Andrea Pirlo fired as coach by Sampdoria after just 1 point from 3 matches

GENOA, Italy (AP) — Andrea Pirlo was fired as coach by Sampdoria on Thursday after the second-division team picked up just one point from its opening three league matches.

Sampdoria drew the opening match of the Serie B season but lost the following two to leave it third from bottom in the fledgling standings.

Pirlo took charge of Sampdoria in June 2023, shortly after the team had been relegated from Serie A but could only steer it to seventh place last season, 18 points below second-placed Como and the automatic promotion spots.

Samp lost to Palermo in the preliminary round of the promotion playoffs.

It was the 45-year-old Pirlo’s third coaching job.

The former midfield maestro who helped Italy to the 2006 World Cup title began his coaching career at Juventus in 2020 but lasted just one disappointing season with the Bianconeri.

He also coached Fatih Karagümrük, leading it to seventh place in the Turkish league in his one year in charge.

Nicknamed “the maestro” for his passing skills, Pirlo also won Serie A six times as a player — twice with AC Milan and four times with Juventus. He won the Champions League twice with Milan.

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