Allegri leaves Juventus after five years

Italian champions Juventus have announced the departure of coach Massimiliano Allegri. The 51-year-old took over from former Juventus player Antonio Conte in 2014 after he had led the side to three consecutive Serie A titles.

"Massimiliano Allegri will not be on the Juventus bench for the 2019/2020 season," the club said in a statement. Allegri and Andrea Agnelli, the club president, are scheduled to outline the move on Saturday.

When he arrived, Allegri failed to convince the Juventus fanatics - the Tifosi. Less heart-on-sleeve than Conte, he appeared mentally unable to replicate his predecessor's fervour.

Unforgivable - especially after Allegri's anti-Juventus remarks while steering AC Milan to the title in 2011.

Surge
But after a poor start on the field, Allegri - with France international Paul Pogba in midfield and Carlos Tevez in attack - salvaged the season and his position with a successful defence of the Serie A title.

He added the 2015 Coppa Italia to the trophy cabinet - Juventus's first double since 1995 and only the third in their history.

He also took the side to the 2015 Champions League final where they were beaten by Barcelona.

Armed with that success, Allegri's side monopolised the honours in Italy. Juventus won both domestic titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018. A second Champions League final followed with another defeat to a Spanish outfit, this time Real Madrid.

With the 100 million euro addition of Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus secured the 2019 Serie A with a minimum of fuss and appeared in a good position to advance to the semi-final of the Champions League especially after a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam against Ajax in the first leg of the quarter-final.

Loss
But Juventus were deconstructed at home. Ajax won 2-1 and progressed.

With Allegri on the market, there will be question marks over an array of coaches.

Thomas Tuchel, the Paris Saint-Germain coach, led the team to the Ligue 1 title in his first season.

But he was unable to take them past the last 16 of the Champions League - a shortcoming that led to the dismissal of Unai Emery who, unlike Tuchel, managed to steer the side to the League Cup and the Coupe de France in his final season.

Maurizio Sarri is also vulnerable despite taking Chelsea to the League Cup final, third place in the English Premier League and the Europa League final. The Italian's dogmatic approach to his tactics has failed to ignite the Stamford Bridge diehards.