Juventus sack coach Andrea Pirlo after just one season

Serie A club Juventus on Friday sacked manager Andrea Pirlo after just one season as head coach.

The Italian club in August last year had appointed Pirlo as the head coach of the side. The season was not smooth sailing for Juventus and Pirlo as the side was knocked out of the Champions League 2020-21 pretty early on and they also failed to win the Serie A.

"A few months ago, Andrea Pirlo, an icon of world football, began his new adventure, his first as a coach," Juventus said in an official statement on Friday.

"To do this, first of all, it takes courage, as well as awareness of one's own means, especially in a period marked by thousands of difficulties, with the world forced by the pandemic to reinvent its own rules day after day.

"Pirlo has just begun the first steps of what will no doubt become a brilliant career as a coach. An adventure of transformation, seeking, and often managing, to bring his ideas and his experience as a champion on the pitch from the 'other side' of the fence," the club added.

Juventus thanked the former boss for the "dedication and passion" he showed for the Serie A club.

"For all this, for the courage, the dedication, the passion with which he demonstrated every day, our thanks go to the Maestro, the Coach and to Andrea, that really comes from the heart. As well as our good luck for the future that will surely be a wonderful one," the club said.

When Juventus had suffered a 0-3 defeat against AC Milan on May 9, it was looking improbable that the side would qualify for Champions League, but somehow Cristiano Ronaldo's side managed to do it.

( With inputs from ANI )