Coaching changes in Serie A

No fewer than 12 clubs resorted to sack their coach last season in the Serie A.

This figure contrasts sharply with that of the English Premier League where only five coaches lost their job.

To date, Italy-bound Cesare Prandelli's five-year reign at Fiorentina represents the longest coaching stint in the Serie A. Long tenures such as Alex Ferguson's 24 years at Manchester United or Arsene Wenger's 14-year stint at Arsenal are unthinkable in Italy.

Few imagined how far Claudio Ranieri would have taken Roma when he replaced Luciano Spalletti early in the campaign.

The team from the capital looked to have lost their way but with Ranieri at the helm, Roma blossomed and went on to finish a creditable second besides reaching the Coppa Italia final. Before going down to Sampdoria at home on the 35th day of the Serie A, Roma had gone 24 successive league games without defeat.

Roma's city neighbours, Lazio, also changed hands as Edy Reja replaced Davide Ballardini. The ex-Cagliari trainer was off to a headstart in his new job as he led Lazio to an unexpected 2-1 win over Inter in the Italian Super Cup. But then, Lazio suffered a nosedive and spent the rest of the season flirting with relegation.

Under Ballardini, Lazio could only manage 22 points in 23 games and a change seemed inevitable.

With Reja, Lazio improved and collected 24 points in 15 outings to finish in a trouble-free spot in the final standings.

Napoli were a side devoid of spirit and enthusiasm with Roberto Donadoni on the bench. So, it came as no surprise when Napoli showed the former Azzurri coach the back door and instead appointed Walter Mazzarri.

Donadoni's record with Napoli was poor - two wins, one draw and four defeats. The southerners, however, stepped a gear - 52 points in 31 games - under Mazzarri.

Palermo were in contention for a top-four finish until the final day. When Walter Zenga was in charge, the Sicilians were simply travelling in circles. His successor - Delio Rossi - was also off to a false start late in November. But then, Palermo emerged as one of the most refreshing sides and amassed 48 points in their remaining 24 games.

Down south, Sinisa Mihajlovic did really well at Catania. He took over at a time when the team was in deep relegation trouble. With novice Gianluca Atzori, Catania only managed nine points in 15 games.

But after Mihajlovic's arrival, Catania came more into the picture and went on to make sure of safety with several weeks to spare.

Giuseppe Papadopulo experienced a change in fortunes at Bologna. Towards the end of season 2008/09, he had taken over from Mihajlovic and helped the team keep their heads above water.

But in the next season, Bologna were off to an indifferent start (six points in eight games) and this resulted in Papadopulo's sacking and the subsequent appointment of Franco Colomba.

Under Colomba's charge, Bologna collected 36 points and avoided the drop for the second year running.

From the frying pan into the fire... a summary of what happened at Juventus after they sacked Ciro Ferrara and appointed Alberto Zaccheroni.

Things turned for the worse under Zaccheroni as Juve could only manage 22 points in 17 games (equivalent to 1.29 points per game) to finish seventh. With Ferrara, Juve had managed 33 points (1.57 points per game).

Udinese's sacking of Pasquale Marino did not make sense.

The northeasterners registered five wins and three draws in 16 games under the former Catania mentor. Marino's replacement - Gianni De Biasi - did even worse as Udinese precipitated into the red zone.

Eventually, Marino was reinstated and led Udinese to a stronger finish and clear of relegation.

Cagliari did well in the first round and made sure of conserving their status very early. Having reached their pre-set objective, the team hit a bleak patch.

From as early as February, coach Massimo Allegri was being linked with a move elsewhere. This did not go down well with club owner Massimo Cellino. He sacked Milan-bound Allegri and appointed youth coach Giorgio Melis.

The three relegated sides - Livorno, Siena and Atalanta - changed coach more than once.

Livorno started the campaign with Gennaro Ruotolo before appointing Serse Cosmi. Livorno already had their fate sealed when they reappointed Ruotolo on the 33rd day. The Tuscany side went on to record one win in their last five outings.

Five points in their opening 10 games left Siena with no choice other than to sack Marco Giampaolo and appoint Marco Baroni.

Under the former club youth team coach, Siena managed only one draw in three outings and he was replaced by Alberto Malesani.

The ex-Chievo, Fiorentina and Parma coach managed to put some life in his team but his effort was still not enough for Siena to stay among the elite.

Atalanta had four different coaches.

Angelo Gregucci's reign in Bergamo lasted only four games (four defeats). Antonio Conte, who had led Bari to Serie A the previous year, did little to change the tide (13 points in 13 games). Walter Bonacina resisted only one game (one defeat) before Bortolo Mutti took charge of Atalanta until the end of the season (22 points in 20 games).