Juventus Sack Andrea Pirlo As Manager

Juventus have sacked Andrea Pirlo as manager after he spent just one season in charge of the Italian club.

The 42-year-old was a surprise choice to replace Maurizio Sarri last summer but under his guidance Juventus failed to win the Serie A title for the first time since 2012.

The Turin-based club finished fourth, only qualifying for the Champions League on the last day of the season.

Massimiliano Allegri is expected to return for a second spell as manager.

Allegri was in charge of Juventus from 2014-19, winning five successive league titles and reaching the Champions League final twice.

In a statement on Friday, Juventus said: “A few months ago, Andrea Pirlo, an icon of world football, began his new adventure, his first as a coach.

“To do this, first of all, it takes courage, as well as awareness of one’s own means, especially in a period marked by thousands of difficulties, with the world forced by the pandemic to reinvent its own rules day after day.

“Pirlo has just begun the first steps of what will no doubt become a brilliant career as a coach. An adventure of transformation, seeking, and often managing, to bring his ideas and his experience as a champion on the pitch from the “other side” of the fence.

“And since in football, what counts are the victories, let’s remember them: in the space of a few short months Pirlo’s Juve has raised two trophies: The Italian Supercup and the Coppa Italia. And he, as coach, brought home brilliant victories on the most prestigious of fields, from San Siro to Camp Nou.”