Gennaro Gattuso has delivered plenty of unforgettable interviews after matches. Among them was his famous outburst about performances shifting between good and terrible while managing OFI Crete, along with the uncomfortable reaction of the interpreter asked to translate his remarks.
Last year, shortly before becoming Italy’s head coach, Gattuso was involved in a heated, finger-pointing confrontation with Josko Jelicic on Croatian television, switching languages as the pair argued at close range.
His words on Saturday carried a different tone. Speaking quietly in his Calabrian accent, he sounded reflective rather than furious. “Football is nothing without supporters,” he said. “What else can you say? You might as well stay at home or take the dogs for a walk.”
Gattuso had just watched Lazio surrender a two-goal advantage at home to Milan, although the result was far from disastrous. The Biancocelesti remain at the top of the standings, pending Roma and Inter’s matches on Monday. Given that several leading players departed during the summer, his reign began with an August cup loss to second-tier opposition, and supporters are refusing to attend home games, Lazio have already performed beyond expectations.
The campaign could mark the start of Gattuso rebuilding his reputation. He resigned as Italy manager in April after the team failed to reach the World Cup, and his appointment as Maurizio Sarri’s successor in Rome was not widely welcomed.
Gattuso, however, is not responsible for the widespread boycott of Lazio’s home fixtures. Season-ticket sales have dropped from almost 30,000 last year to fewer than 4,500, according to football finance outlet Calcio e Finanza. The corresponding match against Milan attracted 50,000 people last season, but Saturday’s attendance was less than half that figure, and most of the noise came from visiting supporters.
Lazio’s followers have not lost their attachment to the team. Before the match, hundreds assembled outside the training complex and formed a scooter convoy to accompany the team bus as far as Ponte Milvio, the bridge over the Tiber near the Stadio Olimpico. Supporter groups had already issued a statement explaining that they would leave from there “to follow the match at home or in a pub”.
Their action is directed specifically at club owner Claudio Lotito. Thousands continue to attend away fixtures, including low-profile pre-season friendlies, underlining that their loyalty to Lazio remains intact even though they refuse to support the person running it.
Tensions involving Lotito have existed for years. An open letter published on Change.org in January accused him of taking away the supporters’ freedom to dream during his ownership of more than two decades. Signed by over 45,000 people, the petition noted that nearly seven years had passed since Lazio last won a trophy and argued that the club had failed to recruit players capable of exciting supporters of every generation.
The complaints involve several issues. The letter mentions how the club handled a tribute to Vincenzo Paparelli, the Lazio fan who died after being struck by a flare launched from the Roma section during a 1979 derby. Lotito was accused of preventing Paparelli’s niece from stepping on to the pitch during a commemorative ceremony last November.
He rejected that account, arguing that the disagreement arose because four representatives of organised supporter groups wanted to accompany her.
Critics have also claimed that Lotito does not give Lazio enough attention because of his other interests. He remains active in public life and was elected to the Italian senate in 2022.
Lotito purchased Salernitana in 2011 and helped take the club from Serie D to the highest division over the following decade. Promotion forced him to sell because of ownership conflicts. Although regulations were later changed to prohibit one person from controlling two clubs across the top three tiers, he still completed a takeover of fourth-division Reggina this summer.
Whether those ventures prevented him from delivering the high-profile transfers Lazio supporters wanted is difficult to determine. The club could not recruit players last summer in any case, having received a transfer ban after failing to satisfy liquidity standards introduced by the Italian Football Federation. Lotito disputed those measures, saying they did not adequately recognise Lazio’s ability to operate without substantial unpaid debt.
Meeting the financial rules required Lazio to sell several influential players. Taty Castellanos and Mattéo Guendouzi departed in January, followed in the summer by Mario Gila, Alessio Romagnoli and Ivan Provedel. Once the restrictions were removed, however, the club completed several astute deals. Centre-back Danilho Doekhi joined from Union Berlin without a transfer fee, while striker Albert Gudmundsson arrived on loan from Fiorentina and midfielder Davide Frattesi made a temporary move from Inter.
Frattesi’s deal appears particularly valuable. Lazio paid a €5m (£4.28m) loan fee last month and secured an option to purchase him for €10m next year. Inter had spent more than double that amount after his breakthrough campaign with Sassuolo in 2023, but for the next three seasons he remained behind Nicolò Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and other established midfielders.
After moving to Lazio this summer, the 26-year-old Frattesi explained that he intentionally selected a club willing to place significant responsibility on him. He scored in each of his opening three appearances, providing winning goals against Bologna and Genoa before opening the scoring in a 2-1 away victory over Udinese.
He was unable to score this weekend, with Lazio’s most dangerous attacks instead coming through Mattia Zaccagni on the left. His cross was turned in at the far post by Matteo Cancellieri after 10 minutes, and another delivery eventually allowed Tijjani Noslin to score after a defender redirected the ball against the crossbar. Between those goals, Mike Maignan produced an excellent save to deny Zaccagni from close range. Lazio could have won comfortably, but Milan introduced three substitutes at half-time, including €50m arrival Diego Moreira, whose two impressive goals rescued a 2-2 draw.
The outcome might have been different with the stadium full of Lazio supporters rather than resembling a temporary Milan home ground. “Perhaps we could have protected the lead if our fans had been with us,” Zaccagni said. “Even so, a draw was probably the right result.”
Gattuso expressed his gratitude to the supporters who gathered before the game. “Nobody can be pleased about what is happening,” he said. “Everyone wants to be inside the stadium with crowds of 50,000 or 55,000.”
“I believe they came to the training ground because they appreciate the players’ effort. They see a team that refuses to surrender and wears the shirt with pride. That is how I understand it. Watching those people arrive was emotional for me. Without supporters, it does not feel like football.”
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