Sports News Special Report
CHELSEA, SARRI PART WAYS, AS JUVENTUS SEALS MOVE
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Afnews Editor
Jun 14, 2019
Maurizio Sarri is set to return to Italy to take the vacant
managerial role at Juventus and bring the curtain down on a fretful one-year
stay at Chelsea.
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Sarri met his targets by returning Chelsea to the Champions
League via a third-place finish in the Premier League and winning the Europa
League, claiming his first major trophy as a coach in the process.
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However, a failure to connect with the Chelsea support,
public criticism of his players and a refusal to adapt his style of play meant
Sarri was always unlikely to hang around for a second season at Stamford
Bridge.
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The 60-year-old former banker becomes the ninth full-time
manager to leave Chelsea since Roman Abramovich took charge of the club in
2003.
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Yet, for once the Russian didn't wield the axe and waited
instead until Juventus agreed to pay the compensation to free Sarri from the
final two years of his contract on Thursday, according to reports in England
and Italy.
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The Italian champions are keen on the brand of football
Sarri imposed during three years at Napoli when only Juventus' remarkable
consistency prevented the Neapolitans a first league title since the days when
Diego Maradona graced the San Paolo pitch.
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However, Sarri failed to transport that free-flowing
football to Chelsea, despite making midfield playmaker Jorginho his first
signing.
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After a brilliant start to the season that saw Sarri's men
keep pace with Premier League champions Manchester City and Champions League
winners Liverpool, Chelsea fans soon rebelled at a ponderous possession game
with little cutting edge.
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After a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in January, Sarri labelled his
players "very difficult to motivateÔÇØ.
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Worse was to come as a 4-0 thrashing at Bournemouth was
followed by a 6-0 demolition by Manchester City - Chelsea's heaviest defeat in
28 years.
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The players soon started rebelling too. Goalkeeper Kepa
Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted towards the end of the League Cup final
to stay on the field for a penalty shootout, which Chelsea lost to City in
February.
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Supporters also voiced their frustration, calling for
Sarri's sacking, during a controversial 2-1 win at relegated Cardiff a month
later.
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Sarri, though, did manage to end on a high as Chelsea lost
just one of their last eight Premier League games while the other contenders
for a top-four finish stumbled towards the end of the season.
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Eden Hazard then bade farewell in fitting fashion by scoring
twice in a 4-1 rout of Arsenal in the Europa League final to ensure Chelsea
again ended the season with a trophy despite the turmoil.
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Yet, that will be an even tougher test for Sarri's successor
without Hazard, who joined Real Madrid earlier this week for a fee in excess of
100 million euros ($113 million).
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Chelsea currently cannot recruit a replacement with the club
serving a two-window transfer ban handed down by FIFA.
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The club's record goalscorer Frank Lampard is the favourite
to return to Stamford Bridge after just one season in management at Derby
County.
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Lampard, 40, led the Rams to the Championship playoff final
where they fell just short of a return to the Premier League.
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The former England midfielder will not suffer any of the
hostility encountered by Sarri in the Chelsea fan base.
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But it represents a huge gamble both for Lampard so early in
his managerial career to take the huge step up to a top-six job, and for a club
in the transition to back a rookie manager.
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