From records to resignation - Opinion-splitting Maurizio Sarri leaves Lazio rudderless after turbulent season

In the wake of Lazio’s latest capitulation, a 2-1 defeat to lowly Udinese, an exasperated Maurizio Sarri faced his underperforming players.

Little did they, or anyone else for that matter, know what was to come.

Leaked reports tell of how Sarri told his players that he had decided to resign because they were no longer following him. He meant it.

After two-and-a-half years in the Eternal City, in which he led the club to a stunning second-place finish last season and had them fighting for a UEFA Champions League quarter-final spot just a week ago, Sarri’s departure was officially announced on Wednesday.

It was a stunning turn of events. Although the former Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus manager's time in Rome has often been turbulent, few foresaw a separation happening before the end of the season, or in a manner that meant the coach left a reported €5 million net of wages on the table just to get out.

So how did we get here?

Sarri’s decision came after a difficult third season reached breaking point during a disastrous six-week period.

Defeats to direct top-four rivals Atalanta and Bologna were damaging, but were softened by a stirring last-16 first leg victory over Bayern Munich on Valentines’ Day that raised tentative hopes of a run to the last eight.

However, back-to-back Serie A defeats to Fiorentina and AC Milan left their hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification chances looking slim, before they were thumped 3-0 by Bayern and embarrassingly fell against Udinese to a chorus of boos from their home fans.

That bruising run of five losses in six games left Lazio out of Europe and ninth in the league standings, a distant 11 points from the top four with 10 games to go.

It has been a startling fall from grace after last season’s surprising surge to second, with Lazio currently 15 points worse off then they were at this stage last year.

Sarri has struggled to get his team to gel, with their paltry return of 33 goals no better than two sides in the relegation zone, while the defence has been a shadow of that which kept a club record 21 clean sheets a year earlier.

The mentality of Lazio’s players has often been called into question, both under Sarri and his predecessor Simone Inzaghi, but their abject performance on a wet night against Udinese left Sarri convinced that there was nothing more he could do for a squad that has drastically failed to live up to the standards set just a year ago.

The legacy of Sarri’s spell in Rome will divide opinion; some fans view last year's runners-up finish - their highest since winning the Scudetto 24 years ago - four Rome Derby wins from six and this season's UEFA Champions League run as a big success story.

For others, his inability to get the team playing with anything resembling the fluency of his famed Napoli side was a cause for criticism, as has been the huge drop-off this season and the lack of tactical flexibility to address a stagnant style of play.

Sarri’s first season was a challenging one as he looked to drastically change the team’s style of play from the direct, vertical 3-5-2 of Inzaghi to a more possession and pressing-based 4-3-3.

Lazio finished a commendable fifth and it proved a stepping stone for a superb 2022/23 campaign, where they achieved their highest league finish since winning the Scudetto in 1999/00 by coming second to Napoli with a record 74-point haul.

But the subsequent sale of influential midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Saudi side Al-Hilal left a big hole to fill, and the Serbian has been badly missed by a side lacking creativity and composure in the final third.

Lazio’s recent slump has been their worst run of form this season, but all year long they have struggled for consistency, with defeats to Lecce, Genoa and Salernitana providing lows to counteract the highs of a European campaign where goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scored a last-gasp equaliser against Atletico Madrid as they qualified from their group ahead of Celtic and Feyenoord.

For many, Sarri’s resignation has only raised more questions about a flaky squad, while the club's hierarchy has also faced plenty of criticism for its work in the transfer market. No players were added in January, and Sarri previously criticised the strategy by saying: “I requested player A and they made me choose between C and D."

For now, Sarri’s right-hand man Giovanni Martusciello has been handed the reins to take charge of Saturday’s trip to 18th-placed Frosinone.

How long he will remain in the role remains to be seen, with former players like Miroslav Klose, Tommaso Rocchi and Cristian Brocchi named as potential candidates to take the club to the end of the season, as well as former Marseille coach Igor Tudor.

A long-term solution is unlikely to be made until the summer, when Lazio owner Claudio Lotito will have a big decision to make. Does he try to get an up-and-comer in Serie A, like Monza’s Raffaele Paladino or Torino’s Ivan Juric, or go all-in for a big name like Porto's Sergio Conceicao?

Conceicao is certainly the favourite option for many fans, having won Serie A with the club as a player, and he recently showed on a Champions League broadcast with Sky Sport Italy that he hasn’t forgotten his time in Rome, finishing an interview by saying: “Forza Lazio.”

Whoever comes in to carry the team to the end of 2023-24, they will still have a chance to make something of a turbulent campaign.

With 10 games to go, Lazio still have a chance of achieving European qualification, while they could still claim some silverware this season with a two-legged Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus just around the corner. There is still time for the players to deliver in a way that Sarri believed they couldn't under his leadership.

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