BERGAMO, Italy — Atalanta hired Maurizio Sarri as coach, in the club´s third managerial change in the space of 12 months.
Atalanta did not give details of Sarri´s contract but Italian media reports the former Chelsea coach has penned a three-year deal, AP reported.
The Serie A club has struggled to find a fitting replacement for Gian Piero Gasperini following his departure to Roma last year, after nine seasons in charge.
Ivan Juri´c was the first man tasked with the job but he was fired in November after a seven-match winless run and with the team struggling in the lower reaches of the table.
Raffaele Palladino was parachuted in and steered Atalanta to a seventh place finish and the Italian Cup semifinals – where it lost on penalties to Sarri’s Lazio – as well as the round of 16 of the Champions League, where it was eliminated by Bayern Munich.
However, Atalanta parted ways with Palladino last week and officially named Sarri as its new coach.
Sarri has spent four of the past five seasons in charge of Lazio. The 67-year-old also previously had stints at Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus.
He won the Europa League with Chelsea in 2019 and the Serie A title with Juventus the following year.
