Juventus have appointed former Arsenal women’s manager, Joe Montemurro, despite the Australian saying he will take his time in making a decision about his future as he wants to spend time with his family.
When Joe Montemurro bowed out of his time at Arsenal with a 9-0 drubbing of Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, all attention turned to the future of the club.
Leonie Maier has already confirmed she’s off now that her contract is up while Danielle van de Donk has reportedly turned down an extension and seems destined for Lyon when hers also expires in the summer.
Montemurro was said to be leaving Arsenal for ‘personal reasons’ and admitted having second thoughts about the decision a number of times. No matter what he decided to do, there was never going to be a shortage of offers.
As May came to a close, Juventus were increasingly confident of appointing him to replace Rita Guarino and expected to announce his signing when his contract officially ended with Arsenal at the end of May.
It didn’t come then, but it has come today:
https://twitter.com/JuventusFCWomen/status/1402222481528832000?s=20
A report in Italy last month said (via Google translate), “Juventus Women: Rita Guarino leaves after 4 championships, Joe Montemurro arrives
“The Australian coach comes from Arsenal, but he is of Italian origin and already knows our language well.
“Rita Guarino leaves the Juventus women’s bench, after four years in which the bianconere have won four league titles, one Italian Cup and two Italian Super Cups.
“The decision was the subject of speculation for some time, despite the contract renewal last February, and was made official after a confrontation between Guarino and Stefano Braghin, head of the women’s team.
“In place of Rita Guarino, Juventus will focus on a male coach: Joe Montemurro : Australian of Italian origin, born in 1969, spent as a footballer in Italy with the shirts of Potenza and Treviso, currently on the bench of the women’s Arsenal.
“As for the future of Rita Guarino, there are still no certainties, but there are several clubs that would not miss the chance to sign her. The door to the Italian national team could even open for her, should Milena Bertolini decide on other options.”
Speaking after Arsenal’s 9-0 win against Crystal Palace in the Women’s FA Cup, Montemurro said about the links with Juventus: “I haven’t seen anything about it and it’s news to me, to be honest.
“I won’t lie, there have been some calls to my agent and some inquiries but I haven’t agreed to anything and nor do I intend to make any decisions for now.”