Guendouzi ‘shocked’ by Sarri and welcomes Tudor to Lazio | OneFootball

Matteo Guendouzi was ‘surprised and shocked’ by Maurizio Sarri’s resignation, but is confident that Igor Tudor will revitalise Lazio and ‘hurt Serie A teams.’

The Biancocelesti have been in turmoil over the last few weeks, as after four consecutive defeats, Sarri handed in his resignation.

Tudor took over during the break for international duty, though Guendouzi was called away to join the France squad.

“I was surprised and shocked by Sarri’s departure,” Guendouzi told Le Parisien.

“He did great work taking Lazio to second place in one of the best leagues in the world last season. He took us to the Champions League Round of 16 and into the semi-final of the Coppa Italia.

“However, we must respect his decision, he preferred to take a step back because he thought it was best for the team. I think Sarri is a great coach, as demanding as Emery, Arteta, Sampaoli or Tudor.

“Over the last few months at Lazio, he helped me grow so much on a tactical level. I was less disciplined before and I had a tendency to run around more or less everywhere. Now I can position myself better and therefore not waste energy.”

Guendouzi has already worked with Croatian tactician Tudor at Olympique Marseille and believes the coach can have a big impact in this new experience.

“Tudor’s idea of football can hurt other Serie A teams. He did great things at OM, even if it was complicated for everyone towards the end of last season and we were unable to take second place.

“He had already done well in Serie A with Hellas Verona.”

Meanwhile, Guendouzi’s performances at Lazio this season have earned him a recall to the France squad, as confirmed by coach Didier Deschamps.

“I think that the consistency I had with my performances at club level were compensated with the France call-up. I knew Deschamps was following my progress, he complimented me for how I am playing at Lazio.”