Serie A : Juventus sack manager Massimiliano Allegri

What's the story?

Juventus today confirmed that they have sacked manager Massimilano Allegri after another disappointing performance in the Champions League. Despite securing a 5th consecutive Seria A title with the Old Lady, Allegri's underwhelming performances in the Champions League and early ouster from the Coppa Italia seemed to have forced the club to let go of their 51-year-old coach.

In case you didn't know...

Massimilino Allegri was hired from AC Milan at the beginning of the 2014-15 season and the former Sassuolo midfielder guided the Turin club to 5 consecutive Serie A titles, dominating the Italian league for half a decade.

Despite this, he has lacked the cutting edge to vie for the Champions League, finishing as runner up in the 2014–15 and 2016–17 seasons. This was followed by a 4-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the 2017-18 Champions League quarterfinals, when they lost 3-0 in the first leg advantage, in the game where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational overhead kick.

Allegri's Champions League misery was compounded this season, losing out to a youthful Ajax in the quarterfinals. Further embarassment occured when Juventus were eliminated by Atalanta, in an embarrassing 3-0 loss in the quarterfinal of the Coppa Italia.

The heart of the matter

Juventus clearly has lofty ambitions for the Champions League, as indicated by their big-money purchase of 5-time Champions League winner and record Champions League goalscorer Ronaldo at the beginning of this season.

With Allegri clearly lacking the pedigree to bring the coveted title to Turn, the Juventus management was forced to let go of him. A statement from the club read as below:

“Massimiliano Allegri will not be on the Juventus bench for the 2019-2020 season. The coach and the president, Andrea Agnelli, will meet the media together at tomorrow’s press conference – Saturday 18 May, at 2pm in the press conference hall of Allianz Stadium.”