Month: August 2020

Juventus have named Andrea Pirlo as their new head coach on a two-year contract, just hours after sacking Maurizio Sarri.

Pirlo was only named the club’s Under-23 head coach last month, but has secured a major promotion before even taking charge of one match with the Serie C outfit.

It will be a major challenge for the 41-year-old who has never managed before, either at youth or senior level.

“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,” a statement from Juventus read.

Pirlo returns to Juve having starred for the club between 2011 and 2015. The midfielder helped lead the Bianconeri to four straight Serie A titles, as well as the final of the 2014–15 Champions League.

Internationally, Pirlo represented Italy on 116 occasions and was a member of his country’s victorious 2006 World Cup team.

His playing career ended in 2017 after a three-year spell at MLS side New York City FC, after which he began preparing for a career in coaching.

Pirlo will take over a team that has won nine consecutive Serie A titles, but has continued to fall short in the Champions League.

Sarri was sacked after just one season despite winning the Scudetto at the first time of asking. Juventus were shockingly eliminated by Lyon in the Champions League last 16 on Friday, as a 2-1 victory over the Ligue 1 side was not enough to avoid an exit on away goals in a 2-2 aggregate final score.

Following a meeting of Juve’s hierarchy on Saturday, the decision was taken to swiftly replace the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli manager.

Pirlo will have high expectations to meet, with it now established that success in Europe is the principal goal for Juventus. The club’s last Champions League win came in 1995-96 and Pirlo will be expected to help end a drought that has now reached 24 years.

The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 was expected to help end the club’s wait for European glory, but the Portugal superstar has only managed to lead Juventus to a quarter-final exit at the hands of Ajax last term before this season’s stunning round-of-16 elimination at the hands of Lyon.

Robert Lewandowski struck twice and set up two more goals as Bayern Munich cruised past Chelsea 4-1 on Saturday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 aggregate victory and remain on course for a treble of titles.

The Bavarians will be on an 18-game winning streak across all competitions as they head into next week’s Final Eight tournament in Lisbon, where they will face Barcelona.

Bayern, who won the domestic league and Cup double, quickly killed off the tie with a ninth minute Lewandowski penalty, after having won 3-0 in London in the first leg in February.

Polish striker Lewandowski, with 53 goals in 44 matches in all competitions this season, turned provider to set up Ivan Perisic in the 24th minute as the hosts showed no lack of fitness despite a five-week gap since their last competitive game.

Chelsea, who conceded seven goals in a two-legged European tie for the first time, did not lack match practice having played in the FA Cup final last week. But many of their players were missing through injury, including Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic and Pedro.

They did get onto the scoresheet with Tammy Abraham’s tap-in from a Manuel Neuer pass a minute before the break but it was Bayern who were in control in the second half.

Bayern substitute Corentin Tolisso restored their two-goal lead in the 76th minute with a well-timed volley from a Lewandowski cross.

The forward then bagged his second eight minutes later with a towering header to make it 13 goals in the Champions League this season, confirming Bayern’s status as one of the favourites for the title.

The three-month stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means that the remainder of the Champions League will be played at neutral venues in one-legged showdowns.

Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-1 Champions League win over Napoli that sets up a quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich.

Messi scored a fine solo goal and won a penalty in a virtuoso first-half display as Barca won the tie that started in February 4-2 on aggregate.

Clement Lenglet got them up and running with a 10th-minute header from a corner, although there did look a clear foul by the defender in the lead-up.

Messi then came to the fore with a typical moment of brilliance as he fought off three challenges, one of which saw him end up on the floor, before returning to his feet and finding the bottom corner.

After having another goal disallowed for a handball, the Argentinian then won a penalty after he was clattered by Kalidou Koulibaly and Luis Suarez converted in the 45th minute.

Insigne immediately replied for Napoli from the spot in first-half added time, but, despite a strong second-half push, they were left with too much to do.

Barcelona will now face Bayern Munich in a one leg tie quarter final.

Dejan Lovren already has his first piece of silverware for his new club Zenit St Petersburg less than two weeks after signing for the Russian club from Liverpool.

The defender played the full 90 minutes as Zenit beat Lokomotiv Moscow on his debut in the Russian Super Cup, a trophy contested at the start of each season.

The Croatia centre-back, 31, joined the Russian club for £10.9m after playing in 10 Premier League games in 2019-20 for champions Liverpool.

Zenit are champions of Russia and start the 2020-21 Premier League season on 11 August against Rotor Volgograd.

Lovren was an unused substitute when Liverpool beat Tottenham in the 2018-19 Champions League final.

An emphatic Cristiano Ronaldo double wasn’t enough for Juventus as Lyon booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with the away-goals rule to thank.

Coming over five months after the French side claimed a 1-0 home victory in the first leg, a first-half Memphis Depay Panenka was enough to secure the tie for Lyon, despite losing 2-1 on the night.

In victory, Lyon will now face Manchester City next week in a one-off quarter-final as they battle for a place in the final four.

An under pressure Maurizio Sarri made six changes from the side that lost to Roma in the final game of their domestic season, with a rested Ronaldo coming back into the side, while Paulo Dybala was only fit enough for the bench. Depay was the notable inclusion for Lyon having missed much of the season with a cruciate injury.

It was Juventus – fresh off their Serie A title win who entered as favourites, but the away side struck first, former Manchester United man Depay dispatching the coolest of Panenka penalties to hand Lyon the lead and the home side a mountain to climb.

After what was a highly dubious penalty, Lyon were then handed a controversial penalty of their own, as Depay was adjudged to have handled a Miralem Pjanic free-kick despite the fact his arms were positioned firmly by his side.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been fined and slapped with a squad limit in European competition next season after breaching FFP rules, it has been revealed.

Wolves have been ordered to stump up €200,000 for contravening profitability and sustainability rules.

UEFA say the fine will rise by a further €400,000 if the club does not get its finances in order by the year ending 2021.

Wolves have also been told it will have to stick to a 23-man squad cap, rather 25, if the club qualifies for next season’s Champions League, by winning the Europa League later this month.

They must also comply with a set spending pattern after reaching a settlement with UEFA.

UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Adjudicatory Chamber said the club must ‘report a maximum break-even deficit of €30 million (£27 million) in the financial year ending 2020’

The club has pledged to record ‘an aggregate break-even result’ for the financial years ending in 2019, 2020 and 2021, in accordance with UEFA’s directive.

And it has also vowed that for ‘the financial year ending in 2020, its employee benefits expenses are restricted’, the Chamber said.

The fine and squad cap will not be viewed as too debilitating by the Wolves hierarchy.

The real issue is how the £27 million losses Wolves are restricted to in the 2020/21 season, impact on the club’s transfer budget and approach to the summer window.

As perilous as the situation has become for UEFA to take this step, it’s thought the club is on relatively strong financial footing having reportedly made a £20 million profit last season despite spending big.

FFP rules vary across different leagues and competitions, with the Premier League adopting a very different policy on spending to the English Football League.

UEFA’s interpretation is to ‘prohibit clubs from making an aggregate loss in excess of €30 million over three seasons’.

The application and enforcement of these rules is the responsibility of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body, which can ‘impose a wide range of penalties for non-compliance, including bans from European competitions’, with final decisions of the CFCB appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.