Andrea Pirlo named as the new Juve coach after Sarri sacking

Andrea Pirlo has been named as the new coach of Juventus after the Italian champions sacked Maurizio Sarri earlier on Saturday. Pirlo, 41, has agreed a contract until 2022. 

Pirlo spent four years at Juve towards the end of his career. The former Italy midfielder made 164 appearances for the Turin-based club, scoring 19 goals. 

He replaces Sarri, who was sacked this weekend after just one year in charge. Sarri led Juve to their ninth league title in as many years but paid the price for the club's Champions League elimination. 

Juve exited Europe on Friday as they were beaten by Lyon on away goals. 

Pirlo was appointed as the coach of Juve's U23 team just over a week ago, but will leave that role behind to focus on the first team. 

"Today, begins a new chapter of Pirlo's career in the world of football, as it was said almost a week ago: from Maestro to Mister," Juve said on their website. 

"From today he will be THE coach for people of Juventus, as the club has decided to entrust him with the technical leadership of the First Team, after having already selected him for Juventus Under 23. 

"Today's choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead from his debut on the bench, an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes." 

UFFICIALE ✍️ Andrea Pirlo nuovo allenatore della Prima Squadra ➡️ https://t.co/gFxYuC28cj#CoachPirlo pic.twitter.com/6xWUAJ5u19

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) 8 de agosto de 2020