Marked for Adrian Przyborek
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Oct 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Oct 2028
AC Milan left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Petar Ratkov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
A performance of 8.56 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 8.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Ivan Provedel lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The terraces30 Oct 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market30 Oct 2028
The Petar Ratkov story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Petar Ratkov signs something — a contract at Lazio or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Provedel and Lazio agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Sep 2028
Lazio make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Lazio have 3 straight wins of it.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Marked 9.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Marked 9.37 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match30 Sep 2028
Hellas Verona made Lazio work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Mario Gila named player of the month
The award goes to Mario Gila, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Squad2 Oct 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Ivan Provedel knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market28 Aug 2028
Lazio say no — this time
The offer from Foggia for Fabio Battaglia was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Match26 Aug 2028
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Petar Ratkov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market28 Aug 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Lazio will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The terraces28 Aug 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market21 Aug 2028
Spezia paid $1.1M and Lazio took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shirt still fits. Giorgio Iannuzzi is back at Lazio, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market21 Aug 2028
As if he never left: Elia Romano returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Elia Romano is a Lazio player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shirt still fits. Gennaro Benedetti is back at Lazio, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Lazio board go back on their word
Something was promised, a deadline passed, and it did not arrive. Trust inside a football club is built over years and spent in an afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Lazio
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market24 Jul 2028
Add another name to the list: Cremonese have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Adrian Przyborek. The answer from Lazio has not changed — yet.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edoardo Motta commits to Lazio for another 5 years.
Market24 Jul 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Lazio will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Claudio Villagra, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alessio Romagnoli, and the manager let it.
Market17 Jul 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Lazio will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jul 2028
Petar Ratkov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lazio have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market3 Jul 2028
Mantova come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Lazio did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market3 Jul 2028
The deal that would have taken Claudio Villagra to Cavese has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Lazio with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Jul 2028
Matteo Cassani has left for Palermo in a $220.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Marko Farji gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lazio may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Lazio
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lazio can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nuno Tavares commits to Lazio for another 5 years.
Market26 Jun 2028
Cittadella pay $44.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Lazio heard it as anything else.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Adrian Przyborek and Lazio agree another 5 years.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market5 Jun 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Manuel Lazzari has his answer from Lazio; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom29 May 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Lazio
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Patryk Peda
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad29 May 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adrian Przyborek trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 May 2028
The name of Danilo Cataldi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lazio say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad29 May 2028
The manager comes out for Petar Ratkov
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Petar Ratkov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 May 2028
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Matteo Cotali
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 May 2028
Matteo Cotali: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Modena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 May 2028
At 21, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.41 in a first team he is several years too young for. Modena have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market15 May 2028
Only the photograph left for Taha Zidouh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Taha Zidouh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Modena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 May 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabiano Parisi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings15 May 2028
A performance of 8.58 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match13 May 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aaron Bibout. 1‑0 against Palermo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Marked 8.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad15 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davide Adorni, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings8 May 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad8 May 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad8 May 2028
9 goals and a season average of 7.51 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 9.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match6 May 2028
Juventus made Lazio work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings8 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad8 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad8 May 2028
Petar Ratkov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Petar Ratkov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 May 2028
A season average of 7.53 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Leandro Chichizola and Modena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match6 May 2028
Pisa take the points off Modena
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Tonoli, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Apr 2028
0‑3 to Südtirol, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad1 May 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabiano Parisi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 May 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Giuseppe Caso
7 goals and a season average of 7.47 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad1 May 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Francesco Zampano will call it something else in private.
Squad1 May 2028
Jonas Heinz gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom1 May 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Modena needed to.
Market1 May 2028
The Fabio Gerli talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Modena know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Modena can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Kleis Bozhanaj
12 goals and a season average of 7.50 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad24 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match22 Apr 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kleis Bozhanaj. 1‑0 against Bari, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Apr 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad17 Apr 2028
At 21, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.41 in a first team he is several years too young for. Modena have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market17 Apr 2028
Only the photograph left for Taha Zidouh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Taha Zidouh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Modena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabiano Parisi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Zampano, and the manager let it.
