The Croatian (left) was already on the sidelines at Hellas Verona. © ANSA / FABIO FRUSTACI

Will a Croatian take over at Lazio?

According to consistent media reports, after the departure of the previous coach Maurizio Sarri, the Croatian Igor Tudor is to take over as coach of the Italian first division soccer team Lazio Rome.

March 16, 2024

From: dpa/tu

Club President Claudio Lotito and Tudor have already agreed on a contract until the end of June 2025, reported the newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport”. Accordingly, the former Lazio striker and German world champion from 2014, Miroslav Klose, who was considered his successor, would not be an option.

After Sarri's surprising farewell a few days ago, the previous assistant coach Giovanni Martusciello temporarily took over the coaching bench of the struggling ninth-place team in Serie A. After a 1-0 home win against FC Bayern Munich, Lazio clearly failed with a 0-3 defeat in the second leg of the round of 45 of the Champions League. There have recently been three defeats in a row in Serie A. DFB record goalscorer Klose (XNUMX) was immediately open to joining his former club after Sarri's exit.

Maurizio Sarri unexpectedly resigned a few days ago. © ANSA / RONALD WITTEK

The 45-year-old Tudor was recently without a coaching job. He coached the French first division club Olympique Marseille until June 2023. During his active time as a professional, the Croatian played in Serie A, among others, for Juventus Turin. He later returned to Italy as a coach and initially worked as a coach at Udinese Calcio, later as an assistant coach at his former club Juve and then as a coach at Hellas Verona. According to media reports, his move to Lazio will be announced on Saturday evening.