The managerial merry-go-round in Serie A took a new twist on Thursday. Former league champions Juventus are set to appoint Massimiliano Allegri to replace current manager Andrea Pirlo. Allegri was one of the front runners in the list of many clubs such as Real Madrid and Inter Milan after both the coaches decided to leave the club. Sky Italia and Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Thursday that Allegri will return as the coach of Juventus for his second spell at the club.
Juventus struggled under Andrea Pirlo who was announced the coach of the Bianconeri. The decision from Juventus to appoint Pirlo raised eyebrows across Europe since he had no prior coaching experience. As the season went on, this decision was thoroughly justified as Juventus struggled in almost every competition. Under Pirlo, Juventus finished fourth and ended the streak of nine Serie A titles as Inter Milan was crowned as the champions of Italy. They were also knocked out by Porto in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Allegri was the coach of AC Milan from 2010-2014 and won a Serie A and Supercoppa with Rossoneri. He was later signed by Juventus in 2014. He enjoyed a lot of success with Juventus as he managed to win five Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in a row. His side also won the Suppercoppa Italiana twice and was Champions League runner-up in 2015 and 2017. In 2019, the 51-year-old decided to part ways with the club.
During his tenure at the old lady, the Italian coach managed 271 games for Juventus with 191 wins, 41 draws, and 37 defeats. He also boasts the record of highest win percentage for a Juventus manager in Serie A gathering victories in 75% of his league matches.
According to Forza Italian Football, Allegri was the highest-paid Italian manager during his first tenure with an annual net salary of €7.5 million. He is likely to get a similar deal again and the departure of director Fabio Paratici will reportedly give Allegri more power regarding major decisions at the club. Allegri was triumphant in his first spell at Juventus. The Bianconeri will be hoping to get back on track in Italy and in Europe after the arrival of their former coach. Although, the club’s future looks uncertain in the Champions League as they are still part of the European Super League with Barcelona and Real Madrid.