Gattuso Praises Lazio's Resilience in Comeback Win
Gennaro Gattuso hailed Lazio’s steel and spirit after they turned a deficit into a 2-1 win over Udinese – then admitted his mind is already drifting towards an emotional clash with Milan.
Lazio trailed to Jesper Karlstrom’s second-half strike, the Stadio Olimpico briefly gripped by that familiar mix of tension and frustration. Then the response came. Davide Frattesi dragged them level, Albert Gudmundsson completed the turnaround, and a nervous night became a statement of intent.
For Gattuso, the comeback meant more than three points. It was a test of character after a bruising August, when Lazio crashed out of the Coppa Italia to Mantova on home soil.
“The mentality and the desire,” he told Sky Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb, when asked what pleased him most. “We dismantled everything compared to last year, when there was a master of the 4-3-3, and we are trying to do something different. The lads are doing things well. What we are trying to propose is not easy, but the team is alive.”
That word – alive – felt like a deliberate choice. Lazio have been ripped from their old structure, pushed into a new idea of football under a coach who never did subtlety as a player and has little interest in it now as a manager. The win over Udinese suggested the squad is starting to follow him.
A new Lazio, built under pressure
Gattuso has never hidden the scale of the rebuild. The tactical shift away from last season’s 4-3-3 has required new profiles, new automatisms, and a dressing room willing to abandon its comfort zone. That made the summer transfer window decisive – and, at times, fraught.
“With great difficulty, we made a transfer market that we didn't think we could make,” he admitted. “I have to thank both him and Fabiani; they deserve enormous credit for the players who arrived.”
The “him” is President Claudio Lotito, the man who signs off the deals. Angelo Fabiani, the sporting director, is the one who hunts the targets and closes the negotiations. Gattuso’s public gratitude underlined how close Lazio came to falling short of his demands, and how vital he believes their work has been in reshaping the squad.
The result against Udinese offered an early return on that investment. New ideas, new faces, same old Gattuso edge on the touchline – just as the Olimpico saw in mid-August, when he raged and gestured his way through the Coppa Italia defeat to Mantova.
Milan on the horizon
Now comes the game he cannot pretend is just another date on the calendar.
Gattuso spent 12 years at Milan, winning everything and carving out a reputation as one of the club’s fiercest competitors. The bond runs deep, back to childhood memories and family rituals.
“As a child, I remember the parade after the Steaua game with my father. For me, it was always an honour and a dream that lasted 12 years,” he said, evoking that long connection with the Rossoneri.
The affection remains. The job has changed.
“All the affection and joy cannot be forgotten, but today I have another job and on Sunday I hope to take points from the team of my heart.”
That is the tightrope Gattuso now walks: Lazio coach, Milan icon, competitor above all. His team has shown it can suffer, react, and win. The next question is whether that “alive” Lazio can walk into the club of his life and rip points away from it.
