Lazio all but confirmed the appointment of Maurizio&nbsp;Sarri&nbsp;as their new head coach on Wednesday by posting a cigarette emoji on social media.

The Serie A club's post was a reference to the chain-smoking manager, and numerous Italian media reports say the 62-year-old has signed a two-year deal in Rome.

The capital club have been in talks with the former Juventus and Chelsea manager for more than a week as they looked for a successor to Simone Inzaghi, who joined Inter Milan last week.

Sarri&nbsp;has been without a club since he was sacked by Juventus in August 2020, despite winning the Serie A title.

Lazio, who finished sixth in Serie A in 2020-21, were on the hunt for a big-name replacement for long-serving boss Inzaghi, who was in charge at the Stadio Olimpico since April 2016.

Sarri, a former banker, spent more than 20 years coaching in Italy's lower leagues before making his name at Napoli between 2015 and 2018.

There, he built a side that played flowing, attacking football and pushed Juventus very close for the Serie A title in 2017-18, finishing second with 91 points.

The 62-year-old's work in Naples earned him a move to Chelsea in July 2018, where he won the Europa League title and led the London club to third place in the Premier League, but he left for Juve after one season in charge.

In Turin,&nbsp;Sarri&nbsp;led Juventus to a ninth consecutive league title but lost in the Coppa Italia final to former club Napoli, and he was sacked following a Champions League Last-16 elimination at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais.

Lazio all but confirmed the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their new head coach on Wednesday by posting a cigarette emoji on social media. The Serie A club's post was a reference to the chain-smoking manager, and numerous Italian media reports say the 62-year-old has signed a two-year deal in Rome.

Lazio all but confirmed the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their new head coach on Wednesday by posting a cigarette emoji on social media. The Serie A club's post was a reference to the chain-smoking manager, and numerous Italian media reports say the 62-year-old has signed a two-year deal in Rome. The capital club have been in talks with the former Juventus and Chelsea manager for more than a week as they looked for a successor to Simone Inzaghi, who joined Inter Milan last week. Sarri has been without a club since he was sacked by Juventus in August 2020, despite winning the Serie A title. Lazio, who finished sixth in Serie A in 2020-21, were on the hunt for a big-name replacement for long-serving boss Inzaghi, who was in charge at the Stadio Olimpico since April 2016. Sarri, a former banker, spent more than 20 years coaching in Italy's lower leagues before making his name at Napoli between 2015 and 2018. There, he built a side that played flowing, attacking football and pushed Juventus very close for the Serie A title in 2017-18, finishing second with 91 points. The 62-year-old's work in Naples earned him a move to Chelsea in July 2018, where he won the Europa League title and led the London club to third place in the Premier League, but he left for Juve after one season in charge. In Turin, Sarri led Juventus to a ninth consecutive league title but lost in the Coppa Italia final to former club Napoli, and he was sacked following a Champions League Last-16 elimination at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais.

Football: Lazio hint at Sarri appointment with cigarette emoji

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the team and insisted that it is important for a player like him to play freely on the pitch. &nbsp;

"Cristiano can go everywhere on the pitch, he is the best player, and I think that for him it's very important to be free on the pitch," said Sarri.&nbsp;

Sarri was addressing media after 2-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the International Champions Cup.&nbsp;

"It was the first, only the first match. Cristiano is the best player of our team of course, so I think that we have to organise very well," Sarri added further.&nbsp;

The former Chelsea manager also hopeful of signing more players before the closing of the transfer window.&nbsp;

"We have lots of players in certain positions and less in others, but we're talking about a situation where I have seven players in Turin carrying injuries and five who have yet to return from international commitments," said Sarri.&nbsp;

"I think the club, between now and the end of the transfer window, will do something in terms of incomings, but we'll also have to do something in terms of outgoings," he added.&nbsp;

The Italian champions have already signed Matthijs de Ligt, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Luca Pellegrini, Merih Demiral and Gianluigi Buffon ahead of the upcoming season and they looked interested in Manchester United's Paul Pogba.&nbsp;

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the team and insisted that it is important for a player like him to play freely on the pitch.

