Given Gennaro Gattuso’s track record and pugnacity, Lazio’s season-opening defeat to second-tier Mantova in the Coppa Italia had seemingly put the writing on the wall.
However, four games into the new Serie A season, and Lazio remain unbeaten with three wins and a draw and are two points off the top of the table.
It’s the kind of start fans could only dream of. Especially the Lazio faithful, who over the course of the last two decades have had to deal with their club’s owner’s seeming lack of ambition. And so, despite the Biancocelesti flying high, the Laziale remain away from the Olimpico, adamant at continuing their stand-off with club owner and president Claudio Lotito, which kicked off with a petition in January that demanded dialogue and understanding.
The Curva Nord-led boycott has ensured that season-ticket holders remain less than a sixth of last term’s numbers, while still accompanying the team on away trips and gathering for them outside the training ground, making sure the message remains clear: this is a boycott targeted at Lotito, not the club.
Under Lotito, fans believe that club has never got the chance to dream higher than mid-table obscurity. There have been Champions League qualifications, but every time the team came close to challenging for the Serie A table, they did not get that final push from upstairs. Their last trophy was the Supercoppa Italiana, clinched almost seven years ago, and since then Lazio fans have had to witness Lotito get embroiled with Salernitana’s sale after their promotion to Serie A, buy another club, fourth-tier Reggina, and continue to leverage his position in the Italian senate for his own political and financial gains.
Lazio’s next two games will see them take on Venezia and Monza, which are two very winnable games. Their mid-October meeting with Juventus may very well see them occupy the top spot in the league. Whether the team’s performances could force a U-turn on the fans’ part, or even bring the fan base and club ownership to the table for dialogue, remains to be seen.
Anshuman | GIFN
