Massimiliano Allegri has returned to Juventus, replacing Andrea Pirlo as coach at the Allianz Stadium.
Allegri’s 2019 departure saw La Vecchia Signora slip into a troublesome period, at least by their standards. Though they did still win the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana without him.
Maurizio Sarri initially replaced Allegri, only to last a year before Pirlo was appointed. Pirlo himself, however, disappointed and only secured Champions League qualification on the final day of the season.
Allegri had been linked with the Inter job during Antonio Conte’s more turbulent times at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, and had been reported to have been holding out for a Real Madrid offer, particularly as Zinedine Zidane stepped down from his role with the Spanish giants. In the end, however, he has returned to the Bianconeri.
“Massimiliano Allegri is the Juventus manager once more,” read a Juventus statement on Friday, confirming Allegri’s return.
“Allegri finds a bench that he knows very well, a club that he loves and that loves him back, as today a new journey begins together, towards new goals.
“What he achieved in his first adventure at Juventus are engraved in the club’s history: five Scudetti, to the four-consecutive doubles, coupled with the Coppa Italia and to the two Super Cups, reaching two Champions League finals in just three seasons, in what were epic feats both in Italy and in Europe.
“We said goodbye two years ago with the message, “History Alone”, the message on the back of the shirt given to Massimiliano Allegri by President Andrea Agnelli with an embrace and a shirt, on which in just two words encapsulated Allegri’s experience at Juve.
The beauty of the story, however, is that it never stops. And in football, this means a concept that we have ingrained in our DNA: the best victory is the next one. Always.
And now we are ready to begin again with Allegri, to build our future together; with his enormous professionalism, his moral strength, with the brilliant ideas of a coach capable of shuffling the cards, both on and off the pitch. With his smile, a sort of “signature”. With his way of understanding football and life with simplicity, with his desire to play things down and with the commitment to enjoy every beautiful moment that being at Juventus can give and will give.”
