LAZIO vs. INTER | Coppa Italia Final MATCH PREVIEW | Who LIFTS the Trophy? 🏆

0:00 You know, we talk about finals being one-offs.

0:02 I think they'll look at this a little bit differently.

0:03 Murit Osadi, I think he's prepped this team for this, right?

0:06 There's nothing really in the table that he can play for.

0:10 They'll be in that top half of, you know, the the middle of the table.

0:14 And um it's been an incredible season for them in so

0:17 many different ways because they've lost players in the January window.

0:20 They haven't been able to bring anybody in.

0:22 Uh for for Christian Kiev, first year manager, question marks about him.

0:26 I think he's done a really good job.

0:28 Winning a double is never a poor thing.

0:30 I think the the mark uh early in the season was

0:33 they couldn't beat anybody at the top of the table, right?

0:36 The mark later on in the season was they got knocked out by Buddha Glimp, right?

0:40 Which is a little bit unexpected for a team

0:42 that went to the finals the year before.

0:44 I don't think that they were ever contenders for Champions League.

0:47 I think it's just the way that they went out

0:49 that kind of was a bit of a mark for Christian Kiev.

0:52 Can he get it done?

0:53 Does he understand Europe?

0:54 All of those questions that you would have with a first time manager anyway.

0:57 Uh but they they have a chance to win a double.

1:00 Bastoni, who knows if he's going to be there.

1:02 There's been transfer rumors about him for quite some time.

1:04 A Cherby again, the old guard.

1:06 Agusto's been really really good in my opinion.

1:09 Pretty solid in the midfield right now.

1:12 Bon's brought in um of course Martinez has done it forever.

1:17 They've got some injury concerns.

1:18 Shanagloo, who for me is still the guy that pulls

1:21 the strings in the midfield and always a threat from distance.

1:24 So, uh, he's got some of those injury concerns,

1:26 but look, we're we're at this part of the season.

1:28 I would think when you look at the injury

1:30 concerns here or the fact from a Latio standpoint,

1:33 uh, that they haven't been able to really bring anybody in.

1:36 Uh, this certainly is the stronger team on paper,

1:38 but again, in a final, you never know.

1:40 There's going to be energy from the Latio players.

1:43 Uh, Saudi, I would imagine, has something cooked up for this side.

1:47 So, and you talk about learning something on the weekend.

1:49 Maybe you learned something there that you didn't know

1:51 a week ago uh that you saw that can help you.

1:54 But in finals, you just never know, right?

1:56 We see it every final that that's played, right?

1:59 You can more more often than not Champions

2:01 League final last year with PSG maybe notwithstanding, right?

2:05 Because they got off to such a great

2:06 start and then scored five goals against this side.

2:09 But um you can almost flip a coin at times.

2:13 You were at the semi-final when they were able to beat

2:15 Atlanta and there was only 4,000 Latio fans there, wasn't there?

2:18 because they were protesting ownership and this past weekend

2:21 in Sedia when they played in it was the same story.

2:24 Will it be the same story at Sio Olympico in the final tomorrow?

2:30 No.

2:30 So they they're expected to show up tomorrow

2:32 rightfully so because as the players have said,

2:35 as the fans have said, and even Sadi himself,

2:38 this is the only thing they have to play for.

2:39 And by the way, when I was at that semi-final now, that was months ago in March,

2:44 they knew they've been leading up to this one moment.

2:46 They know that their season is reliant on one

2:48 game because that allows them to get Europa League football.

2:51 And sort of how they halted their protest against Milan when by the way

2:55 they they beat Milan and then Milan have gone on a a downward spiral.

2:59 They said, "Okay, we're going to show

3:00 support and then we'll reconvene the next time

3:03 and and stop these protests." And the interesting thing

3:06 is that when I was there on the ground, they're trying to separate things.

3:09 They don't want to actually protest the team

3:11 and the players and the coach, the manager.

3:14 They're not upset with them.

3:15 They're upset with ownership.

3:17 So, it's it's sort of this weird zone where even

3:19 the players inside themselves can't criticize the fans for not showing up.

3:24 Sadi said, "I'll be the happiest coach in the world

3:27 if they do pause these protests and come to the final to support us." It's more

3:31 about trying to change ownership and a long-term vision.

3:34 But it's absolutely surreal to see that despite the season they've had,

3:38 they're one game away from winning a trophy.

3:41 Marco, it it seems pretty fair to say that if Lazio don't win this trophy,

3:45 their season would be a failure.

3:47 If they don't manage to make it to Europe,

3:51 how does Lazio move forward next season?

3:54 Oh man, I mean, honestly,

3:57 it's scary to think that they could fall down a rabbit hole

4:00 like Fiorina fell down uh this year where they were battling relegation.

4:04 And I know that sounds dramatic,

4:05 but there's no chance that Modicadi says that this team come next season.

