Serie A: Genoa appoint Ivan Juric as coach after sacking Davide Ballardini; Chievo part ways with Lorenzo D'Anna

Milan: Genoa and Chievo on Tuesday became the first Serie A clubs this season to sack their coaches. [caption id=“attachment_5349641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Davide Ballardini. Reuters[/caption] Mid-table Genoa fired Davide Ballardini and brought back Croatian coach Ivan Juric, while bottom side Chievo sacked Lorenzo D’Anna with his replacement yet to be named. Genoa are 11th in Serie A with a game in hand, while Chievo are bottom on minus-one points after having three points deducted for false accounting. Ballardini paid after heavy defeats to Sassuolo and Lazio were followed by a 3-1 loss at home to Parma at the weekend. Genoa visit Italian champions Juventus next on 20 October after the international break. Ballardini had been with Genoa for nearly a year, coming in after Juric was fired following a derby defeat to Sampdoria. It will be former Genoa midfielder Juric’s third stint as coach of the club where he played for four years. D’Anna, who took over from Rolando Maran last April, was sacked after the club fell 3-1 to AC Milan at the San Siro on Sunday. He helped Chievo finish 13th and avoid relegation with three straight wins at the end of the season. “The driving force behind staying up last season, when he took over three games before the end of the season, he’s wished a heartfelt good luck for the rest of his career,” the Verona club said in a statement. Former Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura, who failed to qualify the Azzurri for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years, is reported to have agreed terms to replace D’Anna.