Sarri Returns to Juventus With Atalanta After Unhappy Scudetto Spell
Maurizio Sarri will return to Juventus on Sunday with Atalanta, taking his developing Bergamo side to the Allianz Stadium for a 17:00 UK time kick-off against the club he led to the 2019-20 Serie A title.
The Scudetto did not turn Sarri’s only season in Turin into a happy spell, however. His campaign was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the season halted and then completed largely in empty stadiums from March onwards. Sarri said those circumstances contributed to the poor memories he retains from the job, although he insists he would not change his decision to take it.
“It was an unusual campaign, with grounds virtually empty from March because of the pandemic,” Sarri said. “That may be one reason I do not look back on that experience positively. But I have no regrets.”
A long-term rebuild in Bergamo
Atalanta’s visit comes during a significant transition under Sarri. He is attempting to move the club away from the three-man defensive system that had been central to its identity for around a decade, replacing it with a markedly different approach. The early results have been uneven, with three wins, one draw and two defeats in all competitions.
Sarri believes that pattern is familiar from much of his managerial career. He pointed to Empoli, where his side were bottom after nine matches before reaching the promotion play-off final, and to Napoli, where they had only two or three points after four rounds. Chelsea, he said, was the sole appointment at which his methods produced an immediate start.
The coach feels the scale of the change at Atalanta makes early difficulties inevitable. The further a team’s established game differs from his own principles, he argued, the more demanding the initial adaptation becomes.
“This is a season for building,” Sarri said. “The sporting director and the club have not imposed short-term objectives. Their focus is on the longer term.”
That backing gives Sarri time to reshape the squad’s habits, but Juventus provide a demanding test for a team still finding consistency. For Sarri, the match also carries the added weight of revisiting a club where a league title was followed by a swift and unsentimental departure.
