So far this season Lazio has been one of the most prominent sides and Vladimir Petkovic hailed as a great coach. Doubtlessly the praise is well earned but this article aims to take a step back and reflect on what made this apparent match made in heaven possible.
For years Igli Tare, Lazio’s sporting director and former player has been regarded as puppet of Claudio Lotito. Merely considered a piece of the president’s jigsaw to centralise the power around himself, the Albanian’s influence has been virtually non-existent. At least that has been the image.
However, what happened last year in Switzerland gives us reason to re-evaluate Igli Tare’s role as well as his relationship to Lotito. To begin with, it is relevant to ask how Petkovic, an almost universally unknown man, whose greatest achievement to that point was a second place with Sion in the Swiss league become the man in charge of one of the most intense clubs in Italy?
The answer lies with one man, Igli Tare, and his trip to Switzerland last year to convince Senad Lulic to move to the Italian capital.
In one of those twists of fate, Tare liked what he saw in Petkovic when they were negotiating over Lulic, particularly the focus on offensive football, and started to think that Petkovic might be the man to take over after Edy Reja.
This was by no means an easy option. Most people who follow calcio were surprised when Petkovic was rumoured to be the new manager for the Biancocelesti. For the Laziali, of whom many had dreamed of the likes of Dunga to finally take the club to Champions League and challenge for the Scudetto, it was a shock. It is no understatement to say that Claudio Lotito’s name was mentioned in less then flattering contexts around the Eternal City there and then.
However, much water has flown under Ponte Sant’Angelo since last summer and the feeling surrounding Lazio is generally a positive one. This development illustrates three points of interest. The first one, and the most evident one is that Petkovic is a good coach and the appointment has worked out this far.
The players seem to enjoy his leadership and they work well as a unit. A final verdict will have to be reserved to the end of the season. The team was in a similar position last year but could not maintain the momentum throughout the second half of the season.
Secondly, and not as easy as it might seem, was Tare’s competence to recognise Petkovic’s ability. It was a brave choice to bring a manager with limited experience to a league that is famous for demanding a high level of tactical awareness from the coaches.
The final point is the most interesting one. It is the answer to the question of why Lotito agreed to the Petkovic appointment. The only reasonable conclusion is that Tare is a far more competent and was more involved in the decision making process at Lazio than previously assumed.
To be able to back a little known candidate for the manager position shows great confidence from Tare’s side. Even more importantly it shows what a great trust Lotito has in Tare.
It is time that we re-evaluate both Tare and Lotito. The Albanian clearly plays a more important part at Lazio then previously known. Furthermore, perhaps Lotito is less of an autocratic president then a pragmatic leader who surrounds himself with the right people.
