Atalanta hire Maurizio Sarri in third managerial change in one year

Atalanta hired Maurizio Sarri as coach on Monday, in the club's third managerial change in the space of 12 months.

Atalanta did not give details of Sarri's contract but Italian media reports the former Chelsea coach has penned a three-year deal.

The Serie A club has struggled to find a fitting replacement for Gian Piero Gasperini following his departure to AS Roma last year, after nine seasons in charge.

Ivan Jurić was the first man tasked with the job but he was fired in November after a seven-match winless run and with the team struggling in the lower reaches of the table.

Raffaele Palladino was parachuted in and steered Atalanta to a seventh place finish and the Coppa Italia semifinals -- where they lost on penalties to Sarri's Lazio -- as well as the round of 16 of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Bayern Munich.

However, Atalanta parted ways with Palladino last week and on Monday officially named Sarri as their new coach.

Sarri has spent four of the past five seasons in charge of Lazio. The 67-year-old also previously had stints at Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus.

He won the Europa League with Chelsea in 2019 and the Serie A title with Juventus the following year.