Prusen, Czech Republic – March 6: SS Lazio head coach Markobaroni during SS Lazio Europa League 2024/25 is the round of the 16th first leg match of FC Victoria Pursen and SS Lazio at Stadion Mestapurzne on March 6, 2025 in the Czech Republic. (Photo: Marco Rosi -SS Lazio/Getty Images)
Marco Baroni hopes the radio players will leave the pitch with “no regrets” at the end of tomorrow’s second game of Europa League quarterfinals against Bodeau/Grimt.
Manager Biancocelesti acknowledged that his team was about to face the “most important game” of the season, but he insisted that the players had “great faith” and urged them to play “without anxiety.”
While acknowledging that playing on artificial grass gave the opponent a “great advantage” in the first leg, Baroni stressed that denouncement of the pitch alone would be an excuse, as he warned of the need to limit the board/grimt quick play in the final third, regardless of the surface.
“Tomorrow will be the 46th game of the season. I have a great faith in my team,” Baroni said at a pre-match press conference, as Tuttomercatoweb quoted.
“We’ve given them everything all year round. I trust them. It’s an important game and tomorrow you have to play without worry. Today we’re reviewing what it takes to set the stage for a comeback.
“The initial foot conditions were unusual, but we learned a lot from that match. We need to show both a great presence and a physical and mental attitude.
“Yes, it’s the most important game of the season, and we know that.
“The outcome wasn’t what we wanted, but now we’re playing at home in front of our fans.
“We need to play with desire. We know we are facing strong, informed opponents. Tomorrow’s game requires full energy and presence, on and off the pitch. We all have to believe in this.”
Baloni: Lazio doesn’t need “patience and calm”, he needs to “grab the right moment”
The need to overturn the two-goal deficit could lead Lazio to attack recklessly, but Baroni doesn’t believe “patience” is the answer.
“I don’t want a carefree team. I want them to focus completely on performance,” the coach continued.
“They need to focus on their strategy, not their ultimate goals. They achieve their goals by providing the right performance. Everything is needed.
“We need a lot tomorrow from our team and our fans.
“I don’t like words like patience or calmness, we need to play intensive matches and grab the right moment.
“Teams who know how important the game is, need to know how to read it. They know the benefits of artificial turf, but they don’t want to stop it.
“Tomorrow we need strength and energy. That’s what a game like this demands, especially against such a strong opponent.”
Speaking of artificial pitch, Baroni added that he doesn’t want to look for Alivis.
“I can’t blame the pitch alone, and that would be an excuse,” he said.
“Bodo plays very quickly in the final third. You have to take that away. You don’t decide what surfaces are allowed, but that definitely gives a huge advantage to the teams that depend on playing with it.
“The match was set up perfectly for them, but we can’t find an excuse. We need to focus on ourselves.
“They play great games. They have a lot of energy and they’ve played together for a long time. But we have to get into the mix and feel our presence.”
Is there a chance that Boulaye Dia and Taty Castellanos will start together? And what about Nuno Tavares?
“That’s definitely an option,” revealed Baroni.
“Taty will start tomorrow because he’s a key player. They’re making a lot of moves in the final third, so we need to make sure we’re going to take their base point by getting everyone involved.
“Nuno is on track. He trains with the team today and evaluates things together.
“My fullback always needs to move forward. Of course, there are structural differences between players, but tomorrow will require a particularly broad and a lot of energy and drive.”
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