Marco Baroni’s tactics, and more importantly, the team’s results, are getting many Laziali fans excited. It’s about time, as the famed club from Roma has endured a prolonged period of general mediocrity.
The recent victory over Antonio Conte’s Napoli and Ajax has shown that Baroni’s Lazio can develop into a Euriopa League and Scudetto-challenging team with a bit of good fortune.
Today, I’m looking at Baroni’s tactics, how Lazio finds itself in this position, and what’s next on the horizon.
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Career Prior to Managing Lazio
Marco Baroni is a football man whose resume includes nearly two dozen teams. Baroni was a journeyman defender. He represented teams like Napoli and Bologna but also played in the lower divisions of Italian football.
As a manager, Baroni maintained the same wandering spirit. That career path started in 2000. It was in 2009 that Baroni first got the chance to briefly manage Siena in Serie A. Career points included promotion with Novarra in 2016 and briefly managing Frosinone and Hellas Verona.
There were many who thought Maurizio Sarri was the man to unveil a new period of success at Lazio. All of the pieces seemed to be in place. However, for most of his tenure, Lazio was one of the least talked about of the big Italian clubs. Sarri resigned in March 2024.
Marco Baroni’s appointment was a surprise. Few expected Lazio to move for a relatively inexperienced manager at Serie A level, particularly after having been coached by Simone Inzaghi and Maurizio Sarri. The appointment, however, seems to have been a success so far.
Tactical Philosophy
Marco Baroni’s tactical philosophy has largely been shaped by the many years spent managing in Serie B and by Baroni’s playing time as a no-nonsense defender. However, his time in Rome shows that Baroni has adapted to simply having greater resources at his disposal for the first time.
Baroni’s Lazio is a strong counter-attacking team where the attack-minded full-backs play an essential role. The team creates many goal-scoring chances, usually by exploiting the flanks. This is also a well-drilled team that takes advantage of set pieces and defends well against the opposition’s freekicks and corners.
The Italian manager has also been lauded for his man-management style. This has contributed to getting the best out of players like Mattia Zaccagni or Matteo Guendouzi, who struggled for consistency in the past.
Formations and Adaptability
Marco Baroni has adopted a modern, standard tactical formation for Lazio, the 4-2-3-1. This can easily adapted to a 4-3-3, or even a 4-4-1-1 formation based on the opponent and its strengths.
The use of these tactics also shows that Baroni possesses real football expertise. While this 4-2-3-1 wide counter-attacking has yielded results, Baroni often used a 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 in the past, playing in a low block and looking to overload central areas.
These changes are merely a consequence of having better-attacking players and new objectives.
Lazio in Defense
Lazio plays with a back four. Typically, Mario Gila and the experienced Alessio Romagnoli provide the central defender partnership. The two players will sit back while the full-backs play wider and more advanced.
Baroni’s team tends to operate in a compact, mid-block. Usually, one of the two pivot players, Guendouzi or Nicolo Rovella, will drop in between the two defenders. This creates, essentially, a back three and allows the team to play through the press when building up.
Since Lazio wants to play on the counterattack, a great work rate is needed. Players like Rovella, Gila or Nicolo Casale are known to dive into tackles. Defensive midfielder Rovella averages 3.1 tackles per game and 1.3 interceptions.
Lazio likes to press from the front. The striker and attacking central midfielder will move into aggressive tackles whenever the opposition’s central defenders look to build up.
It’s common for the inside forwards to drop to double the full-back when Lazio is defending. This means that the opposition must either find a way to play past them or risk moving into heavy traffic when shifting to the center of the pitch.
Ivan Provedel continues to be Lazio’s main goalkeeper. It’s not just his shot-stopping that has become more impressive. Lazio can rely on Provedel for long, accurate passes forward. While it’s riskier to lose possession this way, the approach allows the Laziali to move past the press of a skilled opponent.
Lazio in Attack
Lazio has a strong squad and players with unique individual attributes. These come into play often. However, the default attacking plan for Baroni’s Lazio is to pounce on the counter-attack, move the ball through the flanks, and cross toward the attacker(s).
In fact, heatmaps of recent matches reveal just this. Lazio plays with width. And much of its build-up occurs on the right flank. Here, Adam Marusic and Gustav Isaksen are developing into a great partnership.
In fact, against tougher opposition, it’s not uncommon for the right wing-back to move into attack while the left-back remains in a more defensive position. Together with the central defenders and the defensive midfielder dropping further down, this practically creates a flat four shape.
When building up, Lazio’s formation will often resemble a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2. Typically, the left winger, Pedro, will play as a shadow striker. The recent display against Ajax, when Pedro and Castellanos linked up so well, showed this.
Speed and efficiency are essential to get Biancocelesti’s attacking plan to work. Chances are created through quick counterattacks. Castellanos averages 3.9 shots on target per game and is great at playing quick one-twos.
However, Lazio’s attacks also rely on shots taken from outside the penalty area. Nearly one-third of the team’s chances are created in this way. Zaccagni, Tavares, and Castellanos are particularly strong in this department.
The width is provided also by former Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares. Lazio averages almost 19 crosses per game. And while neither Castellanos nor Boulaye Dia are particularly tall players, the well-drilled routines often put the team in dangerous scoring situations.
What Next for Marco Baroni and Lazio?
Marco Baroni was an unexpected choice for Lazio. But it’s proven an inspired choice. The manager has clearly earned a lot of experience through the years and is relishing the opportunity of working with a group of highly skilled and talented players.
The excitement is rubbing off on the squad. There’s a real excitement about what Lazio could achieve within the next couple of seasons. And clearly, much of this success relies on Baroni’s tactics and his attitude.
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