Juventus Turin Sacks Coach Allegri After Italian Cup Win: A Reckless Ending to a Glittering Era

It was a bloodbath that could not remain without consequences. This Friday, Juventus Turin sacked their coach Massimiliano Allegri, two days after winning their 15th Italian Cup by beating Atalanta (1-0) in the final. Allegri, under pressure since his team (4th) collapsed in the championship, was dismissed from his duties due to “behavior (…) not compatible with the values ​​of Juventus”, explained the club in its communicated. He was excluded from the final, then attacked one of its leaders during the celebrations, before insulting and threatening to hit the director of the sports daily Tuttosport.

“Juventus announces that it has relieved Massimiliano Allegri of his duties as first team coach,” the most successful club in Italian football said in a statement. “This decision follows certain behaviors observed during and after the Italian Cup final which the club does not consider to be compatible with its values ​​and with the behavior that those who represent the club must have,” the text continues.

While the Italian press had been announcing his next dismissal for several weeks, Allegri, 56, completely lost control in the last moments of a final that his team, attractive as rarely in 2024, dominated to win against the ‘Atalanta. Unhappy with a refereeing decision, he first took off his suit jacket and threw it to the ground, before shouting his anger at the fourth referee.

The referee, warned by his assistant, excluded him, which caused a new spectacular outburst of anger: he ironically applauded the referee’s decision, railed against the 4th referee once again, before throwing away his jacket and tie to the ground.

Twelve trophies

Still beside himself, he ended up going to the locker room. Returning to the field to celebrate this victory with his players, he then directed his anger, undoubtedly pent up for weeks, towards the sporting director of Juve, Cristiano Guintoli, gesticulating in his direction, as if to keep him away from the celebrations. Finally, on the way to the post-match press conference, he insulted the director of the sports daily Tuttosport and threatened to hit him, according to the account given by Guido Vaciago in the columns of his newspaper.

Massimiliano Allegri with the Italian Cup

Credit: Getty Images

The last images of Allegri, Juve coach, will therefore remain those of a man in shirtsleeves, fuming with anger and frustration, images which will damage the reputation of the man who can be considered one of the best coaches of the history of the Piedmontese club. The Italian technician, who on Wednesday evening became the most successful coach in the Italian Cup with five victories, no less than twelve trophies at the most successful club in Italian football, in two stints between 2014 and 2019, then between 2021 and 2024.

With players like Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Paul Pogba, Allegri won five consecutive Italian championship titles and four editions of the Italian Cup in his first experience at the helm of the Bianconeri.

Three years of famine

And above all, he made Juve a feared club in Europe again, something his predecessor Antonio Conte had not managed to do. His team played, and lost, two Champions League finals, in 2015 against Lionel Messi’s FC Barcelona and in 2017 against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid. After two disappointing seasons under the leadership of Maurizio Sarri, then Andrea Pirlo, he was called back to the helm of the “Old Lady”.

But Juve has changed a lot: the squad has lost quality, the club controlled by the Agnelli family is in serious financial difficulties and its 2022-23 season has been dominated by several scandals which have caused it to be heavily sanctioned, excluded from European competitions. With a younger squad, Allegri has partially achieved the objective assigned to him this season.

Juve ended three years without a trophy by winning the Coppa Italia. Next season, it will return to the Champions League and will compete in the very profitable Italian Super Cup and Club World Cup. But they lost their footing in the league: while they were the only team to keep up with Inter’s frenetic pace during the first leg, they only won two of their last fifteen matches.

Juve leaders have been coveting for several weeks the former Italian-Brazilian international Thiago Motta who worked miracles in Bologna (3rd). For its next match on Monday, Juve goes to Bologna, without Allegri…

2024-05-17 15:44:05
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