Andrea Pirlo has been sacked by Juventus after a miserable season in which they lost their grip on Serie A, with Max Allegri instantly re-appointed to repair the damage.
Juventus started the campaign in search of a 10th straight title but couldn’t live with runaway champions Inter Milan.
Pirlo was given his marching orders with Juve stumbling into next season’s Champions League, as Allegri prepares to return two years after he departed.
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked by Juventus following a disastrous season at the helm
The Old Lady have failed to retain the Scudetto and were dumped out of Europe by Porto
‘Massimiliano Allegri is the Juventus manager once more,’ read a club statement released on Friday afternoon.
‘Now we are ready to begin again with Allegri, to build our future together with his enormous professionalism, his moral strength, with the brilliant ideas of a coach capable of shuffling the cards, both on and off the pitch.
‘With his smile, a sort of ‘signature’. With his way of understanding football and life with simplicity, with his desire to play things down and with the commitment to enjoy every beautiful moment that being at Juventus can give and will give.’
Allegri will be welcomed back with open arms by Juve supporters, having won five Serie A titles on the trot during his first spell, lifting the Coppa Italia four times and twice reaching the Champions League final along the way.
The news of Pirlo’s sacking was confirmed on Friday morning with the club placing on record their thanks for his efforts in a highly sentimental statement.
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.
Juventus announced Pirlo’s sacking without actually mentioning the word, instead issuing a good luck message and talking about a ‘special experience together’
Massimiliano Allegri is poised to return to Juventus as manager and replace Pirlo
‘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. An adventure of transformation, seeking, and often managing, to bring his ideas and his experience as a champion on the pitch from the ‘other side’ of the fence.
‘And since in football, what counts are the victories, let’s remember them: in the space of a few short months Pirlo’s Juve has raised two trophies: The Italian Supercup and the Coppa Italia.
‘And he, as coach, brought home brilliant victories on the most prestigious of fields, from San Siro to Camp Nou.
‘For all this, for the courage, the dedication, the passion with which he demonstrated every day, our thanks go to the Maestro, the Coach and to Andrea, that really comes from the heart. As well as our good luck for the future that will surely be a wonderful one.’
The club also published a photo gallery of Pirlo’s tenure as manager on their club website with no mention of the word ‘sacked’.
Pirlo posted a picture of himself on Instagram in response and expressed his disappointment his first managerial appointment hadn’t worked out as he’d hoped.
He wrote: ‘My first season as a manager has ended. It has been an intense, complicated but in any case wonderful year.
‘When I was called by Juventus I never thought about the risk I was running, although it was quite evident.
‘Respect for the colours of this shirt and the desire to get involved at the highest levels for the project that was proposed to me prevailed.
‘If I had to go back I would make exactly the same choice, although aware of all the obstacles I encountered related to such a difficult period for everyone, which prevented me from planning my intentions and my style of play in the best possible way, but during which however, I have achieved the objectives that were asked of me.
‘This adventure, despite an ending that I did not expect, made it even clearer what I would like my future to be, which I hope is as complete and full of satisfactions as what I experienced as a footballer.
‘It’s time to get back in the game and face new challenges. However, I want to thank the Juventus family and all those who have been close to me this season.’
The 41-year-old Pirlo was promoted from Under-23 coach to first-team boss last summer, taking the reins from Maurizio Sarri with Juve chiefs unhappy with the side’s style of football and European exploits under the former Chelsea coach.
However, Pirlo failed to inspire better displays out of the Italian champions, who were dumped out of the Champions League last-16 by Porto.
Their most-recent European exit means that Juventus have failed to make the latter stages of the tournament in the past three season, having been eliminated by Lyon at the same stage last season and Ajax in the quarters of the 2018-19 competition.
Pressure had been mounting on Pirlo, whose role in the Juventus hotseat was his first gig in senior football.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo leading the scoring charts with 29 league goals, Juve have picked up nine draws this campaign, the most since they won the first of their nine successive titles in 2011-12.
Those dropped 18 points in draws, plus suffered six defeats, which cost them dear in their pursuit of a 10th-successive title. They finished 13 points behind champions Inter.
Serie A top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has been unable to help push his side up the table
Pirlo survived being kicked out before the end of the season and did manage to win the Coppa Italia against Atalanta to depart with some silverware.
Losing their place in European football’s premier club competition would have been a heavy blow to Agnelli and Juve, with the president signing the club up for the disastrous European Super League, but edging in on the final day did not prove enough to keep Pirlo in his job.
Pirlo won four Serie A titles as a player with Juventus after arriving on a free transfer following the end of his glory-laden spell with AC Milan.
He is a two-time Champions League winner and also lifted the World Cup when Italy triumphed in Germany in 2006.
Allegri, Zinedine Zidane and Gennaro Gattuso were the early frontrunners to take the vacant role and become the Italians’ fourth manager in as many seasons but it’s the former Juve boss Allegri set to make a return.
Gattuso eventually elected to take over at Fiorentina while Allegri soon emerged as the No 1 target and he will be presented soon after agreeing a four-year deal.
President Andrea Agnelli has pulled the trigger and will hire his fourth manager in four seasons
