Baroni: Lazio must leave the pitch with ‘no regrets’ after Bodo/Glimt second leg | OneFootball

Marco Baroni wants Lazio’s players to leave the pitch with ‘no regrets’ at the end of tomorrow’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Bodo/Glimt, as they look to overturn last week’s 2-0 defeat in Norway to progress.

The Biancocelesti manager acknowledged that his side is about to face the ‘most important match’ of the season, but insisted he has ‘great faith’ in his players and urged them to play ‘without anxiety’.

While admitting that playing on artificial turf gave their opponents a ‘big advantage’ in the first leg, Baroni stressed that blaming the pitch alone would be making excuses, as he warned of the need to limit Bodo/Glimt’s quick play in the final third, regardless of the surface.

“Tomorrow will be our 46th match of the season, and I have great faith in my team,” Baroni said at a pre-match press conference, as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.

“We’ve given everything all year, and I trust them. It’s a crucial game, and tomorrow we must play without anxiety. Today we’re reviewing what we need to do to set the stage for a comeback.

“Even though the conditions in the first leg were unusual, we learned a lot from that match. We’ll need to show great presence and both physical and mental attitude.

BODO, NORWAY – APRIL 10: Gustav Isaksen of SS Lazio kicks the ball during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FK Bodo/Glimt and S.S. Lazio at Aspmyra Stadion on April 10, 2025 in Bodo, Norway. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

“Yes, it’s the most important match of the season—we know that. We must play with everything we’ve got, no holding back, no regrets.

“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but now we’re playing at home, in front of our fans, and we must play without thinking about what comes next.

“We need to play with desire. We know we’re facing a strong, in-form opponent. Tomorrow’s game will require full energy and presence, both on and off the pitch. We all have to believe in this—together.”

Baroni: Lazio don’t need ‘patience and calm’, must ‘seize right moments’

While the need to overturn a two-goal deficit could lead Lazio to attack recklessly, Baroni doesn’t believe that ‘patience’ is the answer.

“I don’t want a team that’s carefree—I want them fully focused on the performance,” the coach continued.

“They must focus on the strategy, not the end goal. You reach your goal by delivering the right performance. We’ll need everything—luck comes from energy, both on and off the pitch.

“We’ll need a lot of that tomorrow, from the team and the fans.

“I don’t like words like patience and calm. We need to play a focused match and seize the right moments.

“A team that knows how important the game is must also know how to read it. I’m aware of the advantages of artificial turf, but I don’t want to stop at that.

ROME, ITALY – MARCH 10: Matteo Guendouzi of Lazio reacts during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Udinese at Stadio Olimpico on March 10, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“Tomorrow we’ll need intensity and energy—that’s what a game like this demands, especially against such a strong opponent.”

Speaking of the artificial pitch, Baroni also added that he doesn’t want to look for alibis

“I can’t blame the pitch alone—that would be making excuses,” he remarked.

“Bodo play very fast in the final third, and we’ll need to take that away from them. I don’t decide what kind of surfaces are allowed, but it definitely gives a big advantage to the team used to playing on it.

“The match was set up perfectly for them, but we can’t look for excuses—we have to focus on ourselves.

“They’ll play a great match—they have lots of energy and have played together for a long time. But we’ll be in the mix too, and we’ll have to make our presence felt.”

Is there a chance Boulaye Dia and Taty Castellanos could start together? And how is Nuno Tavares doing?

“It’s definitely an option,” Baroni revealed.

“Taty will start tomorrow because he’s an important player. They have a lot of movement in the final third, and we’ll need to make sure we take away their reference points by getting everyone involved.

“Nuno is doing well, he’ll train with the team today and we’ll assess things together.

“My fullbacks always need to push forward. Of course, there are structural differences between players, but tomorrow we’ll need a lot of energy and drive, especially out wide.”