Maurizio Sarri has chosen Atalanta over Napoli regardless of being Aurelio De Laurentiis’s most popular candidate to succeed Antonio Conte, with the departing coach deciding in opposition to a return to the membership the place he spent three celebrated seasons, unwilling to threat tarnishing the recollections of what stays probably the most profitable interval of his managerial profession.
In response to Il Mattino, , the burden of his Napoli legacy proved the decisive issue. The prospect of returning to the Maradona, the place he constructed one of the crucial admired sides in European soccer throughout his tenure from 2015 to 2018, was thought-about too emotionally advanced to revisit.
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“Too heavy a burden, these three seasons and the ‘nice magnificence’. Higher to not spoil the reminiscence,” the paper experiences because the reasoning behind his determination.
ROME, ITALY – APRIL 27: Maurizio Sarri, Head Coach of Lazio, seems on in the course of the Serie A match between SS Lazio and at Stadio Olimpico on April 27, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Picture by Paolo Bruno/Getty Photographs)
Giuntoli affect proves decisive as Sarri opts for Atalanta rebuild over Napoli return
As a substitute, , changing Raffaele Palladino, with incoming sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli understood to have performed a pivotal position in convincing him to decide on Bergamo.
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The pair’s relationship from their time collectively at Napoli, the place Giuntoli was sporting director throughout Sarri’s reign, seems to have been the figuring out consider what might be one of many summer time’s most vital managerial appointments.
At Lazio, in the meantime, Gennaro Gattuso is about to be named as Sarri’s successor, bringing the previous Italy midfielder again to Serie A administration.