SERIE A
ONE ELIMINATION TOO MUCH AS JUVENTUS SACKS SARRI AFTER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OUSTER
Juventus have sensationally axed boss Maurizio Sarri after just one season in charge following the club’s Champions League elimination.
Despite leading the Turin giants to a ninth straight Serie Atitle, supporters and the club’s hierarchy have been left unimpressed by the veteran 61-year-old.
According to Daily Mail, his fate was sealed the day after the early European exit at the hands of Lyon.
The official announcement was released on Saturday following a crisis meeting held between members of the club’s hierarchy – and Sportsmail understands Mauricio Pochettino has already been contacted to replace Sarri.
It is believed that the 48-year-old, who remains out of work after his Tottenham dismissal, would have accepted Juventus’ approach through an intermediary. It is expected he will be the first candidate to formally interviewed.
Club chairman Andrea Agnelli fronted up the decision to replace the man in the hot seat. Long-standing servants Giorgio Chiellini and Gianlugi Buffon would have been informed about Sarri’s sacking first, and also given assurances over a potential successor.
The decision to bring an early end to Sarri’s reign may cost the club around £27million, should the tactician be unable to find a new role during the 24 months that were left on his deal.
It was decided during crisis talks held soon after Friday’s game that Sarri was no longer deemed the man capable of helping lead Juventus back to continental glory.
The former banker was hired on a three-year contract last June with the expectation that Juventus would progress to the later rounds of the competition.
But the head coach was forced to angrily beat away questions surrounding his future after the setback.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has often single-handedly spared Sarri from greater criticism this campaign, netted twice but the Old Lady crashed out on away goals after Memphis Depay struck from the penalty spot.
Juventus’ form after clinching yet another league title raised alarms, with the club limping over the line following a torrid run of two wins from their last eight fixtures.
Their points tally of 83, which proved just enough to fend off Inter Milan, was their lowest since the 2011-12 season.
Juventus also suffered disappointment in the cup competitions in which they have historically been so successful.
Napoli won the Coppa Italia after a dramatic penalty shootout, and Lazio downed Sarri’s outfit 3-1 to clinch the Suppercoppa Italia in December.
The man at the helm himself admitted to having struggled to impose his preferred style of play on his team. He also rued their inability to quickly move the ball after Juventus’ first leg loss to Lyon in February.
But regardless of the on-field chaos and discontent, Sarri was adamant that he would be spared from the sack when questioned about the mounting speculation late on Friday.
He had told Sky Sports: ‘I don’t think directors of a top level club will make a decision based on one match.
‘They are going to evaluate the whole season. I find this kind of question offensive, but not towards me, it’s offensive towards the directors.
‘I have a contract, I’ll respect it and I don’t expect anything.’
Before it was confirmed Juventus had officially pulled the trigger, several reports indicated that the Italian giants have already sounded out Pochettino as a potential successor.
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the breakdown of his relationship with SSC Napoli, revealing how a controversial social media post, racial abuse and strained transfer dealings ultimately ended his time in Naples.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen described the turning point as a TikTok video posted by Napoli in September 2023 that appeared to mock him for missing a penalty.
“After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something broke forever,” he said.
The video showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty with a squeaky, sped-up voice dubbed over the footage, followed by the clip of his missed spot kick. Although the post was quickly deleted after his representatives labelled it offensive and reportedly considered legal action, the damage, according to the striker, had already been done.
Osimhen said the incident triggered a wave of toxic online reactions, including racist insults directed at him. He also recounted how some supporters confronted him at his residence, demanding explanations over the controversy.
For the 2023 African Footballer of the Year, the episode marked a decisive rupture in trust.
“I’m not a puppet,” he said, describing a period in which he felt humiliated and sidelined despite his contributions to the club.
Beyond the social media row, Osimhen suggested that tensions over his future compounded the fallout. He indicated that there had been an understanding with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis regarding a potential departure in a future transfer window, but he felt the club did not honour that understanding.
“They treated me like a dog,” he said, adding that decisions were being made about his career without what he considered basic respect.
By late summer 2024, relations had deteriorated sharply. Reports indicated that Napoli excluded him from their Serie A squad list amid transfer uncertainty. The impasse eventually led to a season-long loan move to Galatasaray, bringing the standoff to a temporary close.
Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s historic 2022–23 Serie A title triumph, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals and becoming one of the defining figures of that championship campaign.
His departure, therefore, marked a dramatic reversal — from talismanic hero to sidelined star.
Now rebuilding his career in Turkey, Osimhen said his decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to reclaim his narrative.
He explained that he had remained silent for months out of respect for Napoli supporters, but felt compelled to address the circumstances that led to his exit.
The episode underscores how a combination of social media missteps, fan reaction and unresolved transfer negotiations can unravel even the most successful partnerships in modern football.
For Osimhen, a relationship that once delivered a Scudetto ended not with celebration, but with controversy.
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Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday.
The midfielder’s arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month.
“Very happy to be here to start a new chapter in my career,” said Modric, who turns 40 in September, in an Instagram video shared by Milan.
Milan said Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, which he previously wore during his four years at English side Tottenham Hotspur to honour Dutch great Johan Cruyff.
“It’s an immense honour for them to compare me to (Cruyff)… I wore the no. 14 at Tottenham in honour of him, and because the no. 10 wasn’t available,” Modric had said after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2018.
Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles.
He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s a bitter end… he’s a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He’ll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today,” Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match.
Modric, considered Croatia’s greatest player of all time, has represented the country a record 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time.
He won the Ballon d’Or in December that year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007.
Modric’s arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month.
Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
-Reuters
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Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy’s newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances.
Napoli won their fourth “Scudetto” on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.
The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples.
“The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true,” the pope said, according to a transcript.
Leo, the first pope to come from the U.S., follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, “Papa Leone XIV”.
“You are a number 10, so you are a great striker”, De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple “thank you”.
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as “deeply Catholic”, knelt down and kissed the pope’s hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV.
In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport’s educational value, especially for young people.
Winning comes “at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion”, he said.
“The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club,” he added.
Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook.
“She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan”, the pope said.
-Reuters
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