Match15 Apr 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
The one thing Pedro Mendes could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market10 Apr 2028
Filipe Bordon hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lazio can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Apr 2028
9 goals and a season average of 7.55. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match8 Apr 2028
6 unbeaten for Lazio
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Lazio did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Marked 9.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.70 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match8 Apr 2028
Three points for Lazio, 1‑0 the final word against Frosinone in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
A defender's afternoon for Mario Gila
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch10 Apr 2028
“I watch every Modena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Pontedera runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Market10 Apr 2028
Benjamín Martinelli is 18, and Modena have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matteo Cotali, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Mario Gila is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.47 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Adam Marušić commits to Lazio for another 2 years.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 9.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
One of those days for Mario Gila
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.78, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 8.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Apr 2028
It needed Mario Gila to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against AS Roma, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Apr 2028
7 goals and a season average of 7.48. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 9.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match1 Apr 2028
Avellino made Modena work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 8.14 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aaron Bibout, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The captaincy has been taken off Kleis Bozhanaj. Modena will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Gustav Isaksen
6 goals and a season average of 7.56 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Petar Ratkov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cristiano Trifelli commits to Lazio for another 4 years.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
The one thing Petar Ratkov could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Match18 Mar 2028
No goals between Lazio and Como
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Como will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Mar 2028
A season average of 7.31 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Market20 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Modena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match18 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Modena's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Modena has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.43. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match18 Mar 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Pedro Mendes gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Mar 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Justin Kumi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lazio have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market13 Mar 2028
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Mario Gila is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.43 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 8.47 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.47 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 8.19 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Mar 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Mar 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The team sheet said everything about Francesco Zampano
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Francesco Zampano.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Jonas Heinz gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
Mario Gila is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.38 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match19 Feb 2028
6 unbeaten for Lazio
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Lazio did not have in the autumn.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Provedel, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
One of those days for Mario Gila
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Feb 2028
Lazio share the spoils with Monza
A 2‑2 draw with Monza leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The terraces21 Feb 2028
The spotlight tightens on Petar Ratkov
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Feb 2028
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match19 Feb 2028
3‑0, and Giuseppe Caso took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Modena tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Feb 2028
He is 21, he is averaging 7.33, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Match19 Feb 2028
Whatever happens, Modena do not lose
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Market21 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Modena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabiano Parisi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Marked 9.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Giuseppe Caso
7 goals and a season average of 7.49 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Feb 2028
7 unbeaten for Modena
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Modena did not have in the autumn.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Manex Lozano, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.55 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.46 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch14 Feb 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Modena, and 2 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Match12 Feb 2028
It needed Alessandro Sersanti to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Carrarese, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Feb 2028
Modena say no — this time
The offer from Hellas Verona for Gady Beyuku was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A season average of 7.07 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Match5 Feb 2028
Still nobody has beaten Modena
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
A performance of 9.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match5 Feb 2028
It finished 2‑1, and it was Manex Lozano’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Modena.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Kleis Bozhanaj
7 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 35. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.33 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Market24 Jan 2028
Only the photograph left for Taha Zidouh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Taha Zidouh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Modena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A performance of 9.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Jan 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Adrian Przyborek. 1‑0 against Padova, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A defender's afternoon for Fabio Gerli
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jan 2028
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market17 Jan 2028
The fee is $9.3M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Fiorentina drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Match15 Jan 2028
4 matches without a win for Modena
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Modena are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch17 Jan 2028
“I watch every Modena game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Pontedera runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ferdinando Borgia commits to Modena for another 5 years.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jan 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market10 Jan 2028
Modena say no — this time
The offer from Cavese for Gady Beyuku was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market10 Jan 2028
Modena get their man
The chase for Ferdinando Borgia ended with $1.1M changing hands and Frosinone out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A defender's afternoon for Davide Adorni
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Kleis Bozhanaj
6 goals and a season average of 7.29 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.98 on the card, and the Modena support went home talking about one name.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Dec 2027
A season average of 7.17 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Manex Lozano
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match25 Dec 2027
Pisa take the points off Modena
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
A mark of 5.32 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Dec 2027
The small margins put Modena out
Out, 0‑1 to Bologna, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giuseppe Caso and Modena agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.93, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match18 Dec 2027
Three points for Modena, 1‑0 the final word against Südtirol in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Giuseppe Caso is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.35 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Dec 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market6 Dec 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Modena heard it as anything else.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Antonio Imputato commits to Modena for another 4 years.
