Maurizio Sarri sacked as Juventus manager after one season

Maurizio SarriEPA

Maurizio Sarri joined Juventus after a year as Chelsea manager

Italian giants Juventus have sacked Maurizio Sarri as manager after just one season.

Sarri guided Juventus to a ninth straight Serie A title but they were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon at the last-16 stage.

Juve won 2-1 in Turin on Friday but the French side progressed on away goals.

Italian Sarri, 61, was appointed on a three-year contract last summer after one year at Premier League club Chelsea.

Juventus lost three of their last four league matches to finish only one point clear of Inter Milan in the end.

They were also beaten by Napoli in the Coppa Italia final after football in the country restarted following the coronavirus shutdown.

Juventus are two-time European Cup/Champions League winners but have not lifted the trophy since 1996.

Former banker Sarri coached 16 different sides in the lower divisions of Italian football before reaching Serie A with Empoli in 2014.

After three years at Napoli, he moved to Chelsea where he finished third in the Premier League and won the Europa League in his one season in charge.

He then succeeded Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus in June 2019 and became the oldest manager to win Serie A.

A club statement thanked Sarri for "having written a new page in Juventus' history", adding that it was "the culmination of a personal journey that led him to climb all the divisions of Italian football".

Juventus admire Pochettino - Balague

Speaking after Friday's match, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli said the season had been "bittersweet". He said that despite the Serie A triumph, their Champions League performance had been "disappointing" and there was a need for "cold and lucid analysis".

"Juventus starts every year with many goals, and these must be honoured, because we have great players and the best player in Champions League history, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, who is a pillar of Juventus," added Agnelli.

Some of the names mentioned by the Italian media as potential Sarri successors include former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi, Real Madrid manager and former Juve player Zinedine Zidane, and Allegri.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, European football expert Guillem Balague said Juventus "admire" Pochettino, who was sacked by Spurs in November.

"They spoke to him when he was manager at Spurs, but he has not got a job now," said Balague.

"The reason why Pochettino didn't get a job at Bayern, Juventus, Inter Milan or Real Madrid was because he had a job, and to leave Spurs would have cost a lot. Now he is waiting for his opportunity.

"He has always admired Italian football. The opportunity to get him won't cost anything and he is ready to take a job offer."