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Tag: Maurizio Sarri

  • Chelsea agree deal for Sarri to join Juventus

    Chelsea agree deal for Sarri to join Juventus

    Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle for their manager Maurizio Sarri to join Serie A champions Juventus.

    An agreement was reached late on Thursday evening after talks between senior officials. A deal could be completed as early as Friday.

    It is understood a compensation fee in excess of £5m has been agreed.

    Sarri arrived from Napoli in July 2018 and led the Blues to third place in the Premier League and won the Europa League in his one season in charge.

    Despite signing a three-year deal last July, he will become the ninth full-time manager to leave the club under Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

    Throughout the 60-year-old Italian’s time at Stamford Bridge there was repeated speculation about his position, with Chelsea fans expressing their discontent at tactics and team selections.

    One of the low points came in February when goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga challenged his authority by refusing to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, shortly before Chelsea were beaten in a penalty shootout by Manchester City.

    But Sarri did manage to win his first ever trophy as manager with a 4-1 victory over Arsenal in May in the Europa League final, and after the match said “he deserved” to stay with the club.

    Chelsea are currently unable to sign any players after they were banned for two transfer windows by Fifa – a decision they are appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    Their star player Eden Hazard has joined Real Madrid for a fee that could exceed £150m.

    Significantly, Chelsea have not asked for the suspension to be put on hold until a final decision is reached. It means their only new arrival might be USA forward Christian Pulisic, a £58m signing from Borussia Dortmund in January, who spent the remainder of the campaign on loan in Germany.

    Juventus are managerless after Massimiliano Allegri left at the end of last season, having won the league title in each of his five seasons since taking charge in 2014.

  • Chelsea coach Sarri moves out of London home

    Chelsea coach Sarri moves out of London home

    Maurizio Sarri has moved out of his London home as he waits for Chelsea to allow him to move to Juventus.

    The Daily Mail says Sarri and his staff remain in limbo while they wait for his Chelsea exit to be rubber-stamped.

    Sarri went back to Italy last week ahead of his expected appointment as Juventus boss.

    Once he returned to his home in Tuscany, Sarri gave an interview to an Italian magazine explaining how much he has missed Italy while he has been in charge at Chelsea.

    Yet the clearest hint that he has no intention of coming back to England is the fact he has cleared out the Surrey home he was staying in and moved all his property back to Italy.

    Members of his coaching staff had also given their notice ahead of moving out of their rented properties before Sarri vacated his home.

     

  • The call of Italy is strong, says Chelsea boss Sarri

    The call of Italy is strong, says Chelsea boss Sarri

    Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says he misses Italy amid reports he could leave the club to join Juventus.

    Sarri’s future has been the subject of debate all season despite only moving to Stamford Bridge from Napoli last summer.

    The 60-year-old led Chelsea to third in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup final and won the Europa League in the final against Arsenal on 29 May.

    “For us Italians the call of home is strong,” Sarri told Vanity Fair.

    “I feel that something is missing. It has been a heavy year. I begin to feel the weight of distant friends and elderly parents I rarely see.

    “But at my age, I only make professional choices. I won’t be able to work for 20 years. It’s hard work, the bench.”

    Sarri says his relationship with the Napoli fans will not change even if he does move to a rival Italian club.

    “The Neapolitans know the love I feel for them. I chose to move abroad last year and not to go on an Italian team,” he said, having managed them from 2015 to 2018.

    “The relationship will not change. Loyalty is giving 110% when you are there. What does it mean to be faithful?”

    Sarri, who is due to hold talks with Chelsea about his future, said he thinks he “deserves” to stay at the club after their 4-1 Europa League final victory.

  • EPL: Sarri expects to be released by Chelsea

    EPL: Sarri expects to be released by Chelsea

    Maurizio Sarri expects to be released from his Chelsea contract, paving the way for him to take over as Juventus manager, Sky in Italy understands.

    In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Sarri secured Chelsea a return to the Champions League by sealing a third-placed Premier League finish, before claiming the first major trophy of his career by lifting the Europa League.

    However, Sarri endured consistent criticism from a significant portion of the club’s supporters throughout the season and, amid interest from Serie A champions Juventus, the 60-year-old held talks with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia on Friday.

    Sarri informed her he wants to leave Chelsea this summer and she promised to talk to the club’s owner Roman Abramovich about his future.

    Sources have told Sky in Italy that there do not appear to be any major obstacles in the way of Sarri succeeding Massimiliano Allegri as Juve boss and it is expected to happen quickly.

  • I love Sarriball, says David Luiz

    I love Sarriball, says David Luiz

    David Luiz “loves” the way Maurizio Sarri has Chelsea playing and says he and his team-mates are trying to make it work “as soon as possible”.

    Luiz celebrated his 32nd birthday last week with a fancy-dress party which he says shows “how I think about life”.

    Gonzalo Higuain won best prize for his Elvis Presley impersonation – but has managed just four goals since he was brought in on loan in January to provide the finishing touch to Sarri’s possession-based philosophy.

    But after the pragmatic approaches of predecessors Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Brazilian centre-back Luiz is happy to stick with ‘Sarriball’.

    “The way he [Sarri] plays football is the way I love football,” Luiz told Sky Sports News. “It’s the way I enjoy football, not just playing but watching. I love his philosophy.

    “A lot of people used to say Chelsea don’t control games, or Chelsea just play counter-attacks and defend.

    “Now we control all games and they criticise us because they don’t think we win games with possession.

    “His philosophy is amazing. He’s trying to play football. This takes time. We are trying to improve as soon as possible.”

