Marco Baroni Tactics At Torino 2025/2026: From Lazio Lessons To Il Toro – Tactical Analysis

Marco Baroni has recently signed a two-year contract with Torino to lead the team for the next two seasons after he failed to lead Lazio to finish in one of the top six spots in last season’s Serie A standings.

This appointment follows the sacking of Paolo Vanoli, who failed to achieve impressive results with the team.

At the end of last season, Il Toro finished 11th in the standings, with 10 wins, 14 draws, and 14 losses.

Torino’s overall season was average, but given the potential of their players, it could have been better in terms of points.

Some of the squads players possess the necessary abilities but require more collective work, maturity, and diverse ideas to make the actual combination of players work better as a team and achieve better results.

It is worth noting that Baroni had a strong and convincing start to the season, both in Serie A and the UEFA Europa League, and continued to achieve positive results overall, until the latter part of the season, when I Biancoceleste were eliminated from the competition in the quarter-finals.

Lazio’s elimination from the UEFA Europa League impacted their Serie A results, especially their final matches, and that’s one reason for Baronis sacking.

At the same time, we cannot place all the blame on Baroni, considering that his side was not easy to beat, with draws against Inter Milan, Juventus, AS Roma, and Napoli, as well as wins against Atalanta away, AC Milan away, and Napoli away.

This confirms that Baroni was not a failing manager with Lazio but one with ups and downs that impacted the team’s long-term results.

This tactical analysis article on Baroni will present Baroni’s footballing ideas and tactics, and how they can suit Torino’s current team.

The analysis will explore Torino’s potential formation and player choices under Baronis management, with indications regarding possible improvements to make the team more competitive in Serie A next season.

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Marco Baroni: Attacking Ideas & Tactics

Baroni has not really settled at one team for a considerable period of time.

All his managerial history can confirm that Baroni has been developing and taking on new adventures almost every season.

At the same time, he has been climbing the ladder of Serie C, Serie B, and most recently, Serie A, while gaining valuable experience that served him during his spell at Lazio and will most likely serve him in his journey with Il Toro.

With Lazio, his most recent adventure, Baroni primarily used the 4-2-3-1 formation, with the 4-4-2 formation as an alternative.

He usually prefers the 4-2-3-1, especially when he finds the type of players needed to execute it the way he likes.

Marco Baroni Reliance On The Wings

Baroni is a head coach who consistently relies on a vertical style of football, focusing heavily on movement with and without the ball, as well as penetrations, particularly from both flanks.

Baroni also believes in intensifying his players’ presence on both flanks, especially inside the opponent’s third.

Pushing his players to resort to overlaps, penetrations, or crosses has been a characteristic of most teams coached by Baroni, as he usually opts for solutions from the wings to create the needed threats against his opponents.

Additionally, Baroni encourages the full-backs to advance and help achieve numerical superiority.

At the same time, the wingers penetrate centrally towards the box, creating more space for the full-backs to advance with less pressure.

Moreover, Baroni’s attacking system relies on powerful strikers, sometimes not just one main striker but also a second striker playing alongside or behind him.

Therefore, Baroni alternates between using an advanced playmaker and a striker, and relying on two strikers, as he did with Lazio, utilising both Valentín Castellanos and Boulaye Dia.

However, in th