Italian Clubs

Only on FIFA Ultimate Team could someone imagine having Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo as a striking trio.

There was barely time for the full inquest into Juventus' exit from the Champions League to even begin before the club delivered their own blunt verdict — sacking their coach Maurizio Sarri.

Serie A champions Juventus stunned Italian football on Saturday by naming World Cup-winning midfielder Andrea Pirlo as manager on a two-year contract even though their former player has no previous experience in the role.

Pirlo, 41, was promoted to the senior job one week after being named coach of Juve's under-23 side, who play in the Italian third tier, and without having taken charge of a match. The decision came hours after the Turin club sacked coach Maurizio Sarri following their Champions League last-16 exit to Lyon on away goals on Friday.

Serie A club Juventus has sacked title-winning coach Maurizio Sarri after only one season in charge, following the team's elimination from the Champions League in the Round of 16 on Friday, the Turin club said in a statement.

The 61-year-old was dismissed despite leading Juventus to the Serie A title two weeks ago, the club’s ninth in a row.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace, including an unstoppable long-range goal, to give Juventus a 2-1 win over Lyon in the Champions League on Friday but it was not enough as the French side reached the quarterfinals on away goals.

Lyon went ahead in the 12th minute from a contentious penalty, awarded for a foul by Rodrigo Bentancur. It was converted by Memphis Depay.

Calm. Cool. Collected.

Over here in ‘Murica we’re having a tough time — for multiple reasons obviously. One of our 99 problems is that we can’t figure out when and how to watch the Champions League. Today I bring you one solution: the U.S. Champions League schedule. Here's the CBS Champions League TV Schedule.

The last time we saw the Champions League was March 11, 2020, in the second legs of the Round of 16. We’ll pick up where we left off with the second legs.

161 days since punching their respective tickets to the Europa League Round of 16 (and 322 days since the group stage began), Sevilla and Roma returned to the pitch in Duisburg, Germany, on Thursday in a match that exemplified the strangeness of European football’s return.

This tie was one of two that failed to play a first leg back in March, so a single-leg format at a neutral venue in Germany (where the remainder of the tournament’s matches will be played from the quarterfinals on) was used to determine this one. 

U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin has signed a deal worth more than $700 million to purchase the Italian Serie A soccer club AS Roma, the club said on Thursday.

Roma said in statement that formal contracts with the Houston, Texas-based Friedkin Group were signed on Wednesday for a transaction valued at 591 million euros.

"We look forward to closing the purchase as soon as possible and immersing ourselves in the AS Roma family," Friedkin said in a statement on the club website.

The long awaited return for the Champions League takes place on Friday, Aug. 7, and we all can’t wait. The Champions League will look a little different from how it did in March with a new format, new rules and new streaming.