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Maurizio Sarri's one-year tenture at Stamford Birdge has been marked by ups and downs but ultimately success as he achieved his objectives of securing Champions League football by finishing third in the Premier League and winning his first top level trophy, the Europa League.

It can be said that the Blues didn't face any opponents approaching what could be classed as heavyweights until the semi-finals, and then only beat Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties, while risking a lot, especially at Stamford Bridge, he still triumphed.

He also reached the Carabao Cup final, losing to Manchester City, and even set a new English record for games unbeaten at the start of a Premier League season. None of that was enough to convince a portion of the Chelsea fanbase who never really loved him.

The Italian heard plenty of less-than-flattering chants about his 'Sarri-ball' methods and was criticized for a variety of reasons, starting from the fact that his brand of attractive football never really arrived, save for some short spurts of play here and there.

In fact, supporters had to wait until the second half of the Europa League final to see some of the best football under Sarri.

For most of the year, the Blues played a bland horizontal possession game, without the fast intricate moves that Napoli fans were used to seeing. Too often, the game plan revolved around whether Eden Hazard was up for winning the match or not on that day.

His year at Chelsea looked like the final four months at Napoli, with a lot of uninspired and sterile possession, a million passes that seemingly didn't lead anywhere.

(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Sarri could have sunk completely in February, after a 12-0 aggregate thumping at the ands of Bournemouth, Arsenal and Manchester City in three consecutive away games, but he did just enough to stay afloat.

He partially abandoned his idealism, which had failed to bear fruit, and accepted a slightly more pragmatic approach as the player leaned back into old ways they knew best as a defensive unit playing on the counter.

This saved him and Chelsea's season. The team finished the year with 22 points over 12 games. Not exactly a world-beating rhythm but enough to finish third ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Chelsea were expected to score plenty of goals under Sarri but they finished with the worst offense among the big six in England, with 63 goals, only one more than the previous year under Antonio Conte.

But he had the third best defense in the league, only surrendering 39 goals, once again, one more than the previous year.

His league season mirrored Conte’s second too, with Sarri notching two more points, and those points proved crucial in the pursuit of third place.

While his successor had to deal with Champions League football, Sarri played in the Europa League. Again, what mattered most is that he reached his goal of securing top four and winning a trophy, even if it came by the thinnest of margins.

That he reached his goals seemed (at least to a portion of fans) to be more a byproduct of other teams’ shortcomings than Chelsea’s success.

Not many trust Sarri’s ability to build on this year to improve next season, especially with Champions League duty (he won’t face lightweights like he did this year in the Europa League) and a potential closure of the transfer market, and Hazard probably leaving.

But Sarri himself seems to believe his place is away from England, in a safe spot where only a few teams know how to press and where he could go back to playing his beloved style of fast possession football.

Chelsea would end up losing a manager who succeeded in reaching his objectives in Year 1, but who clearly doesn’t believe in further progression in that environment.

He’s looking for a way out just like he did 12 months ago with Napoli. Back then, he basically quit completely on the Champions League (and later on the Europa League) while putting all his chips on the pursuit of the Serie A title.

While he was trying to win the Scudetto, he was negotiating with Chelsea. He didn't win it, but he still left like a hero, stating that one of the potential reasons for leaving was that the love story between him and the city had peaked and couldn’t improve any further.

It seemed to be a way to say that he had reached the apex with Napoli. Almost everybody wished him well at Napoli at the time. He has done something similar with Chelsea this year as he was preparing the Europa League final while negotiating a way out and a return to Italy.

He's still under contract, but he doesn’t seem to believe to be able to do better than he did this year, so better to leave as a winner from his point of view.

Sarri’s behavior has been almost funny to watch from Italy.

Around May 10 he was telling Italian media that he had Napoli fans in his heart, but that he loved the Premier League and was looking forward to remain there for a long time.

In the last week he dramatically changed his declarations. He says that he misses Tuscany, his old parents, his friends, that he feels the strong call of Italy and wants to come back.

Something must have happened. Maybe nostalgia kicked in, but it’s more likely that he answered a phone call from Northern Italy.

He also dedicated the Europa League to Napoli fans, while telling them that this job sometimes “pushes you” to go to other places. It was as close to an admission that he’s close to Juventus as you could get without it being official yet.

He later even said that there’s no point in remaining faithful to your ex after a divorce, and this goes back to the fact that he would be considered a traitor (like Gonzalo Higuain back in the day) if he went to Juventus.

