Chievo, Genoa coaches sacked
Milan, Italy - Former Italy manager Gian Piero Ventura has been appointed coach of struggling Chievo following Lorenzo D'Anna's sacking on Tuesday, the Italian League club confirmed on Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday, mid-table Genoa fired Davide Ballardini and brought back Croatian coach Ivan Juric.
Ventura has been out of work since being fired as Italy coach after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years last November.
"Gian Piero Ventura is the new coach of Chievo," the club said in a statement, wishing the veteran "good luck for the work to be done".
The 70 year old has agreed a two-year deal with the club from Verona who are bottom league with minus one points after being deducted three points last month for false accounting.
Ventura has a long coaching career at club level in Italy with teams including Napoli, Sampdoria, Udinese and Hellas Verona.
He established his reputation during a five-year
spell with Torino from 2011, leading the club back into top-flight league and nurturing
stars such as Ciro Immobile before his appointment as Italy coach in July 2016.
His first game will be against Atalanta at home on October 21 after the international break.
D'Anna, a former Chievo captain who took over from Rolando Maran last April, was
sacked after the club fell 1-3 to AC Milan at the San Siro on Sunday – its sixth defeat out of eight games this season.
D'Anna helped Chievo finish 13th and avoid relegation with three straight wins at the end of last season.
Genoa is 11th in the league with a game in hand.
Ballardini paid after heavy defeats to Sassuolo and Lazio were followed by a 1-3 loss at home to Parma at the weekend.
Genoa visits Italian champion Juventus next on October 20 after the international break.
Ballardini had been with Genoa for nearly a year, coming in after Juric was fired following a derby defeat to Sampdoria.
It will be former Genoa midfielder Juric's third stint as coach of the club where he played for four years.