Lazio’s darkest hour has turned into a whirlwind of light-heartedness

If, seventy-seven days ago, we’d been told that Lazio would be the sole leaders on matchday ten of the league, perhaps not even the most optimistic of punters would have backed them. The reference point is the match against Mantova, when the Biancocelesti were beaten 2–0, knocked out in the first round of the Coppa Italia after having reached the final just a few months earlier. A barrage of criticism rained down on Rino Gattuso and the team, with supporters having already announced they would boycott home matches in protest against the club and bracing themselves for the darkest hour in recent years. Yet, twenty-eight points after that defeat, Lazio are top, all on their own.

There are many factors to analyse, although Gattuso, as is his wont, tries to keep it simple: “Hard work always pays off,” he said at the post-match press conference following the game against Cagliari, whom they beat 2–1. And it is precisely this match against the team managed by Fabio Pisacane that can be seen as a litmus test of how the current league leaders are performing.

In the 56th minute, Nuno Tavares and Mattia Zaccagni – two of the standout performers so far this season – were substituted. Cagliari had managed to neutralise their opponents’ left flank with a deep-lying defence, near-perfect attention to the spacing between lines, and a formation that left very little room for manoeuvre. Gattuso opted to bring on Alfonso Pedraza and Andrea Pinamonti. Seven minutes before the 90th minute, the former provided the assist for the latter’s goal. Another three points and a sixth consecutive victory. But that’s not all.

At the start of this season, Gustav Isaksen has been literally unstoppable. Photoshopped images are circulating online showing his face superimposed on that of Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich’s legendary right-winger who, playing on his weaker foot, would always cut inside to take a shot – succeeding every time. The Danish winger is managing to do exactly the same. The goal he scored against the Sardinians was reminiscent of Lionel Messi’s against Real Betis: the ball was played in slowly from the left and, without even controlling it, he unleashed a curling left-footed shot at the far post. You never get the feeling that the ball might go in, and yet it does. Messi made it even more difficult by conjuring up a delicate chip; Isaksen opted for power, but it remains a superb piece of skill nonetheless.

Generally speaking, it seems the team is exceeding even the expectations of their own manager, who is certainly not one to give his players a break. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Gattuso said he would have been happy even with a draw. But no – they won this one too.

It is difficult to grasp—and perhaps, for once, we should not even attempt to—the alchemy that has been created in Formello, propelling the club forward at an unprecedented pace. It is difficult to do so by looking solely at tactics or individual performances. It is difficult to do so by examining the bigger picture, because it feels as though something is slipping through the cracks. Perhaps it is easier to perceive it through the social media posts of Davide Frattesi and the Dutchman Kenneth Taylor as they purchase packets of Pokémon cards and celebrate finding the most important card from the latest set or adding a highly rare Dragonite to their collection. One can then imagine them, between one away trip and the next, on the team bus, relishing the build-up to the match and the work on Sunday that they are happy to do because it is going so well.