Lazio have officially confirmed the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their new manager. The veteran gaffer has joined the Biancocelesti on a two year deal (till 2023) and will reportedly earn around 3 million euros a season at the Olimpico (plus addons if the club qualify for the Champions League). The Lazio appointment also sees the 62-year-old return to management after nearly a full season away from the game following his sacking from Juventus last year. Lazio, somewhat interestingly, chose to announce Sarri’s signing with a cigarette tweet!
While his salary might be virtually half of what he earned at Juve, Sarri’s appointment at Lazio is an interesting one. Whilst traditionally a big club, Lazio have flown under the radar in recent years, and this could suit Sarri just fine, as it did during his stint with Napoli.
Sarri’s appointment essentially comes as a result of Antonio Conte leaving Inter after guiding them to the league title. Conte’s decision not to continue at the San Siro saw the Nerazzurri approach Simone Inzaghi, and the lure of coaching a title winning side was too much for the then Lazio gaffer, who had earlier verbally agreed to a contract extension with the Biancocelesti.
Could a sartorial change be on the cards for Sarri with this move? Potentially from his traditionally relaxed style to a more sharp one like Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate? His predecessor at Lazio- Inzaghi, generally stuck to a more formal style, as can be seen below.
Serie A is shaping up to be quite interesting in terms of managerial appointments for the upcoming season. For starters the Rome derby next season will see Jose Mourinho at Roma and Sarri at Lazio, which therefore means no shortage of drama. Napoli’s failure to qualify for the Champions League saw them part ways with Gennaro Gattuso and appoint former Roma boss Luciano Spaletti, while Gattuso himself has gone to Fiorentina. Juve are reportedly getting Max Allegri back on board, which makes it quite some summer in terms of manager moves in Italy!
There are rumours that Sarri will bring several of his trusted performers to the Olimpico. The Napoli duo of Maksimovic and Hysaj had even reportedly joined the Biancocelesti according to an article on the club’s own website, only for Lazio to mysteriously delete it later. There’s also been talk of Ruben Loftus Cheek moving to Italy from Chelsea- he thrived under Sarri during the latter’s stint at Stamford Bridge that saw the Blues win the Europa League.