Juventus fires coach Sarri after one season following Champions League exit
Juventus fired coach Maurizio Sarri on Saturday after his first season in charge ended with the team’s Champions League exit.
Despite winning the Italian title, Sarri paid the price for the round-of-16 loss to Lyon on Friday.
“The club would like to thank the coach for having written a new page in Juventus’ history with the victory of the ninth consecutive championship, the culmination of a personal journey that led him to climb all the divisions of Italian football,” the team said.
While he led Juventus to a record-extending ninth straight Serie A title, the Bianconeri never really adapted to his quick-passing style and lost four of 12 matches during the restart.
What’s more is that amid so much dominance domestically, the true test for any Juventus coach comes in the Champions League -- a competition the Turin club has not won since 1996.
Juventus was eliminated on away goals despite securing a 2-1 victory in the rearranged second-leg home match against Lyon.
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According to media reports, potential replacements include former Juventus player and current Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, Lazio’s Simone Inzaghi, former Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri — who has been out of work since leaving Juventus a year ago after leading the team to five straight Italian titles.
Another potential replacement could be former Juventus and Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, who recently revealed he was unhappy at Inter Milan.