At this point even if the Bianconeri pick another manager, it’s obvious that he has negotiated with them and given them his approval. What remains is figuring out how to get out of London.

At the same time, Juventus are equipped to keep conquering the domestic titles and have the squad for a deep run in the Champions League.

Sarri’s other motives are also obvious: Who would turn down an almost guaranteed Scudetto, accolades, money and a shot at the biggest trophies?

Well, until about a month ago, most Napoli fans would have replied “Sarri” with full conviction. The Tuscan for three years badmouthed Juventus, their club, their culture, while coaching Napoli.

He declared himself a Napoli fan since his earliest days (despite being from Tuscany, he was even born in Napoli, as his father was working there at the time), even though some of his friends and family said otherwise.

Sarri said that he shared Neapolitan feelings about Juventus, made subtle claims about their influence over Serie A referees, complained about their influence over scheduling and said he could never join them.

He played a populist role and this helped him bond deeply with the fans. Sometimes he even echoed fans’ criticism of his own club and acted as a stranger to Napoli, instead of an employee.

Fans took him seriously and believed everything he said. They thought he was “one of them” instead of a paid professional.

This allowed him to bypass criticism for a lot of improper behavior, such as the homophobic remarks to Roberto Mancini, sexist jokes to a female journalist, vulgar behavior such as crotch grabbing or foul-mouthed talk, or a middle finger showed to Juventus fans.

This was because he passed as a “genuine” person who would always say what he meant, who would sacrifice anything for his ideals and who would speak his mind, keep his word and not be afraid to go against the grain (and against power).

In fact this year Carlo Ancelotti was vastly criticized because he was seen as too friendly to the club, while Sarri was the opposite. It contributed to a bit of a break-up among Napoli fans, but to Sarrists, Sarri was a leader, a commander (his nickname is Il Comandante), a clean figure who built his way up without compromising with the establishment and who would never go for the easy way or for easy money.

When Sarrismo was born, it wasn’t just about the on-field product, but it was about a lifestyle, made of principles and ideals. Sarri joining Juventus would just about break most of his fans’ hearts and would show that the storylines were purely instrumental to magnifying his image.

Sarri is now playing the “professional” card, which is entirely inappropriate, given that his person was entirely built around his being anti-professional, anti-system, anti-power and anti-conventional, and remaining a genuine and humble man attached to his ideals.

His tracksuit and cigarette have been his symbols and yet he admitted to Vanity Fair that he’d be absolutely willing to dump his tracksuit if his next team asked him to. After all, if he reached his goal, he wouldn’t to maintain that custom-built persona anymore.

Whenever he speaks about his future, he almost acts as if he has no choice and he’s pushed to do certain things. In doing this, he’s showing lack of accountability and a refusal to take responsibility for his own choices.

In Naples he was beloved for a character he was playing and now most fans are turning on him. Others are still supporting him, saying that he has the right to make his own choices and he doesn’t owe anything to anybody, as he’s a professional.

While this is ultimately true, he would have never received all the love he has, if he had always acted as a true professional instead of the way he did.

He often refused a pro’s responsibilities with Napoli and spoke freely and as a fan, rather than a club employee, so his words and actions do somewhat reek of hypocrisy at this stage.

It must be nice to be able to switch status between fan and professional according to needs, while turning down responsibilities from both sides.

Time will tell what will happen, but at this point Sarri is succeeding in alienating three fan groups.

As said, some Napoli fans are defending him, but most have turned on him and won’t go back to defending him no matter what happens. After all he might not join Juventus, but his words on the subject have been more than clear.

Chelsea fans don’t exactly appreciate his lack of commitment to the team, and some of them have never loved him to begin with.

So which one is the third group? Obviously Juventus fans.

They haven’t forgotten him saying all the things he said about them over three years. A #SarriOut movement has broken out on Twitter and even trended in Italy, and he hasn’t even joined the team yet.

Some Turin-area journalists have said that he has to apologize for all he’s done and said, if he wants to join Juventus. Fans are volatile in their love and hate for coaches so there is no doubt that after a while, provided he starts winning, they’ll start to love him. Favorable media will do the rest over time.

His current appreciation status however couldn’t be worse and if he ends up staying at Chelsea, after having demonstrated his unwillingness to remain and his desperate desire to go to Juventus, he might end up loved by nobody in a place where he doesn’t want to be.

It’s more likely that he does end up in Turin and it will be interesting to see if he’s able to bring back his favorite brand of football and win the Champions League, which is all that interests Agnelli. If that happens, he won’t have many people wishing him well this time.

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