    Sky Sports

  • Europa: Tired Hazard may be rested, says Sarri

    Europa: Tired Hazard may be rested, says Sarri

    Eden Hazard is “tired” and could be rested for Chelsea’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Slavia Prague, manager Maurizio Sarri says.

    The Belgian forward has scored three goals in the past two games but the manager expects to make “five or six changes” in Prague on Thursday.

    “I want to wait until tomorrow and then I will decide [on his availability],” said Sarri.

    “Of course, we have to play in Liverpool three days after.”

  • Higuain has same problem as Luis Suarez, says Sarri

    Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has compared Gonzalo Higuain to Luis Suarez and says the on-loan striker “needs time” to improve.

    The 31-year-old, who joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus in January, was an unused substitute in the 3-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday.

    Sarri insists he wants to keep Higuain next season but wants him to improve physically for the Premier League.

    “It was a problem for Suarez in the first season at Liverpool,” Sarri said.

    Suarez joined Liverpool in January 2011 and scored four Premier League goals before the season ended. The following season he scored 11 league goals, before going on to score 23 and 31 respectively in those that followed.

    “He has to improve physically, mentally, but I think also he will be able to be very useful for us in the last part of the season,” Sarri said of Higuain, who has scored three goals in eight league appearances for Chelsea.

    “It’s not easy in the first months to play in the Premier League. It was a problem also for Suarez in the first season at Liverpool. He scored only a few goals. In the second season he scored more. So it’s not easy, especially for a striker, to play immediately well in the Premier League.

    “I think he needs time to improve his physical condition and time to be suitable for the Premier League. I think he is able to do it.”

    Sarri hopes to keep Higuain at Stamford Bridge next season but said it was dependant on both Chelsea and his parent club. Chelsea have the option to buy the Argentine for 36m euros (£31.3m) or to extend his loan deal until June 2020 for 18m euros (£15.6m).

    “Yes of course [I want to keep him], but it depends on the club, it depends on Juventus,” said Sarri.

    “It’s not clear the situation at the moment.”

    Fifth-placed Chelsea face West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

    BBC

  • EPL: Loftus-Cheek now a complete midfielder – Sarri

    EPL: Loftus-Cheek now a complete midfielder – Sarri

    Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has praised Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s improvement during this season, hailing him as a “complete” midfielder.

    The England international has scored twice in his last two games, securing a late winner against Cardiff last weekend before getting the Blues’ third in their midweek victory over Brighton.

    Loftus-Cheek’s start against the Seagulls was just his second in the Premier League under Maurizio Sarri, but when asked if he has progressed during their time together, the Italian said: “Yes, a lot, especially tactically.

    “Now he is tactically a very good midfielder. At the beginning of the season he was a very offensive midfielder. Now he is complete, I think.”

    Loftus-Cheek has made 31 appearances, 11 from the start, for Chelsea this season, but those numbers could have been higher were it not for a recurring back injury.

    Sarri says he could start most of their matches between now and the end of the season, but added: “We need to check every day the condition of his back.

    “This morning he had only a recovery session because he needs time to recover after a match. The problem in this moment is that probably he is not able to play for 90 minutes.

    “It’s a problem of course, but I think our doctor is able to take control of the situation.”

     

  • Maurizio Sarri getting used to Chelsea boo-boys

    Maurizio Sarri getting used to Chelsea boo-boys

    Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says he is getting used to fans calling for him to resign after his team laboured to a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Cardiff City on Sunday.

    Chelsea needed a controversial goal from captain Cesar Azpilicueta from what appeared to be an offside position and an injury time header from midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the narrow win, which kept them sixth in the Premier League table.

    Sarri’s decision to start with Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante on the bench sparked off the criticism, with fans chanting “we want Sarri out” and “you don’t know what you’re doing”, after their team fell behind just after half-time.

    “I can understand (the fans’ reaction) very well,” Sarri told reporters.

    “I have been on the pitch for the last 45 years, so I know the reaction of the fans.

    “Unfortunately, in the last period, I am getting used to this; I have to work just in order to change their opinion! if you win matches, the fans will be happy,” he said.

    Fans turned on Sarri, who joined Chelsea in July, after a string of poor results in 2019 that included a 4-0 defeat at Bournemouth, a 6-0 drubbing by Manchester City and a 2-0 defeat at Everton.

    The Italian said he wanted to prove his detractors wrong.

    “I want to stay,” Sarri said, adding, “when I arrived, this team was 30 points behind Manchester City. They were fifth. So I want to stay here, I want to improve the results.”

    Chelsea will next face Brighton and Hove Albion in the league on Wednesday.

  • We cannot kill Kepa, he remains number one – Sarri

    Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, has insisted Kepa Arrizabalaga remains his number one goalkeeper, after dropping the Spaniard for Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday.

    Sarri drafted Willy Caballero into his starting XI, after Kepa refused to be substituted in the closing stages of their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

    The Italian explained he was trying to send a message to his squad by dropping Kepa.

    However, asked whether Kepa was still his number one, the Italian told a news conference: “Of course.

    “I think it was the right decision [to drop him]. Kepa made a big mistake. He paid [a fine] with the club and then he paid [with his position] with the team.

    “Now I think we have to stop. Kepa will be from tomorrow with us.

    “I don’t know in the next match if he will be on the pitch or not. But in the next one or two, of course.

    “We cannot kill him. When you are young you can make mistakes.

    “[But] you need to understand very well after every mistake. For me the question is closed.”

    Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage to take on west London rivals Fulham on Sunday.