Tudor Talks Zaccagni Incident, Goalkeepers Hierarchy & Gila Return Date

Ahead of Sunday’s encounter against Empoli at the Stadio Olimpico, Lazio coach Igor Tudor held his pre-match press conference where he discussed a variety of topics, including the incident involving Mattia Zaccagni last weekend.

The Croatian coach decided to haul off the Italian winger in the middle of the first half against Monza to avoid the risk of a second booking, which prompted an angry reaction from the latter. There was also a similar incident with Luis Alberto later in the match. Nevertheless, the manager insists these situations constantly occur in football, but must remain within the limits.

There are no matches in football in which these things don’t ensue. This is the nature of the sport, but the important thing is that they stay within the limits

The 48-year-old reveals he saw good signals from his players on the training ground following the disappointing 2-2 draw against Monza.

We worked well this week. There are three matches left until the end of the season and we want to continue on the right path. The team was serious and focused, aware of the importance of the remaining fixtures. I saw positive signs in training.

Tudor also insisted that the club is fully focused on the pitch, delaying all transfer talk until the end of the season. He also urges his player to aspire from the class of 1974 as the club prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Scudetto triumph.

The team and I are focused on the matches. There will be time for evaluations, but we haven’t done any analysis on the market yet. For now we are only focused on the pitch. The past always inspires, especially from such historic sides. We need to valorise successes like the ones from 1974.

The Croatian defended his work at the club, reminding us how no Serie A team has collected more points than Lazio since his arrival.

Since I arrived, Lazio have been first in the table along with Inter and Atalanta. I’m signing for the next ten years if we maintain this path!

Moreover, the manager reconfirmed the returning Ivan Provedel as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper despite Christos Mandas’ recent exploits.

Mandas has been doing well. But Provedel is our Number One. He’s coming back from a major injury, so he’s not fully fit yet.

Finally, Tudor said he expects Mario Gila to make his return from injury in next weekend’s clash against Inter Milan at San Siro, while leaving the door open for a call-up this weekend.

The defenders have trained well. Gila will definitely be back against Inter. Let’s see if he will be on the bench this Sunday