Sarri appointed as Lazio coach

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 9 Jun 2021 16:11 BST

Maurizio Sarri has been appointed as the new coach of Lazio.

The former Chelsea and Napoli manager has signed a two-year deal worth around €3m a season.

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Lazio president Claudio Lotito has been in negotiations over the last week with Sarri and a deal has now been agreed.

The Biancocelesti posted a cigarette emoji on their twitter account on Wednesday morning to all but confirm the news, with Sarri renowned as a chain-smoker.

Lazio moved for Sarri after Simone Inzaghi opted to leave the club in order to succeed Antonio Conte as the new coach of Inter.

This caused considerable controversy as Lotito claimed that Inzaghi has shaken hands on a new deal, only to change his mind 24 hours later and sign for Inter.

Lazio also considered Andre Villas-Boas and Vincenzo Italiano, but it is Sarri who will be moving to the Italian capital.

Sarri success at Juventus and Chelsea

Sarri has been out of work since he departed Juventus just under a year ago.

Despite winning the Scudetto and reaching the final of the Coppa Italia, Sarri was sacked as Juventus after only a year at the club.

Prior to that he also only lasted a year at Chelsea, but still managed to lead the Blues to Europa League glory and a top-four finish.

But it was at Napoli from 2015 to 2018 that the 62-year-old Sarri really emerged as the Azzurri played some of the best football Serie A has ever seen.

He went agonisingly close to taking Napoli to their first league title since the days of Diego Maradona.

Sarri will now be hoping for success at a Lazio side that, like Napoli, does not boast significant financial resources but does still have a number of talented players such as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto.