The Biancoceleste patron gave a long interview to Radio Serie A with Rds. From the transfer market (“Property in Arabia? A surprise for me”) to Sarri (“A master who will enhance the players he has at his disposal”) up to starting the challenge with the Giallorossi… Here’s what he said
– Rome
From the victory in the Champions League over Feyenoord which widens the chances of advancing to the round of 16 to the derby scheduled for Sunday, these are intense days for Lazio between projects and ambitions. In a long interview on Radio Serie A with Rds, president Claudio Lotito spoke in broad terms, starting from his arrival in 2004 at the helm of the Biancoceleste club. “I have been a Lazio fan since I was five years old. I am a tenacious person and this was fundamental for me. This challenge was proposed to me by Berlusconi, a person I respected a lot because he had the ability to understand how things would unfold over time. I had a friendly relationship with him who, at the time, was Prime Minister. He called me to ask me to try to save Lazio. In 2004 Lazio’s budget was in the red, it had many debts. With my character, I I considered it a challenge to the limit and Berlusconi decided to commit me to finding a solution to what at the time had become a problem of public order. The Lazio fans at the time had behaviors that did not conform to normal civil behaviour, with several attacks and road blockades. I immediately found a world outside of normality, people who generated debt were paid, and I, who came from an entrepreneurial background, approached it in the opposite way: I rewarded those who produced income. It would have been easier for me to acquire Lazio in bankruptcy, as they did with other teams. I, on the other hand, took on the debts, including with the Revenue Agency. I had about 180 million debt with the tax authorities. I applied a state law which was an already existing law and not created especially for me as was said; the law I refer to is the law from 2002 and it was a sound law in principle. The law reported that if a company fails, it is preferable to transact to take whenever possible, rather than take nothing. Now there are four years left, and in 2027 I will have finished paying. I would like to underline that I am the only taxpayer in Italy who has always paid every installment in advance, because I think it is right: it is the community’s money.”
you’re all right
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Six months ago, Lazio finished the championship in second place, the best position under Lotito’s management, returning to the Champions League after the experience of the 2020-21 season. “I was one of the first who tried to combine positive results with sound management. Thus Lazio acquired credibility on a national and international level.” Lotito and his role as president also looking to the future. “My presidency at Lazio is not a business story, I don’t take advantages. When I took over the club, I paid for a few years to lease a building which is now owned by the club. When I joined, in terms of lire, I put in around 50 billion to get 21%. In essence, in total I put in 75 million euros, compared to the 550 million in debt that I had to manage. I try to cultivate that way of playing football based on valorising people at 360 degrees. I also invested a lot at an infrastructural level, making it strong because I want to pass it on, I want my son, who is from Lazio and passionate, to continue this path. After Lotito, will there be Lotito? Yes, Enrico has already entered the system, he takes care of the youth sector, working hard and with dedication At 7 he leaves the house and goes, he knows everything and everyone, he has a degree in law even if he will not practice the profession.”
ciro question
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Yesterday Ciro Immobile scored goal number 200 with the Biancoceleste shirt. A further achievement for the striker who entered the club’s history. “He is our captain, I would say there is a family relationship with him, on my part and on the part of the company I represent there is no intention of alienating him – added Lotito -. When I read these considerations (hypothesis of going to Arabia , ed.), I was perplexed knowing the person who has a sense of family, a sense of belonging. That he can go to Arabia is a surprise for me. There is a contract in place with him, so an agreement should also be found with the club. The famous ‘pay money, see camel’? Ah, I see you remember it… I have a particular affection for him, then unfortunately there are moments in football that are not highly positive. He is a boy with healthy values and principles and I am convinced that he will return to be what it has always been.”
Luis Alberto
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The role of Luis Alberto is growing in Lazio, fresh from renewal until 2028. “He has a very particular character and he is aware of it; at the moment he has a collaborative position. When Milinkovic left, Luis Alberto had received a proposal from ‘Arabia, but I thought he could somehow embody the spirit of the dressing room and he remained. In the internal ranking he became second immediately after Immobile and is a reference for the group. He puts in determination, passion and sacrifice.” Great feeling also with Felipe Anderson. “He is a golden boy, with whom I have an elective affinity, there is a good relationship and on my part and on the part of the club there is total willingness to renew the boy’s contract (expiring in June, ed.) “.
FOOTBALL MASTER
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A Lazio in the name of Sarri. “He is a great football teacher, a particular person, a fundamentalist who however gets along well with me. We have never argued. If anything we have had dialectical confrontations, some perhaps heated. I think he has respect and consideration for me as a person and this expressed in an interview that struck me for the words used. Faced with some situations, who was right? The arduous sentence for posterity. In the summer Ricci and Berardi asked and I attempted to achieve these objectives, but I received requests outside of every logic not only for the economic value, but rather for the value of the player in relation to his age. We took Rovella and I don’t think he is inferior, just as I don’t think that whoever arrived is inferior to Zielinski who, moreover, remains on the market I don’t think he has all these buyers. Berardi the same, I see him still there. The path is a little longer and I understand it, Sarri will have to work hard to enhance the players and he knows how to do it. He knows how to teach. You’re a great team you must demonstrate it through mental toughness, always expressing one hundred percent of your potential. This is what I reproach the team for, because if they took to the field with my determination that I also carry forward in other fields, it would be different. You can have ideas, but if you don’t bring malice and competitive fury, the others certainly won’t move.”
the derby
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The big event at the Olimpico on Sunday. “For us, the derby is a championship within a championship. It is an important event and I hope that the team finds the unity and strength to express itself 100% to give great satisfaction to the fans who deserve behavior characterized by sacrifice, determination and of the result. It’s a championship within the championship, its result conditions the subsequent trend. Last year two great results (two victories, ed.) which created a very important feeling among the fans towards the team. The derby which Am I more attached? Italian Cup final on 26 May 2013. A very special event, people live and suffer in the city. The other faction is more inclined to emphasise, is more noisy, but if it doesn’t reach its objective it hides and disappears The people of Lazio, on the other hand, seem, I emphasize it seems, to prefer to suffer in silence.”
LOTITO’S LIFE
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“I receive many calls with death threats, I sometimes receive up to 300 a day. The more they do this, the more I try to assert the ideal of respect. A normal person would probably be scared, but I go forward knowing what I have done for the football. I also receive threatening calls towards Lazio’s opposing teams. I live under guard: this limits my privacy, but it serves to protect myself. I am used to adapting to various situations”, continued the Lazio president who has now also become senator. “I have the ability to be considered by people; it is mutual and serves to have credibility and establish relationships. Consistent behavior allows me to be appreciated. I have the ability to convince people to reach a solution on the basis of a fact rational. What one professes must be consistent with what one does. I don’t have the internet or WhatsApp. I’m not technological. The telephone is just a means of communication, it cannot replace human relationships. Culture is a series of notions that one acquires that cause you to be one way and not another.” Claudio Lotito and the values of life. “Ethical norms must be respected: they were once taught in the family and in schools. In my day, families turned to teachers to enforce the rules, today teachers are reported by parents. The speakers had another important role: healthy competition and respect for values, the idea of merit was created. Young people today find it difficult to dialogue. The fan previously espoused a position for life; today what matters is appearance and material substance. We need to bring the kids back to the historical and value aspects.”
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