Empty stands and no sponsor, but Lazio leads Serie A as co‑leader

While the Stadio Olimpico remains half empty and Lazio even has no shirt sponsor, the club is still at the top of Serie A after seven matchdays, together with Inter, after a convincing 0‑3 victory over Juventus in the first week of the season.

Co‑leadership in Serie A

SS Lazio shares first place in Serie A with Inter after seven matchdays. The club achieved a dominant 0‑3 victory over Juventus, also known as the Old Lady, which gave them 19 points out of a possible 21. These results confirm their unexpected position as co‑leader.

Despite this sporting success, the supporters continue to boycott their own home games. At the match against Monza two weeks ago, the Stadio Olimpico, with a capacity of over 70,000 seats, held only 11,500 spectators. The overview of Football, Tennis, Formula 1 and other sports shows how unusual an empty stand is at the top of Italian football.

Fan boycott and financial problems

Fans blame the crisis on owner Claudio Lotito, who has been running the club for 22 years. “Only the departure of the owner will calm the fans,” says Serie‑A analyst Willem Haak. Lotito responds with a sarcastic remark: “If the fans want to dream, they need to take a sleeping pill.”

Financially Lazio has no shirt sponsor, after a deal with the prediction platform Polymarket was cancelled because of the strict Italian ban on gambling‑related advertising. The shirts therefore remain plain blue, which Haak describes as “splendid, but bad for the wallet.” “There are few sponsors interested in investing in a club where there is a lot of mess and where people are fighting,” Haak adds.

Coach Gattuso and the experts

Gennaro Gattuso, who was appointed after a disappointing spell as Italy’s national team coach, now receives praise for building a “smart team”. “Gattuso wanted to get revenge after that failure with Italy and with all the clubs he was at. He is finally getting his due,” says Haak. The expert adds: “We said they were on the worst possible path, but they have had their best start to a season ever.”

Lazio’s squad does not consist of an abundance of big names, but includes players such as Davide Frattesi, Mattia Zaccagni and Danilho Doekhi. One of the most notable signings is Kenneth Taylor, who arrived from Ajax for €17 million. Despite the limited budget, the club has still managed to build a competitive team.

This article provides an overview of all the factors that make this Serie A season so special. The club’s programme remains without new sponsorship initiatives, while the Jupiler Pro League, Challenger Pro League, Champions League, Europa League and Conference League outline the European context. More focus on the internal problems is therefore inevitable.