Maurizio Sarri has been appointed the new head coach of Atalanta following his departure from Lazio.The 67-year-old replaces Raffaele Palladino in the role, who was dismissed last week alongside seven members of his coaching staff. Sarri, meanwhile, had his contract at Lazio terminated by a “mutual agreement” in May, bringing an end to his second spell in charge of the club.Atalanta enjoyed a nine-year period of managerial stability under Gian Piero Gasperini, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time and winning the 2024 Europa League, but Sarri now becomes their third head coach in the space of a year.Palladino was appointed in November after the sacking of Gasperini’s replacement, Ivan Juric, and oversaw a seventh-place finish, securing qualification for the Conference League. It was their lowest league finish since the 2021-22 campaign.Atalanta will be the fifth Serie A club that Sarri has coached after spells at Empoli, Napoli, Juventus and Lazio. He also managed Chelsea in the 2018-19 season, winning the Europa League.Lazio finished ninth in the 2025-26 season, five points behind Atalanta in the final of Serie A’s European qualification places.Sarri began his coaching career in Italy’s lower divisions and did not coach in the top flight until the 2014-15 campaign, having earned promotion to the top flight the season prior with Empoli.He joined Napoli in 2015 before taking his first job outside of Italy with Chelsea in 2018, replacing compatriot Antonio Conte. He spent just one year at Stamford Bridge and left to take over at Juventus, leading the team to the 2019-20 Serie A title, the first league title of Sarri’s career. However, he was dismissed in August 2020 after Juventus exited the Champions League at the round of 16 stage.After a year out of management, Sarri joined Lazio in June 2021. He oversaw league finishes of fifth and second before resigning in March 2024, though he re-joined the club just 15 months later after the departure of Marco Baroni.“Maurizio Sarri has returned home. His return is a choice of heart, conviction and vision,” Lazio president Claudio Lotito said at the time.