Lazio vs. Napoli: Why Conte has never managed to beat Sarri

As Lazio prepare to host Napoli on Sunday afternoon, Biancocelesti head coach Maurizio Sarri boasts a 100% win record over reigning Serie A champion Antonio Conte. Here is a look at how the two tacticians have largely managed to avoid each other throughout their careers. 

As things stand ahead of kick-off, Sarri has beaten Conte on 100% of the previous occasions that they have met, however, they have only previously gone head-to-head twice before Sunday. 

Both of Sarri’s previous victories over Conte came in the 2019-20 season when he was in charge of Juventus, and the latter was in charge of Inter. Sarri’s Juve beat Inter 2-1 in San Sirio before claiming a 2-0 victory at the Allianz Stadium on their way to the Scudetto. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the two head coaches have not gone head-to-head in a competitive match at any other stage of their careers. 

That isn’t to say that they haven’t crossed paths, though. At the very beginning of Conte’s coaching career, he had a short stint in charge of Arezzo in 2006, and was replaced by Sarri later in the same year. Curiously, Conte was called back in to replace Sarri later on in that same season. 

Conte went on to have spells in charge of Bari, Atalanta, Siena and most memorably Juventus, but did not manage to cross paths with Sarri while in charge of any of those sides. Sarri had earned promotion from Serie B with Empoli in 2013-14 and earned a spot in the top flight for the 2014-15 campaign, but Conte had left his post as head coach of Juventus that summer in order to sign as CT of the Italy national team, serving until the summer of 2016. 

Conte would go on to have two years in charge of Chelsea in the Premier League between 2016 and 2018, while Sarri was in charge of Napoli in Serie A over those years. 

For the second time in his career, Sarri was announced as the successor to Conte, although this time at Chelsea. 

It was only after Sarri was appointed head coach of Juventus and Conte the head coach of Inter ahead of the 2019-20 season that their paths would cross. 

Sarri left Juventus after that season and took a one-year sabbatical before taking charge of Lazio in 2021. Conte, meanwhile, stayed with Inter until the end of the 2020-21 season, and then took charge of Tottenham in the Premier League later that year. 

Tottenham was Conte’s last job in football before taking charge of Napoli for the 2024-25 season, a year in which Sarri happened to not be coaching. It is only now, in the 2025-26 campaign, that their paths cross again.