In news that has been on it’s way for a while, Maurizio Sarri has left his role at Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri leaves his role as manager after just one season to take the manager job at Juventus.
Sarri (60), signed a three year contract when Chelsea hired him last summer. Chelsea and Juventus agreed a £5 million compensation package, according to reports.
“Maurizio Sarri is leaving Chelsea Football Club to return to Italy and become manager of Juventus,” Chelsea announced on their official website.
“The two clubs have reached an agreement for the early termination of Sarri’s contract with Chelsea FC which had two years left to run and is ending at his request.”
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Sarri had spent the previous three years as Napoli manager. In Naples, he developed a stellar reputation for playing beautiful football.
His Napoli team pushed Juventus all the way for the title in 2018. He was brought in to replace Antonio Conte at Chelsea the following August.
According to Chelsea, a desire to return to his home country was the biggest factor in Sarri’s decision.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “In talks we had following the Europa League final, Maurizio made it clear how strongly he desired to return to his native country, explaining that his reasons for wanting to return to work in Italy were significant.”
It’s a major achievement for Sarri, the bank manager turned elite football coach. He famously quit his banking job and began coaching at the lowest levels.
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Now, he is the manager of the top team in Italy. However, he has not made it yet. Similar to Chelsea, Juventus is a “win now” club. His style is more about building for the longterm.
Chelsea fans lost patience with his philosophy. In Turin, even a title would be considered a failure if Juve fail to perform in the Champions League.
Juventus will truly be a test of his famed “Sarriball”.
