Lazio, Marcos Antonio new leader of Sarri’s midfield

The first shot of Lazio. The biancocelesti welcome Marcos Antonio, a 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder who comes from Shakthar Donetsk. Paid 8 million, he will earn about 1.3 million a year, but his salary will grow. The player landed in Rome on Monday morning (after leaving yesterday around 19.30), and on Tuesday he will undergo medical examinations for sports fitness before signing the contract.

More dribble than “physical”

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In the season just ended Sarri struggled to find a central midfield who came close to his game ideas, which is why Leiva (who has now released and is close to returning to Gremio) and Cataldi alternated throughout the season. . With Marcos Antonio, the Lazio coach instead has a player to whom he can entrust the keys to the midfield, making him immovable. He is a good setter, he is small physically (166 centimeters) but he is particularly dynamic, with good individual technique and an excellent vision of the game. He does not have the vehemence of Leiva in the contrast, but he still manages to exploit his stature to get before the others on the ball by keeping the pace of the maneuver high, which for him is mainly vertical. He could be compared to a chess player: he imagines the action with a few moves ahead, to the point that even when he delays the pass he does it to get a better chance. A bit like the decision to accept Lazio’s offer, with which he wants to grow and show off.