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the team and insisted that it is important for a player like him to play freely on the pitch. "Cristiano can go everywhere on the pitch, he is the best player, and I think that for him it's very important to be free on the pitch," said Sarri. Sarri was addressing media after 2-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the International Champions Cup. "It was the first, only the first match. Cristiano is the best player of our team of course, so I think that we have to organise very well," Sarri added further. The former Chelsea manager also hopeful of signing more players before the closing of the transfer window. "We have lots of players in certain positions and less in others, but we're talking about a situation where I have seven players in Turin carrying injuries and five who have yet to return from international commitments," said Sarri. "I think the club, between now and the end of the transfer window, will do something in terms of incomings, but we'll also have to do something in terms of outgoings," he added. The Italian champions have already signed Matthijs de Ligt, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Luca Pellegrini, Merih Demiral and Gianluigi Buffon ahead of the upcoming season and they looked interested in Manchester United's Paul Pogba.

'Cristiano Ronaldo is free to play where he wants': Maurizio Sarri

Juventus <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/matthijs-de-ligt-arrives-in-turin-to-complete-juventus-signing-236563">new signing Matthijs de Ligt</a> met fans and addressed media at his official unveiling on Friday. While speaking to media, de Ligt said he had "heard a lot of good stories" about Juve's new manager Maurizio Sarri.

"I spoke to him (Sarri) on the phone, really short. Just getting to know each other and nothing more," de Ligt told reporters in his first news conference as a Juve player.

"And he&nbsp;is one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Juventus, because I heard a lot of good stories about him, the way he plays, the philosophy he has, the attacking football, defending lines. How he prepared them. So, obviously, that was a big reason to come here," he added.

De Ligt, who captained Ajax squad that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, joined Juventus from Ajax for $84 million.&nbsp;

The move has made the Dutch international centre-back one of the most expensive defenders in the world.

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🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕 TURN DE LIGT ON, MATTHIJS! 💡<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TURNDELIGTON?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TURNDELIGTON</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LiveAhead?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LiveAhead</a> <a href="https://t.co/spkCCpyylx">pic.twitter.com/spkCCpyylx</a>
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During the presser, the 19-year-old seemed excited about making a name for himself in Serie A.&nbsp;

"It is the country that loves defending the most in the world. If you talk about Italian players, for me the most common names that come up are the defenders," he said.&nbsp;

Serie A champions Juventus appointed Maurizio Sarri as their new coach in June in their bid to win the European silverware.

Juventus new signing Matthijs de Ligt met fans and addressed media at his official unveiling on Friday. While speaking to media, de Ligt said he had "heard a lot of good stories" about Juve's new manager Maurizio Sarri.

Juventus new signing Matthijs de Ligt met fans and addressed media at his official unveiling on Friday. While speaking to media, de Ligt said he had "heard a lot of good stories" about Juve's new manager Maurizio Sarri. "I spoke to him (Sarri) on the phone, really short. Just getting to know each other and nothing more," de Ligt told reporters in his first news conference as a Juve player. "And he is one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Juventus, because I heard a lot of good stories about him, the way he plays, the philosophy he has, the attacking football, defending lines. How he prepared them. So, obviously, that was a big reason to come here," he added. De Ligt, who captained Ajax squad that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, joined Juventus from Ajax for $84 million. The move has made the Dutch international centre-back one of the most expensive defenders in the world. 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕 TURN DE LIGT ON, MATTHIJS! 💡#TURNDELIGTON #LiveAhead pic.twitter.com/spkCCpyylx — JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 19, 2019 × During the presser, the 19-year-old seemed excited about making a name for himself in Serie A. "It is the country that loves defending the most in the world. If you talk about Italian players, for me the most common names that come up are the defenders," he said. Serie A champions Juventus appointed Maurizio Sarri as their new coach in June in their bid to win the European silverware.

