“No One Listened to Me” – Sarri Discusses His Lazio Future After Roma Derby Defeat

Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri laments his team’s missed opportunities in the defeat to Roma, while opening up on his status at the club.

Lazio Fall Short in Roma Derby

The Biancocelesti rounded off a miserable week that began with a loss in the Coppa Italia final to Inter Milan by losing the significant Derby della Capitale against their despised crosstown rivals. The Aquile had several chances to break the deadlock in the first half, but it was Roma who took the lead through Gianluca Mancini in the 40th minute, who completed his brace in the second half.

In his post-match press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Sarri argued that the Biancocelesti played well for the first hour, before losing the plot. He also felt that the Giallorossi made better adjustments when both sides were reduced to 10 men following Nicolo Rovella and Wesley’s brawl.

We played sixty minutes at a good level, we found ourselves behind because of our own mistakes. On the first goal we made an incredible error by taking the free kick while Marusic was still on the ground.

From the two corners, the feeling was that they attacked the ball and the opponent, while we suffered. When we went down to ten men they had less difficulty reorganising than we did, but until that moment Lazio deserved much more.

Will Maurizio Sarri Stay at Lazio?

Sarri was then asked about his own future at the club. The head coach has been at odds with Lazio president Claudio Lotito since the start of the season, and he revealed he’s not happy to be left out of the decision-making.

Let’s play the last match first. At the moment they haven’t told me anything regarding future plans.

I didn’t like this season’s situation, I wasn’t listened to at all and I’m not very happy, maybe the club isn’t happy either. Let’s finish the league campaign and see if they have something to tell me.

Sarri Explains His Lazio Dilemma

When asked whether he would like to stay at Lazio, the 67-year-old made the distinction between the environment, which he feels deeply connected to, and the club management.

You have to speak separately about the environment and the club. From an environmental point of view, I’d like to stay, I feel like an integral part of it.

From a club perspective, maybe if the plans don’t align there’s no point continuing. I haven’t heard any plans, so I can’t give a precise answer. The two aspects need to be separated.

Comparing this Lazio with Sarri’s Previous Team

Sarri admitted that the current Lazio squad cannot be compared to the one he had at his disposal during his first spell in the capital between 2021 and 2024.

That team had much more quality. Then in the end it finished second. The average quality of the squad was higher.

Whether next year will really be year one remains to be seen; there are many players whose contracts are expiring.

Updates on Mattia Zaccagni

Finally, the head coach explained why Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni was completely ruled out of the Derby.

Today, no, there was no chance, he was in pain even while walking. If he had struck the ball at speed he could have suffered a much more serious injury, something he has been dealing with for months.

The recovery process should be quick; in the first few days there’s no possibility of playing him.