Juventus sack Pirlo after a poor season
Juventus have confirmed the sacking of Andrea Pirlo after a difficult 2020-21 season.
The Italian legend, 42, only took over from Maurizio Sarri last summer, but has been given the boot after a disastrous debut campaign.
Juventus crashed out of the Champions League at round of 16 having not won the competition since 1996.
The Turin club also had their 9-year Serie A title-winning streak snapped under Pirlo, with Inter Milan roaring to the title.
Also, Juventus narrowly snatched a top-four finish on the final day of the Serie A season to book their Champions League football for 2021-22.
Juventus statement revealed the news of Pirlo’s sacking on Friday morning.
It read: “Thank you, Andrea.
“These are the first words that all of us need to say at the end of this special experience together.
“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.”
Massimiliano Allegri set to return to the club as boss, despite being strongly linked with the now-vacant manager’s position at Real Madrid following Zinedine Zidane’s exit.