Marco Baroni Defends Lazio Duo Following Blunders vs Parma: ”Proud of the Boys”

In partnership with

The Laziali

·1 December 2024

Marco Baroni Defends Lazio Duo Following Blunders vs Parma: ”Proud of the Boys”

Despite falling short against Parma, Lazio coach Marco Baroni still picked up the positives from his players’ display.

Winning Streak Halted

The Biancocelesti were riding a five-match winning streak in Serie A, but this golden run met its doom at the Ennio Tardini, with the Crociati prevailing by three goals to one in an encounter that saw Nicolo Rovella’s early opener being controversially ruled out following a VAR review.

OneFootball Videos

Marco Baroni Proud of Lazio

Nevertheless, Baroni refused to comment on the refereeing episodes in his post-match press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi). Instead, the 61-year-old applauded his men who fought until the very end.

I’m proud of the boys. It was a difficult match also from an emotional point of view. A match filled with dedication. We made mistakes, so let’s try not to repeat them. Obviously I won’t comment on the third goal, as we had lost balance. We wanted to get the result back on track. The team’s performance convinced me. In the first half we got nervous. Then I brought them back to the game, to our game. The team did well. These are painful defeats, but today the fans were a spectacle, we feel sorry for them. Defeats are always painful, but I prefer to lose with a performance like that rather than win while playing badly. So we need to find more determination and nastiness.

Defending Nicolo Rovella & Mario Gila

Baroni particularly defended Rovella and Mario Gila who committed blunders that led directly to Parma’s first and second goals.

It’s my responsibility. I have a quality team, Rovella is stratospheric, and Gila is among the best defenders and I would like to coach him for life. I want the team to play football by taking risks. With this squad, I will never throw the ball away 50 meters. What interests me is the generosity with which the team faced the match, keeping their heads in it.

Injury Updates

On another note, the Lazio boss ruled out Matias Vecino’s return for the upcoming Copa Italia clash against Napoli.

We certainly won’t recover Vecino who’ll be out for 10 days, but we’ll be there against Napoli. The lads came out exhausted because they gave it their all. [Gaetano] Castrovilli is almost ready to return, we’re talking about days. We’ll try to recover [Boulaye] Dia. Nuno Tavares could return in the Serie A clash against Napoli if not for the Coppa Italia tie.