Heard a lot of good stories about Maurizio Sarri, says Juventus new signing Matthijs de Ligt

The build-up to the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/photos/europa-league-how-arsenal-learnt-from-last-seasons-mistake-aubameyang-elaborates-217434&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwijldj9u8DiAhXD6XMBHXoKAWkQFjABegQIDBAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw0FgzyS008r7z8gOphBO585">Europa League final</a> has been marred by the controversy surrounding UEFA's choice of venue, but it is now time for the football to do the talking as familiar foes Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to do battle in the unfamiliar setting of Baku on Wednesday.

Two and a half weeks after the Premier League season ended, here is a <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/sports/an-all-english-affair-at-europa-arsenal-chelsea-book-final-berth-217357&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwijldj9u8DiAhXD6XMBHXoKAWkQFjAAegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2DZ5YeOVDiMJmBKRH0CKRI">London derby</a> exported almost 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometres) to Azerbaijan's capital, by the Caspian Sea.

It is the first leg in a week of European finals dominated by England, with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur contesting the Champions League showpiece in Madrid on Saturday.

However, there will not be much of an English atmosphere at the Baku Olympic Stadium when the match kicks off at 2300 local time (1900GMT), with reportedly only around 6,000 tickets sold by the clubs in a ground which holds almost 70,000.

The distances and costs involved and the difficulty in getting to Baku have prevented more fans from travelling, while Arsenal are also handicapped by the absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

He decided not to travel because of fears over his safety due to an ongoing political dispute between Azerbaijan and his home country, Armenia.

"It is not in my hands. They have their reason to play here and I must respect this decision," said Arsenal coach Unai Emery on Tuesday.

"Yes, I prefer to play with our supporters here. I'd prefer it if a lot of supporters from us and from Chelsea could come here from London, but it's difficult," Unai added.

Emery's players have promised to try to win the trophy for Mkhitaryan, and the stakes are certainly high for the Gunners.

After finishing fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Chelsea in third and one point behind Tottenham, Arsenal have to win to qualify for next season's Champions League.

"For a club like Arsenal, we have to be in the Champions League. It's an amazing and important game because we want to give us, the fans and the club the Champions League back," said midfielder Granit Xhaka.

Whether that in itself is more important than winning a European trophy is another matter.

The build-up to the Europa League final has been marred by the controversy surrounding UEFA's choice of venue, but it is now time for the football to do the talking as familiar foes Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to do battle in the unfamiliar setting of Baku on Wednesday.

The build-up to the Europa League final has been marred by the controversy surrounding UEFA's choice of venue, but it is now time for the football to do the talking as familiar foes Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to do battle in the unfamiliar setting of Baku on Wednesday. Two and a half weeks after the Premier League season ended, here is a London derby exported almost 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometres) to Azerbaijan's capital, by the Caspian Sea. It is the first leg in a week of European finals dominated by England, with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur contesting the Champions League showpiece in Madrid on Saturday. However, there will not be much of an English atmosphere at the Baku Olympic Stadium when the match kicks off at 2300 local time (1900GMT), with reportedly only around 6,000 tickets sold by the clubs in a ground which holds almost 70,000. The distances and costs involved and the difficulty in getting to Baku have prevented more fans from travelling, while Arsenal are also handicapped by the absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He decided not to travel because of fears over his safety due to an ongoing political dispute between Azerbaijan and his home country, Armenia. "It is not in my hands. They have their reason to play here and I must respect this decision," said Arsenal coach Unai Emery on Tuesday. "Yes, I prefer to play with our supporters here. I'd prefer it if a lot of supporters from us and from Chelsea could come here from London, but it's difficult," Unai added. Emery's players have promised to try to win the trophy for Mkhitaryan, and the stakes are certainly high for the Gunners. After finishing fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Chelsea in third and one point behind Tottenham, Arsenal have to win to qualify for next season's Champions League. "For a club like Arsenal, we have to be in the Champions League. It's an amazing and important game because we want to give us, the fans and the club the Champions League back," said midfielder Granit Xhaka. Whether that in itself is more important than winning a European trophy is another matter.

Arsenal and Chelsea ready for final Europa League battle in distant Baku

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