Maurizio Sarri has made a dramatic return to Lazio as head coach, just 15 months after resigning from the position, the Serie A club announced today. The 66-year-old replaces Marco Baroni, who guided Lazio to a seventh-place finish last season, narrowly missing out on European qualification.
Sarri stepped down in March 2024 after a run of five defeats in six matches, during which he publicly criticized the club’s transfer policy. His previous three-year stint with Lazio, starting in June 2021, saw the team achieve a second-place finish in the 2022-23 season—the club’s best league result since their title-winning campaign of 1999-2000.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito welcomed Sarri back with enthusiasm, stating, “Maurizio Sarri has returned home. His return is a choice of heart, conviction, and vision. With him, we want to resume a path that was interrupted too soon, aware that together, we can bring back enthusiasm, identity, and ambition. Welcome back to your home, commander.”
Born in Naples, Sarri began his coaching journey at lower-tier Italian clubs while working as a banker, before dedicating himself to management in the early 2000s. He reached Serie A at 55, leading Empoli to promotion in 2013-14. Sarri then guided Napoli to two second-place finishes in three years, earning the Serie A Manager of the Year award in 2016-17.
His sole season at Chelsea in 2018-19 brought a Europa League title and a Carabao Cup final appearance, followed by a Serie A championship with Juventus in the 2019-20 season.