Despite Roma and Lazio being involved in European competition, much of the attention this week has been focused on Sunday’s derby match in Serie A and the barbs have been flying.
After Lazio beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, coach Maurizio Sarri said his team had gone to “war” against the Dutch side, while he deemed Roma’s Europa League game against Slavia Prague later on Thursday to be just a “friendly match.”
Roma’s highly successful coach José Mourinho claimed he wasn’t bothered by the comments but then made a thinly-veiled attack on Sarri, who won the Serie A title with Juventus in 2020 and the Europa League with Chelsea the previous year.
“If someone should feel offended about that comment, it is Slavia Prague and not me,” Mourinho said when asked about Sarri’s remarks. “The way in which the coach talked it’s as if to say that Slavia has no quality.
“I always respect my opponents. Perhaps the difference between a coach who has won 26 titles and another that has barely won anything is exactly that kind of mentality: every match is important, there are no friendly games.”
Mourinho’s long list of achievements include two Portuguese league titles, three in England, two in Italy and one in Spain, along with two Champions League trophies and three other European titles.
However, Lazio beat Roma twice last season and has finished above its capital rival in each of the past four seasons.
The teams head into the derby with Roma in seventh, three places above Lazio but just one point ahead after both had similarly poor starts to the Serie A campaign.
ROME, ITALY - NOVEMBER 06: José Mourinho head coach of AS Roma greets Maurizio Sarri head coach of SS Lazio at the end of the Serie A match between AS Roma and SS Lazio at Stadio Olimpico on November 06, 2022 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Silvia Lore/Getty Images)