Pirlo hired to replace fired Sarri at Juventus

Posted August 08, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 4, 2006 filer, Italy's Andrea Pirlo celebrates his side's first goal by teammate Fabio Grosso in the extra time of the semifinal World Cup soccer match between Germany and Italy in Dortmund, Germany. World Cup winner Pirlo was named Thursday, July 30, 2020, coach of Juventus' under-23 team, which plays in Serie C. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) The Associated Press

TURIN, Italy (AP) - World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo was named Juventus' new coach on Saturday, hours after Maurizio Sarri was fired.

Pirlo was given a two-year contract, Juventus announced.

Sarri was fired 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 elimination by Lyon on Friday.

Ten days ago, Pirlo had been appointed coach of Juventus' under-23 team, which plays in Serie C. But he had not led a game yet in his first coaching job.

Nicknamed 'œthe maestro'ť for his passing skills, Pirlo as a player helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup and also won Serie A six times - twice with AC Milan and four times with Juventus. He also won the Champions League twice with Milan.

'œToday begins a new chapter of his career in the world of football, as it was said almost a week ago: from Maestro to Mister,'ť Juventus said of Pirlo. 'œFrom today he will be THE coach for people of Juventus. ... Today's choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead from his debut on the bench an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes.'ť

The announcement comes three years after the 41-year-old Pirlo ended his playing career and five years after he left Juventus for New York City FC.

Sarri left Chelsea last year after only one season in charge -- despite winning the Europa League with the London club.

'œThe 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,'ť the team said of Sarri.

While he led Juventus to a record-extending ninth straight Serie A title, the Bianconeri never really adapted to Sarri's quick-passing style and lost four of 12 matches during the restart.

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.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo made no mention of Sarri in a message posted on Instagram after the Juventus announcement.

'œThe 2019/20 season is over for us, much later than usual but yet sooner than we expected,'ť Ronaldo said. 'œNow it's time for reflection, time to analyse the ups and downs because critical thinking is the only way to improve.

'œA huge club such as Juventus must always think like the best in the world, work like the best in the world, so that we can call ourselves one of the best and biggest clubs in the world.

'œWinning the Serie A once again in such a difficult year is something that we are very proud of. ... But the fans demand more from us,'ť added Ronaldo, who scored both of Juve's goals against Lyon. 'œMay this short vacation break allow us all to make the best decisions for the future and come back stronger and more committed than ever.'ť

Next season's Serie A is scheduled to start Sept. 19.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020 filer, Juventus' head coach Maurizio Sarri smokes during a Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Roma, at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but could not prevent Juventus from going out of the Champions League despite a 2-1 victory over Lyon in its rearranged second-leg match Friday. The French team progressed to the quarterfinals on away goals after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 filer, Juventus' head coach Maurizio Sarri takes his seat on the bench prior to the Champions League Group D soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Juventus at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but could not prevent Juventus from going out of the Champions League despite a 2-1 victory over Lyon in its rearranged second-leg match Friday. The French team progressed to the quarterfinals on away goals after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File) The Associated Press

FILE -- In this Aug. 6, 2014 file photo Juventus' Andrea Pirlo controls the ball during a friendly soccer match against Indonesia Super League All-Stars at Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia. Aug. 6, 2014 file photo. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press

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