Veron backs Lazio as surprise Scudetto contenders: ‘No team has shown more’

Juan Sebastián Verón believes Lazio can win the Scudetto, insisting no team in Serie A has shown more than Gennaro Gattuso’s side this season.

Speaking to SportWeek, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the former Lazio midfielder, now president of Estudiantes, says the Biancocelesti’s position at the top of the table is no fluke.

“Why, is it forbidden?” Verón said. “Tell me who, at the start of this Serie A season, has shown they have something more than Lazio. I’ll answer for you: nobody.

“The current table isn’t a quirk of fate. It reflects what we’ve seen so far. Things may change, and maybe some tiredness will creep into the legs of Gattuso’s players, but the foundations on which they’ve built their lead are solid, very solid.”

Lazio are unbeaten after 11 games and top on 29 points, their best-ever total at this stage. They’re one point ahead of Inter and two clear of Roma. Gattuso continues to insist that his only target is reaching 40 points.

Verón won the Scudetto with the Biancocelesti in 2000, and he picked out Davide Frattesi as the player who excites him most. The midfielder, on loan from Inter, has four goals for Lazio this season and also scored in Italy’s 3-1 win over France on Thursday.

“Who excites me most? If I close my eyes and think for a moment, I’d say Frattesi. In my opinion, he was an excellent midfielder even before joining Lazio, and he’s doing extraordinary things,” Verón added. “There are very few players in Italy who can get into the box like him. And he scores goals, which in football is never a minor detail.”