Match4 Dec 2027
Catanzaro made Modena work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.77, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The terraces6 Dec 2027
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Nov 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad29 Nov 2027
At 20, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.11 in a first team he is several years too young for. Modena have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kenneth Taylor, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
“I did not go to Juve Stabia to sit and watch. I want to come back to Lazio and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Lazio will not try tonight.
Match20 Nov 2027
Honours even between Lazio and AS Roma
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market22 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alessio Romagnoli signs something — a contract at Lazio or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
Joeri Heerkens decides it from twelve yards
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match3 Nov 2027
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Lorenzo Garofalo obliged against Reggiana. 1‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Modena.
Match6 Nov 2027
No end in sight to Modena's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Modena has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match6 Nov 2027
Sampdoria left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrian Przyborek, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Marked 8.64 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A season average of 7.10 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Match30 Oct 2027
The wait goes on for Modena
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Manex Lozano, and the manager let it.
Match30 Oct 2027
Udinese left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bryant Nieling and Modena agree another 4 years.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Modena lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
5.43 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match23 Oct 2027
Three points for Lazio, 4‑3 the final word against Inter in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 9.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A performance of 9.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 8.95 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petar Ratkov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 8.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A performance of 9.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match23 Oct 2027
It needed Giuseppe Caso to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Hellas Verona, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Modena, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Shots: 14. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The terraces25 Oct 2027
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Oct 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Oct 2027
AC Milan left with the points after a 3‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad18 Oct 2027
64 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.39 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Marked 8.30 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Nuno Tavares
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Oct 2027
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Leandro Chichizola commits to Modena for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match2 Oct 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Kleis Bozhanaj’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Modena.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.96 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Pedro Mendes
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Modena may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Pedro Mendes in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 9.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 8.97 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 8.53 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match25 Sep 2027
A 3‑3 draw with Cesena leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Pontedera to sit and watch. I want to come back to Modena and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matteo Cotali, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Claudio Villagra: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lazio have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Sep 2027
96 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match18 Sep 2027
Three points for Lazio, 2‑1 the final word against Sassuolo in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Alfonso Pedraza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Lazio, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Sep 2027
No mercy from Modena
Juve Stabia will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Modena were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market20 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Edoardo Colpo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Edoardo Colpo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Modena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.91, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.90 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad20 Sep 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Leandro Chichizola knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Aug 2027
There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market30 Aug 2027
Quini puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match28 Aug 2027
Modena get the job done against Spezia
A 2‑1 win over Spezia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch30 Aug 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Modena, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrea Allegretto, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Manex Lozano finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Modena have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Aug 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Nicolò Rovella was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market23 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market23 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market23 Aug 2027
As if he never left: Samuele Piras returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Samuele Piras is a Lazio player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market23 Aug 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Fabio Battaglia is a Lazio player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match21 Aug 2027
A bad afternoon for Lazio against Genoa
1‑2 to Genoa, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market19 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Juve Stabia have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Flavio Sulejmani. The answer from Lazio has not changed — yet.
