Serie A giants Lazio have confirmed that Maurizio Sarri has resigned from his role as head coach.
The former Chelsea and Juventus boss departs on the back of a miserable four-game losing run, which saw the Biancocelesti eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern Munich and suffer three straight Serie A defeats to AC Milan, Fiorentina and Udinese.
Following Monday's 2-1 home loss to the latter - which left Lazio ninth in the Serie A table, eight points adrift of fifth-placed Roma and 11 behind Bologna in fourth place - it was reported that Sarri announced his intention to resign on Tuesday morning.
The 65-year-old cleared out his locker at Lazio's training ground amid the expectation that his resignation would be accepted by president Claudio Lotito, who has indeed given the green light to his exit.
Sarri will be succeeded by his long-serving assistant Giovanni Martusciello, who has been his right-hand man during the 65-year-old's spells at Lazio, Juventus and Empoli.
"SS Lazio announces that Maurizio Sarri has resigned as head coach of the first team," the club said in a statement. "The Company thanks the technician for the goals achieved and for the work carried out, wishing him the best human and professional luck. At the same time, the Club announces that it has decided to entrust the technical guidance to Giovanni Martusciello."
Maurizio Sarri ha rassegnato le proprie dimissioni, guida tecnica affidata a Giovanni Martusciello
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) March 13, 2024
✍️ https://t.co/APq6m0uyLG pic.twitter.com/5T32DS00uy
Upon Simone Inzaghi's exit for Inter Milan in 2021, Sarri - who had been out of work since leaving Juventus in the summer of 2020 - took the reins at Stadio Olimpico, and he saw his contract extended until 2025 after just one year in the job.
The Italian departs with a record of 65 wins, 30 draws and 42 defeats from 137 matches in charge across all competitions, taking 1.64 points per game, but he failed to win a piece of silverware during his time in the hotseat.
Sarri led Lazio to a second-placed finish in the 2022-23 Serie A season behind runaway champions Napoli, which earned the Biancocelesti a spot in January's four-team Supercoppa Italiana, but they suffered a 3-0 loss to Inter Milan in the semi-finals.
Five of the Italian's last six games in charge of the club ended in defeat, but his lieutenant Martusciello will stay on as Lazio's new manager, only his second top job after one year at the Empoli helm in the 2016-17 season.
The 52-year-old won just nine of his 40 games in charge of Empoli, who were relegated from the top flight that year, and he subsequently departed to become a technical coach at Inter Milan under Luciano Spalletti.
Martusciello held that position for two years before reuniting with Sarri at Juventus, and the Italian's first game in charge comes away to Frosinone on Saturday evening.
Ben Knapton
