Sarri’s time in charge and Tudor’s brief success in the dugout.

Unfortunately for Baroni and Lazio, it’s tough to see them breaking into the top four next season when looking around at their rivals. Napoli have hired Antonio Conte, Inter won’t have to sell a star and have brought in Mehdi Taremi and Piotr Zielinski to strengthen their squad, Milan are taking a new direction with Paulo Fonseca and have just signed Alvaro Morata to lead the lines, and Juventus have kickstarted a project under Thiago Motta with the likes of Douglas Luiz and Khephren Thuram reinforcing the midfield and Michele Di Gregorio rejuvenating the goalkeeper position. Even rivals Roma look to be in an interesting position, potentially signing starlet Matias Soule and having young and hungry coach Daniele De Rossi in the dugout. His strong start in the capital proved an immediate contrast to the chaos on the other side of the Tiber, frustrating Biancocelesti fans.

With it being Baroni’s first year at Lazio, it would be fair to expect the club to at least secure a sixth-place finish in Serie A, needing to stay hot on the heels of the Champions League spots, and progression to the knockout stages of the Europa League.