The corridors of Formello are humming with a curious tension this morning. Gennaro Gattuso, the snarling heartbeat of Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph,...
The corridors of Formello are humming with a curious tension this morning. Gennaro Gattuso, the snarling heartbeat of Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph, has begun putting Lazio through their paces. There is just one catch. He has not actually signed a contract. It is a peculiar half life, a footballing limbo where the gaffer is already barking orders on the training pitch yet remains technically a ghost in the dugout. You could call it typically chaotic. You could also call it a masterstroke of contingency planning by Claudio Lotito.Let us be clear about what this tells us. Lazio have not made a formal announcement, but the presence of Gattuso at the wheel speaks volumes about the direction they believe they must travel. The man who once described his own tactical philosophy as puttare il cuore oltre l'ostacolo is now tasked with reanimating a squad that has too often looked listless under Maurizio Sarri. Sarri's football was built on patient possession and geometric passing. Gattuso's approach, by contrast, is a high octane swirl of transitional play, aggressive pressing, and a willingness to shove the opposition's low block into the mixer. It is not subtle. It has never been subtle. But it might be exactly what this Lazio side needs.The key question, of course, is the paperwork. Why the delay Is there a sticking point over the length of the contract Are there clauses regarding the summer transfer kitty Or is this simply Lotito's famous patience, a refusal to be rushed into a public commitment while his new man is still trying to figure out which player can handle the altitude of his demands Whatever the reason, Gattuso is already on the grass. That is the only fact that matters. He is already assessing who has the stomach for the fight and who might be sent packing before the window slams shut. The players will have noticed the change in intensity. They will have felt the shift in the air.This is a high risk move that reeks of desperation but also of ambition. If Gattuso can instil his ferocious spirit into this talented but brittle squad, Lazio might finally challenge for a top four place with real conviction. If it goes wrong, if his direct methods fail to click with the personnel, the chaos will be spectacular. Either way, it will be compelling. The race for Champions League football just got a whole lot more interesting, and Gattuso is already in the blocks, contract or no contract.
