Sassuolo have sacked Alberto Aquilani, ending the former Liverpool midfielder's first top-flight job after just five months. Five successive defeats have left the Neroverdi 17th in Serie A, one point above the relegation zone and holding the division's worst defensive record.
The club confirmed the decision on Monday, two days after a 3-0 defeat at Roma — the club where Aquilani began his playing career — proved to be his final match in charge. "US Sassuolo Calcio announces that it has relieved coach Alberto Aquilani and his staff of their duties," the statement read, as reported by Reuters. "The club thanks the coach and his collaborators for their commitment and the seriousness shown in leading the Neroverdi and wishes them the best of luck for the future."
A bright start that collapsed
Aquilani, 42, was appointed in June and won two of his first four league games, but the season unravelled quickly from there. Sassuolo have now gone seven matches without a win, losing six of them, and Saturday's defeat in Rome was their fifth in a row. Across all competitions he leaves with a record of four wins, two draws and seven defeats in 13 fixtures.
The numbers behind the decision are stark. Sassuolo sit on eight points from 11 games, a single point ahead of Monza below them, and they have conceded 29 goals — more than any other side in Serie A. For a club that prides itself on stability and smart planning, a defence leaking almost three goals a game left the board with little choice but to act during the international break.
From Anfield nearly-man to the dugout
Aquilani's coaching road has been patiently built. Before Sassuolo he spent nearly three years in charge of Fiorentina's Under-19s, then worked in Serie B with Pisa and Catanzaro before earning his first top-flight opportunity this summer — at a club he also represented as a player in 2017.
Many English fans will remember him for a very different chapter. Signed by Liverpool from Roma for an estimated £20 million in August 2009 as the replacement for Xabi Alonso, he arrived injured, did not debut until late October and managed just 28 appearances before being sold to Fiorentina in August 2012. The talent was never in doubt; his body, and now his first Serie A dugout, have told a harder story.
So what happens next for Sassuolo?
The international break gives Sassuolo time no relegation-threatened club usually gets. According to Italian reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, reported by talkSPORT, Roberto D'Aversa and Vincenzo Montella are both on the club's radar, although neither has yet been interviewed. D'Aversa was last in charge at Torino, while Montella is available after being dismissed by Turkey in October — his last job in Italian football was at Fiorentina in 2019.
Whoever takes over inherits one clear first fixture and one clear first problem: a home match against Genoa on November 22, and a defence that must stop conceding at its current rate if Sassuolo are to pull away from Monza and the bottom three.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This one hurts, because Aquilani to Sassuolo felt like the right story — a thoughtful young coach at the club that does thoughtful better than almost anyone in Italy. But sentiment does not survive 29 goals conceded in 11 games. Sassuolo have not panicked early; they have acted at the last moment the table still allowed them to. The next appointment, not this sacking, will decide whether they stay up.
Did Sassuolo make the right call sacking Aquilani, and who should they appoint next — D'Aversa, Montella, or someone else entirely? Let us know in the comments.