4:10 He's actually been rumored with a making an upgrade going to uh

4:13 Napoli who's going to be playing in Champions League football next year.

4:17 Why would any of the players want to stay?

4:19 Sadi himself came out saying that players have come to his locker room

4:23 to to his office crying that they want to leave that they want to go out.

4:28 So if you don't have Europa League football, if you don't have Europe,

4:31 I don't know the project that this team has.

4:33 And again, fans are going to do the same thing next season.

4:36 They've tried to start petitions to change ownership of the club,

4:40 but I'm genuinely concerned about where this team goes forward.

4:42 And by the way, even if they do get Europa League football, yes,

4:45 that'll give them some funds that'll allow them

4:48 to reinvest because they're expected to have a transfer market,

4:50 which is something they didn't have last year,

4:53 but still, who wants to go to Latio?

4:54 I mean, but this is this is like an only in Italy story,

4:58 but maybe you guys didn't hear about it.

4:59 Lito, the owner of Latio, is caught every few months.

5:03 Somebody prank calls him.

5:04 like a fan prank calls him and one other guy is recording him.

5:07 So this happened a couple months ago and they said,

5:08 "Oh, you know, what are you guys doing with the club?

5:11 What's wrong?" He goes, "Oh no, the players hate Mauricio Sadi.

5:14 The players come to me every single week saying we don't like the coach."

5:17 Then Moricio had to come out and say that's not true at all.

5:19 It's actually the opposite.

5:20 They don't like you.

5:21 So that's a sort of turmoil that they're going with at Latio.

5:25 Just to put in perspective,

5:26 it's not just getting Europa League football saves everything,

5:29 but at least it's a band-aid on the situation.

5:32 It's like a like a high school drama, right?

5:34 Yeah.

5:35 No, he doesn't like you.

5:36 Marco, we we documented week in and week out here.

5:39 um when we watch this Latio side and and talk

5:41 about Maurice Osadi kind of put in summarize

5:44 Mauriciosi and the job that he's done here

5:46 because I don't I I said at the beginning

5:49 of I think last last match day we were working together there's not a guy for me

5:54 in Sya that's done a better job with the resources

5:58 that he's had available to him this entire season.

6:02 Um I I think he's been incredible.

6:05 I I love that Tony.

6:06 I love when you said it and uh Aaron mentioned as well

6:09 that Saudi said if it was any other team I would have left.

6:12 He said this is the hardest job he's ever had

6:14 in his career and why because Saudi's football is beautiful.

6:17 His monopoly is still talked about in Italy despite

6:19 not winning and that's because the aesthetic was incredible.

6:22 He can't do that at Latio.

6:24 They don't have the players to play this Saudi ball,

6:26 this possessionbased beautiful football.

6:28 So what did he do?

6:28 He adapted.

6:29 He said, "All right, we're going to have to defend first.

6:32 We're going to have to sit back." something again that he

6:34 never had to do with his teams in his career.

6:36 And they're going to try to have to attack and hit out

6:38 on counters and be vertical and be a little bit more dynamic.

6:42 And they really struggle to score goals.

6:44 I mean, 12 teams have a better attacking

6:47 uh goal scoring ratio than this Lachio team.

6:49 I saw a stat that they're 16th in chances created.

6:52 Uh the only teams with worse are Pisa and Padma and Verona.

6:57 just to put into perspective what he's been able to do.

6:59 When they get into the final third, it's like they have no clear ideas.

7:03 They don't have these attacking players that are made for Saudi ball.

7:07 So, the fact that they have actually

7:08 gotten better throughout the year and there's also some some incredible buyin

7:12 from the squad against Atalanta in the semi-final.

7:15 They had no business winning that match.

7:17 Atalanta outplayed them.

7:19 I don't know how Atalanta didn't score early on.

7:21 Lots scored on their first shot on target.

7:24 So, they've got this way about them.

7:25 They they've managed to put all these things together.

7:27 You touched on in's um in's injuries.

7:30 Now they find themselves in a situation where Turan might not start.

7:33 Hatan might not start.

7:34 The finals in your home.

7:36 The fact that he could win a trophy is absolutely incredible.

7:39 You mentioned it once again Tony that the best coach

7:42 in Italy will go to the team who wins the Ketto.

7:44 It'll be Christian Ku, but second should be Muritadi.

7:47 Lovely stuff Marco.

7:48 Thank you very much.

7:49 Excited to see you on the coverage tomorrow of this final.

7:52 And that is Latio taking on Inter Milan.

7:54 Kickoff is at 3 p.m.

7:55 Eastern and you can watch that here on Paramount Plus.

7:58 Thanks for watching this video from Morning Footy.

8:00 For all news and insights regarding leagues around the world like EFL, Syria,

8:05 and all UEFA competitions, both men's and women's,

8:09 don't forget to sign up for Paramount Plus.