By Juventus coach, Maurizio Sarri has been sacked barely 24 hours after the club’s Champions League dream was shattered by Lyon.
Sarri came into the round-of-16 second leg under growing pressure over his tactics, style of play and his relationships with individual players, despite recently winning the Serie A title, Juve’s ninth in succession.
Lyon carried a 1-0 advantage from the first leg back in February, and a controversial first-half penalty in Turin gave the French side a crucial away goal. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juve battled back into contention, but it was not enough and the were knocked out on away goals.
“My words were not difficult to interpret. I don’t think directors of a top level will make a decision based on one match. They are going to evaluate the whole season. I find this kind of question offensive, but not towards me, it’s offensive towards the directors. I have a contract, I’ll respect it and I don’t expect anything.”
Just as at Chelsea, his previous club, Sarri struggled to win over the fans either by force of personality or his tactics, which many critics found slow and uninspiring.
He also struggled to build a relationship with Ronaldo. Unlike his previous managers, Sarri substituted the striker on several occasions much to his visible displeasure. Sarri always insisted they had a “good relationship”.
In a statement, Juve said: “Juventus Football Club announces that Maurizio Sarri has been relieved of his post as coach of the First Team.
