​Lazio head coach Gennaro Gattuso believes club president Claudio Lotito should curb his public statements and allow the team to operate with greater serenity. The 48-year-old Italian was recently appointed as Maurizio Sarri’s successor, and the club introduced him to the press on Saturday (you can read the first part of the press conference here). Lazio’s sporting director Angelo Fabiani presented the Calabrian manager in Lotito’s absence, as the club explained. The patron reportedly traveled to the United States on a business trip that could include a meeting with Nasdaq officials and possibly attendance at the World Cup final on Friday.
Despite his conspicuous absence, Lotito’s name inevitably came up in questions from reporters, prompting a candid response from Gattuso. He suggested that Lotito should speak less publicly for the good of the club. “Lotito has to be the president. The less a president speaks, the better. That should be the approach. It’s up to us to create something positive, then we’ll see. That’s how I see it—I tell you what I think and I’ll be honest: I have a straightforward relationship with Lotito—that’s just the way I am. I told him he needs to do me a favor and sort a few things out behind the scenes. I don’t care who you are, and no one should take offense. I want to see people who work. I told him that if he wants to say something to the squad, he’s entitled to do so because it’s his club. I also told him he has too many phones and that the situation isn’t easy to manage. That’s one of his flaws. But the team needs to stay united. We work for him, but I’ll always tell him exactly what I think, respectfully.”
Gattuso also explained how he and Fabiani have been approaching transfers, stressing that he has the right to veto any player he does not want. “Day-to-day work is about talking to people. When I speak to Fabiani and Bianchi, the people I work with every day here at Formello, we tell each other everything. Then, if we can’t sign a player, they explain why and I have to accept it. But if I don’t like a player, we’re not signing him. If we can’t land one target, we’ll move on to another. I knew about the transfer situation and that we’d need sales before buying. I’m not an accountant or a financial adviser—we’ll see what happens.”
While Lazio supporters have pledged to boycott the club’s home fixtures, Gattuso acknowledged that bringing the fans back remains a distant goal. “For our fans, we only have one obligation: honour the shirt. Nothing else comes to mind. I’d do anything to bring them back to the stadium, but I know it won’t be easy. The Olimpico has always given me goosebumps—so much passion, parents taking their children to games. It’s up to us to make them proud again.”
Interestingly, the new manager revealed that Lotito and Fabiani were keen to pursue better SEO, underscoring an awareness of communications strategy as part of their broader plans for the club.