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The second part in the series looking at major clubs under new management this season now looks at Italy.
For the first part which covers England and Scotland, please click here.
Italy
Inter Milan:
Previous Manager: Antonio Conte
What happened to him: Despite leading Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in a decade, Conte resigned at the end of the season, io protest at the desire of the Chinese owners, the Suning Group to cut costs. He wanted money to invest in the squad.
Who have they appointed? Simone Inzaghi
Inzaghi was previously in charge at Lazio, the club where he also made his name as a player. His challenge is to try and make Inter title contenders again and competitive in the Champions League whilst overseeing the financial savings demanded by the owners.
Juventus:
Previous Manager: Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo was thrust into the manager’s position with no prior experience at the start of last season and presided over a disappointing campaign, in which the club failed win the league title for the first time in ten years, and were knocked out of Europe early, scraping into the Champions League places on the last day of the season. He was relieved of his responsibilities after that.
Who have they appointed? Max Allegri
Allegri is back in charge at the club who he managed between 2014 and 2019, leading them to ten titles in that period, His remit is simple – return Juventus to the top of the Italian game once more, and try and make an impression in the Champions League.
Napoli:
Previous Manager: Gennaro Gatttuso
What happened to him? He was dismissed at the end of last season after Napoli failed to make the Champions League, despite starting the last day of the season third in the table. He subsequently joined Bologna, but left them after just 23 days, and without taking charge of a game, over a disagreement over the club’s strategic direction.
Who have they appointed: Luciano Spalletti
The Former Inter Milan and Roma manager is charged with bringing Champions League football back to the Southern Italian city once more. One of his biggest tasks will be managing the relationship wit the club’s mercurial owner, Aurelio De Laurentis.
Roma:
Previous manager: Paulo Fonseca
What happened to him? he was fired after a disappointing season in which the club could only finish 7th.
Who have they appointed? Jose Mourinho
Barely a week after Mourinho was sacked by Spurs, Mourinho was named the new manager of Roma, who are hoping that he can repeat his previous success in Italy with Inter Milan. Mourinho will want to restore his reputation which has been tarnished by his last two spells in English football with Manchester United and Tottenham. However, he will have to do so without access to the large transfer funds he has been given in previous jobs.
Lazio:
Previous manager: Simone Inzaghi
What happened to him? He has since moved to Inter Milan.
Who have they appointed? Maurizio Sarri
Sarri is back in management out of a year out the game, despite leading Juventus to the league title in his one season in charge with them. His immediate challenge is to compete with Roma, and to tr and build Lazio into a team capable of challenging for the Champions League places next season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.