Maurizio Sarri looks set to be on the Juventus bench next season, the latest hint coming when the Chelsea coach said in an interview with Vanity Fair that he missed life in Italy.
“For us Italians the call of home is strong. Feel that something is missing. It was a heavy year. I begin to feel the weight of distant friends, elderly parents I rarely see. But at my age, I only make professional choices.
“I won’t be able to train for 20 years. It is the registry office that says it. It’s hard work, the bench. When I return home to Tuscany I feel like a stranger. I have slept thirty nights in the last few years,” said Sarri.
In the same interview, the former Napoli tactician also expressed his love for the fans of his former side, which will not go down well in Turin.
“The Neapolitans know the love I feel for them, I chose to move abroad last year so as not to go on an Italian team. The profession can lead to other paths, the relationship will not change. Loyalty is giving 110% when you are there. What does it mean to be faithful? And if one day the company sends you away? What are you doing: stay true to a wife you divorced from?”.
Sarri also challenged the concept of “winning at all costs” appreciated by Juve fans: “The concept is an extremity. It blurs the minds of the fans and some coaches. It is just a sport, it does not make sense. Evolution is the child of defeats, a defeat creates a bigger mark than a defeat on me and helps me make a leap forward.”