Lazio 3-1 Torino
Call me old fashioned but my view on this beautiful game we all love is very different to that of some of my fellow fans and sports betting aficionados.
If it comes down to a straight choice, I would always rather have my team win football games and shorten the betting odds to increase their chances of winning a trophy – for silverware is my ultimate barometer.
Many of my compadres are the other way. If their side can secure a top four spot – that’s if they are lucky enough to support one of those teams challenging – then it means far more to them and the club.
For a top four spot in the major European Leagues means a place in the following season’s Champions League, or at least a qualifying berth, and that’s often good enough.
From a financial perspective, the Champions League and its potentially unrivalled riches can be invaluable and unmatched.
It’s the highest standard, the elite competition in the game – even higher than the World Cup and European Championship – and a benchmark for most clubs in Europe.
It can make their club more attractive to signing top players, allow them to pay the wages many crave and cement their place in the crème de la crème.
Then there’s me.
Of course, I’ve been fortunate.
I’ve experienced the overriding joy of being a Manchester United fan for 30 years and, for the most part, been spoilt with trophy after trophy and some breathtaking football.
Yet call it complacency or a blinkered attitude but, for me, sealing a top four spot and a crack at next season’s Champions League simply doesn’t float my boat like a day out at Wembley (or another showpiece ground) and the elation of winning a trophy.
I wonder what Lazio fans think.
Here they are dreaming of a top four spot in Serie A and return to the Champions League for the first time in a decade (they did reach a qualifying play-off in 2015 but were immediately knocked out).
They have some pedigree in the Europa League and the former European Cup Winners Cup, including an overall triumph in the latter in 1999.
But European joy in the Champions League has largely eluded them.
Then there is their run to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia this season.
They currently have a 2-0 advantage over arch rivals Roma ahead of the second leg early next month.
So, what would they prefer if given a choice?
The chance to lift the Italian Cup in May but miss out on a top four spot in Serie A.
or a top four finish with the guaranteed prospect of another crack at the Champions League but no joy in the Cup?
Of all the football supporters I know – and they are many and varied in many nations – I don’t know any Lazio fans and expect their answer will be split.
Certainly, the Stadio Olimpico is one of the best venues around with a super atmosphere and, with 10 games remaining, Lazio are in the box seat to seal a return to Europe’s top table.
This victory over Torino lifted them above Inter Milan into the fourth spot and extended their unbeaten record to six successive games.
Inter are enjoying an even better run with eight wins out of 10 and their clash on the penultimate weekend of the season could yet be the defining fixture.
While surprise package Atalanta and Milan can’t be ruled out of the equation, it’s realistically down to Lazio and Inter.
Simone Inzaghi said before kick-off this would be like a final and certainly the finish was as his substitute paid dividends – Keita Balde Diao and Felipe Anderson scoring in the final three minutes to round off an exciting second half.
It was a deserved victory for the hosts but, given the choice, would they rather have fourth place or success in a final?
Perhaps they can have both!
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