Next Sunday, Juventus will travel to the Brianza region to take on Monza in the first ever fixture between the two sides in Serie A.
While the Bianconeri haven’t exactly enjoyed a stellar start to the campaign themselves, things have been disastrous for the newly promoted side.
After losing their first five league fixtures, Silvio Berlusconi’s team finally picked up a solitary point in an away draw to fellow newcomers Lecce.
In the end, Monza ran of out of patience with Giovanni Stroppa, and decided to wield the axe on Tuesday morning.
In his stead, the club’s official website have announced the appointment of Raffaele Palladino as an interim manager.
The 38-year-old is a familiar face for the Bianconeri, having been on the club’s books between 2003 and 2008.
Following loan spells at Salernitana and Livorno, the striker returned to Turin to be a part of Didier Deschamps’ squad during the 2006/07 campaign.
He remained for another season at Juventus following the club’s promotion, before signing for Genoa in 2008 in search for additional playing. He eventually ended his playing career at Monza in 2019, and is currently in charge of the club’s Primavera.
For the moment, it remains unclear if Monza’s vice-president Adriano Galliani will able to sign a new manager prior to the encounter against the Bianconeri. If not, then Palladino will be set for a baptism of fire against his former club.
Surely Max Allegri would want to avoid an embarrassing misstep against a struggling club led by a rookie manager.
