Maurizio Sarri was the head coach of Chelsea for the 2018/19 season.

The Italian was working as a banker when he took on his early coaching roles, but switched to full-time management in 1999, aged 40.

He continued to work in Italy’s lower leagues before making the step up to Serie B with Pescara in 2005.

Sarri switched to another second-tier Italian side, Arezzo, early in the 2006/07 season, replacing Antonio Conte, the man he later succeeded at Chelsea.

He led the side to a Coppa Italia quarter-final, losing 2-1 on aggregate to AC Milan.

Sarri had spells with five more Italian clubs before returning to Serie B when he took charge of Empoli in 2012.

His side lost the play-off final in 2012/13 but finished second the next season and reached the top flight, before securing a further season there in 2014/15.

In June 2015, Sarri became coach of Napoli, the city of his birth, replacing Rafael Benitez.

He led them to second and third-place finishes in his first two seasons, winning the Serie A Coach of the Year award in 2016/17.

Napoli started 2017/18 with eight successive league wins as they finished second again, four points behind Juventus. Their 91 points were a record for a team finishing as runners-up in the competition.

Sarri was appointed Chelsea head coach in the summer of 2018 and he led Chelsea to third place in the Premier League and also won the first major trophy of his managerial career as the Blues won the UEFA Europa League.

The Italian returned to his native country prior to the 2019/20 season to take charge of Juventus.