Lazio had its moment in the European sun by taking a 1-0 lead against Bayern Munich into the second leg of their Champions League matchup. While ultimately losing, the club caused further unrest for Thomas Tuchel and showed its quality and the quality of Serie A.
Sadly, again, that story was almost overshadowed by the fans. Before the second match, about 100 Italians went to the same Munich beer hall where Adolf Hitler founded the Nazi Party in 1920 and sang Italian fascist chants. One Lazio fan was arrested for performing a Nazi salute.
Such stories are deplorable and obviously a small segment of the fans who attended the match. The story does resonate because it's Lazio, and it just feels like a Lazio story. The club brings historical baggage that continues to haunt it and needs to be addressed and exorcised. The questions are how and when.
Lazio's history is closely tied to the Italian military. The Roman military helped found the club and its success in the 1930s made it a favorite of Benito Mussolini. That allowed it to survive as an independent club when other Roman clubs were merged during the fascist period. Yet it was the rise of the ultras movement in Italy that allowed the fascist affiliation of the club to thrive. While not necessarily unique in Italy, Lazio has consistently had a reputation as the right-wing Roman soccer club.
What Lazio's reputation should be is its proud history as a producer of top Italian strikers. Silvio Piola, Giorgio Chinaglia, Bruno Giordano, Marcelo Salas all put on the eagle crest and played alongside legends like Alessandro Nesta and Pavel Nedved. While not the pipeline to the Azzurri that Juventus is, Lazio has a long history of producing and employing top talent.
This season a slide has Lazio looking outside a Champions League spot and their recent blowup versus AC Milan speaks to their recent struggles. The club has been in the news for disciplinary actions and poor choices on and off the pitch. The stands continue to be an issue, with sections closed off after racist chants and violence from fans in a derby match with Roma in January. Everywhere the club goes, drama on and off the pitch follows.
Despite this, Lazio are certainly an incredibly talented club that can be a competitor in Europe and Italy next season. A top 6 finish this season is conceivable even if the top 4 may be quickly out of reach. However, off the pitch continual poor behavior will continue to color perceptions of the club and reduce its standing in the eyes of the larger soccer world. A club with its history, location, and league deserves a better reputation, and it behooves the club to figure out how to address this now.