Atalanta have officially hired Maurizio Sarri as their new head coach, the club confirmed on Monday — making him their third managerial appointment in just 12 months. The 67-year-old arrives with a serious CV, and Atalanta will be hoping he is the man to finally steady the ship after a turbulent season in Bergamo.
Atalanta hire Maurizio Sarri after a year of managerial chaos
The rot set in when the legendary Gian Piero Gasperini ended his nine-year reign at the club to join AS Roma last year. Ivan Jurić was handed the reins first, but that experiment collapsed spectacularly. Seven games without a win, a team sliding towards the wrong end of the table — Jurić was shown the door in November. Furthermore, Raffaele Palladino stepped in and, to his credit, dragged Atalanta back to respectability. He guided them to seventh in Serie A, the Coppa Italia semifinals, and the Champions League round of 16. Nevertheless, results were not enough to save him — Atalanta parted ways with Palladino last week.
The Coppa Italia run carried its own bitter twist. Atalanta went out on penalties in the semifinals — to none other than Sarri’s Lazio. Now, remarkably, that same man is their new boss.
Sarri’s track record speaks for itself
Sarri is no stranger to pressure or expectation. He spent four of the past five seasons at Lazio, and his broader managerial career reads like a tour of Italian football’s biggest stages — Napoli, Juventus, and a spell abroad with Chelsea in the Premier League. At Stamford Bridge, he lifted the Europa League in 2019. He then returned to Italy and delivered Juventus the Serie A title in 2020. Consequently, the pedigree is undeniable.
Atalanta have not confirmed the length of his contract, though Italian media report Sarri has signed a three-year deal. After the instability of the past year, that kind of long-term commitment signals genuine intent from the club’s hierarchy. Whether Sarri can recapture the Gasperini-era magic — or forge something entirely his own — is the question every Atalanta supporter is now asking. According to BBC Sport, the appointment marks a significant moment for the club as they look to rebuild their European ambitions.