The coaches of Milan and Lazio first faced off on the sidelines over 20 years ago and represent two opposing philosophies of soccer. Over the years, they’ve often traded public jabs: “In terms of personality, we’re polar opposites.”

Don’t read too much into the photo above. It’s mostly just polite niceties—a formality for the cameras, just as will happen Saturday night at the Meazza. A “photo opportunity,” as they say in these cases. In reality, Massimiliano Allegri and Maurizio Sarri would be unlikely to consciously choose to go out to dinner together. There’s nothing extreme between them, mind you—they don’t exactly get on each other’s nerves in the strict sense of the term. And they often even compliment each other. But let’s just say that in the past, they haven’t held back from a few more or less painful jabs.

face to face—  Their acquaintance and interactions on the field, however, go way back. For their first encounters on opposing benches, we have to go back to the early 2000s in Tuscany, when Allegri coached Aglianese and Sarri coached Sangiovannese. It was the Lega Pro league. Max was just starting his career, while Maurizio already had several years of experience under his belt, having begun in the Second Division. Twenty years later, the tally stands at 19 head-to-head matches, with the balance tipping decisively in Allegri’s favor: 11 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses for the Rossoneri coach. These matches have involved eight teams: in addition to Aglianese and Sangiovannese, the list also includes Sassuolo, Verona, Juventus, Empoli, Napoli, and Lazio. Throughout their careers, they have championed distinct philosophies and styles of play, which have since been taken to extremes and crystallized into “play-oriented football” (Sarri) and “results-oriented football” (Allegri). Max is the coach who focuses on keeping the shutters down and has no qualms about racking up one narrow victory after another; Maurizio is the coach convinced that victories come—or at least should come—through the quality of play.

back-and-forth—  Their differing visions of the game have certainly helped ignite the spark between the two, but it’s not just about that. Rewinding the tape, sparks were already flying back in 2017. For example, during a Napoli-Juve match in December, when Sarri brought up Inter regarding rest days between matches, but it was Allegri himself who retorted: “I don’t follow him anymore; he comes up with something new every time. In my opinion, he does it to confuse me, so I’m not paying attention anymore.” He then drove the point home: “Maurizio… I’m not keeping up with him anymore: one time it’s the field, another time it’s a week less…” Let’s just say it revolved around a very Tuscan brand of irony. Another round came in February 2018. Sarri said: “There are teams that define an era. I’m convinced that in twenty years people will be talking about Napoli, and hopefully we’ll have won something by then.” Allegri, while not responding specifically to Maurizio, reflected a few days later: “I always say—and I’ll keep saying it—that in the end, what matters is whether you can add a title to the trophy case, because otherwise we’ll already have forgotten what happened two days ago, let alone whether we’ll remember what would have happened 20 years ago in that game if the ball had hit the post and gone in… In life, you have to be very practical.” Two months later, leading up to the Juventus-Napoli match, tensions had flared up again after Sarri had strategically shifted the pressure onto the Bianconeri. And so, Max said: “Let me get this straight. Does nobody ever take responsibility here? That guy has no pressure, that other guy has no pressure—so it’s only fair that Juventus wins. Because in the Coppa Italia, Napoli has no pressure; in the Champions League, they have no pressure; in the Europa League, they have no pressure—they have no pressure anywhere.” And even without a direct back-and-forth, their personal views on soccer have always placed the two on different planets. Allegri: “It’s not like I have to be an aesthete to make people happy—I have to make them happy by winning. If at some point you have to play poorly to get the result, you do it.” Sarri, on the other side of the moon: “For me, the result is achieved through the game; I can’t think any other way. Our goal has always been beauty.”
Small talk—  Two paths that will never cross. The animosity reached its peak around the word “Juve,” specifically when, in 2019, Allegri was fired and the Old Lady decided to entrust the team to Sarri, who, during his introductory press conference, spoke of a more proactive style of play and of entertaining the fans. Sarri never mentioned Allegri, just as Allegri never mentioned Sarri—though shortly thereafter he said this: “In the end, winning is what counts; the rest is just talk. Players are like horses; you have to watch how they move their legs. Tactics and formations are all nonsense.” Maurizio’s counter-response: “Do I believe in these ideas too? I just hope the club presidents don’t catch on, or else our salaries will drop significantly… I think there’s a middle ground; they’re just different opinions and ways of approaching the same job.” We can wrap up this list by quoting another statement from Allegri in November 2022, ahead of a Juventus-Lazio match: “In terms of temperament, we’re polar opposites.” It’s obvious, but… it’s always good to reiterate it. For the record: before this Milan-Lazio match, at the press conference two days prior, Max said of Maurizio: “He’s doing an excellent job; Lazio is a well-coached team.” A peace offering?