Market19 Jul 2027
The Elseid Hysaj conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Napoli will make the call about Elseid Hysaj this week. Lazio have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lazio, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lazio know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad19 Jul 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Lazio has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market19 Jul 2027
He is 19, and nobody at Modena signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market19 Jul 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alessandro Sersanti’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A new face in his position, and Giuseppe Caso suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Modena have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A wage question at Modena
Daniele Montevago has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
Mario Gila in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
He is 20, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 34 days on the sidelines for Adam Marušić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market5 Jul 2027
Frosinone are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Lazio will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market5 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Lazio, another week without a signature from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Blaž Kovač, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A wage question at Lazio
Matteo Cancellieri has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market28 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market28 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Lazio have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Alfonso Pedraza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market28 Jun 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Reggiana will make the call about Flavio Sulejmani this week. Lazio have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Boulaye Dia knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Boulaye Dia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
Napoli come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Lazio did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market14 Jun 2027
Lazio get their man
The chase for Alessandro Confente ended with $3.9M changing hands and Juve Stabia out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad14 Jun 2027
67 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Nicolò Rovella was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
He is 20, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lazio is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 May 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Nicolò Rovella was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
At 20, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.02 in a first team he is several years too young for. Lazio have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Alessio Romagnoli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Daniel Maldini
5 goals and a season average of 7.54 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings10 May 2027
The afternoon belonged to Mario Gila
A mark of 7.97, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alfonso Pedraza, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match8 May 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Juventus will be the happier side with the point.
Squad10 May 2027
Somebody is after Petar Ratkov’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Petar Ratkov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lazio have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Apr 2027
The small margins put Lazio out
Out, 0‑4 to Napoli, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The terraces19 Apr 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 33 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market19 Apr 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pierlorenzo Lombardi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lazio the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
At 20, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.00 in a first team he is several years too young for. Lazio have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A performance of 9.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nuno Tavares, and the manager let it.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
Doors closed at Lazio
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lazio is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Lazio know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.77 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Mar 2027
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Fabio Polinari, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Shots: 13, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
27 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Match20 Mar 2027
Lazio and Como take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market22 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lazio they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Mario Gila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
At 20, Adrian Przyborek is already the best thing here
An average of 7.01 in a first team he is several years too young for. Lazio have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 8.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Nuno Tavares
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match20 Feb 2027
Lazio and Napoli take a point apiece
It finished 4‑4, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Lazio heard it as anything else.
Market8 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Saná Fernandes
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Saná Fernandes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lazio the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market8 Feb 2027
Lazio say no — this time
The offer from Sambenedettese for Pierlorenzo Lombardi was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Adam Marušić and Lazio agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marked 9.51 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Kenneth Taylor was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match6 Feb 2027
Three points for Lazio, 2‑1 the final word against Hellas Verona in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marked 8.57 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad8 Feb 2027
4 goals and a season average of 7.42. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
The bid was some way short and Lazio did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad1 Feb 2027
15 goals and a season average of 7.43. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Petar Ratkov commits to Lazio for another 5 years.
Match30 Jan 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Petar Ratkov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Lazio.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.97 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Alfonso Pedraza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match20 Jan 2027
Lazio through in the cup
A 2‑2 win over Sassuolo, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ivan Provedel: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Clarence Corallo: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lazio have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market25 Jan 2027
Venezia come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Lazio did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match23 Jan 2027
4 matches without a win for Lazio
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Lazio are no longer polite ones.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lazio this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 9.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match23 Jan 2027
A bad afternoon for Lazio against Atalanta
1‑2 to Atalanta, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
The fee is $2.6M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Atalanta drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market18 Jan 2027
Gubbio come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Lazio did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Lazio
Nicolò Rovella was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Marked 9.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Market18 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Lazio have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Boulaye Dia, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Daniel Maldini
2 goals and a season average of 7.35 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match16 Jan 2027
It needed Daniel Maldini to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Cagliari, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match19 Dec 2026
6 unbeaten for Lazio
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Lazio did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Mattia Zaccagni
7 goals and a season average of 7.43 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Lazio
Alfonso Pedraza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match19 Dec 2026
Honours even between Lazio and Lecce
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Lazio needed to.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Lazio lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.