Rome (AFP) – Sassuolo dismissed Alberto Aquilani on Monday and became the sixth Serie A club to fire its coach so far this season.

First modification: 11/09/2026 - 18:55

The Emilia Romagna team occupies seventeenth place in the Italian league, with eight points in eleven rounds, and has five consecutive defeats. The last setback was on Saturday at Roma's field (3-0).

"The club thanks the coach and his collaborators for the commitment and professionalism they have shown at the head of the Neroverdi, and wishes them the best for the future of their careers," Sassuolo said in a statement.

So far in Serie A, the Neroverdi have the worst defense in the championship (29 goals conceded) and have just one point more than the first team in relegation positions, Monza.

Aquilani, a 42-year-old former Italian international, was signed in June after an outstanding spell at Catanzaro, with whom he finished fifth in Serie B last season.

He is the sixth coach to lose his job since the start of the season, after Fabio Grosso, dismissed by Fiorentina after the third matchday, or Domenico Tedesco, struck down by Bologna at the end of the fourth matchday.

Carlos Cuesta also lost his jobs, fired by Parma after the fifth day; Davide Nicola, who left Venice after the sixth; and Kosta Runjaic, taken off by Udinese at the end of the tenth.

Although this season is being very hectic for the coaches, it is not a record: in the 2009-10 campaign, six coaches were dismissed after the ninth round. In that course there were 17 coach changes.

© 2026 AFP

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