Maurizio Sarri has shed light on the big differences between himself and Jose Mourinho as the pair look to face off in Serie A for a second season.
Sarri is in charge at Lazio, with Mourinho in the same city at Roma. The two clubs were separated by just a point last term, with Roma also winning the Europa Conference League final thanks to a victory in Tirana against Feyenoord, though both missed out on Champions League qualification.
The two managers have similarities in their past, with both having sat in the dugout at Chelsea, with Mourinho enjoying two spells at Stamford Bridge and Sarri in the dugout for the 2018-19 season as the Blues won the Europa League. However, as Sarri has outlined, there are plenty of differences as well.
"I like Mourinho," Sarri told Corriere dello Sport (via Roma Press). "The differences depend mainly on the starting point, on our different origins.
"I grew up among amateurs, people of another level. To win, I had to come up with good solutions to compensate for the limits of the individuals at my disposal."
"Mourinho started at Barcelona and invested a lot in the quality of the players. There is a big f***ing difference between working at Stia and Barcelona."
While Mourinho has spent most of his career with Europe's top clubs, Sarri's journey has been very different. The 63-year-old has managed more than 20 different sides, with Chelsea the only one of those not in Italy, and spent plenty of years in charge of amateur and lower-league clubs before reaching the top.
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Last season, the Italian took Lazio within a point of a top-four finish, with Roma one point further back, with Sarri's former team Juventus pipping the pair to the post. The rivals earned one win apiece when they met in Serie A, with a 3-2 win for Lazio in the first half of the season followed by a 3-0 Roma victory in the reverse fixture.
Roma have strengthened a lot over the summer, though, and Sarri mentioned the Giallorossi in the title conversation for this reason. Nemanja Matic and Paulo Dybala have arrived on free transfers, while Roma are also closing in on a move for Gini WIjnaldum from Paris Saint-Germain.
Lazio have been active themselves, with Alessio Romagnoli and Matias Vecino among the Serie A stalwarts to arrive for free. Sarri has also added goalkeeper Luis Maximiano from Granada, with last season's goalkeepers Pepe Reina and Thomas Strakhosha both leaving the Stadio Olimpico.
