ROME (AP) — Massimiliano Allegri is headed back to AC Milan. Gian Piero Gasperini could leave Atalanta for Roma. Maurizio Sarri might be rehired by Lazio.
Juventus, meanwhile, needs an entirely new plan after Antonio Conte decided to stay at Serie A champion Napoli.
Less than a week after the Italian league concluded, the Serie A coaching carousel is approaching full speed.
All 10 of the top 10 finishers in Serie A are either looking for a new coach or have had to work hard to convince their current manager to stay.
Here’s where the top 10 teams stand:
Conte appeared interested in a return to Juventus but announced late Thursday following a meeting with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis that he would stay in place.
Conte still has two years remaining on his contract at Napoli, which will now include a salary increase.
It’s an important development for Napoli, which saw Luciano Spalletti leave the club after he coached the Partenopei to the title two years ago.
Conte may have been swayed by Napoli’s intent on signing Kevin De Bruyne, with Jonathan David also high on the club’s wish list.
With Inter set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal is reportedly trying to lure Simone Inzaghi with an offer of more than 20 million euros ($23 million) per season.
“Fortunately, my club knows me well,” Inzaghi said on Monday. “Every year, there are offers from Italy and abroad, from Saudi Arabia, but I think it would be crazy to think about that now.”
The Italian coach has been at Inter since 2021 and has one more year left on his contract.
Gasperini appears to have had enough after nine seasons at Atalanta that included a Europa League triumph, six top-four finishes in Serie A, and a Champions League quarterfinal.
Gasperini’s talks with Roma’s American ownership are reportedly moving along.
If Gasperini does indeed leave, Atalanta could hire former Juventus coach Thiago Motta or former Milan coach Stefano Pioli.
Juventus’ plans are perhaps the most unclear of any of the top teams, with sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli reportedly set to be replaced and Conte no longer on the market.
For now, Igor Tudor is still in charge despite voicing his displeasure with his status after guiding Juventus to the final Champions League place.
Tudor is open to coaching Juventus at the Club World Cup, his agent said Monday, a day after the Croatian indicated he might not be.
With Claudio Ranieri heading into retirement, Gasperini appears to be Roma’s choice for a replacement.
Whoever is hired will become Roma’s fourth coach in the 1 ½ years since Jose Mourinho was fired, following Daniele De Rossi, Ivan Juric and Ranieri.
Gasperini’s only experience coaching a big Italian club came when he lasted just five winless matches at Inter Milan in 2011.
Raffaele Palladino left Fiorentina on Friday after only one year in charge.
Palladino coached Fiorentina to a Conference League spot and it was regarded as a successful season, so his departure wasn't expected.
Marco Baroni is on his way out at Lazio after failing to secure the club a spot in Europe.
The Roman team appears interested in rehiring Sarri, who already coached Lazio from 2021-2024.
Allegri was hired on Friday, a day after Sergio Conceicao was fired following Milan's failure to qualify for Europe.
Allegri coached Milan to the Serie A title in 2011.
Milan began the season as a potential title contender but ended up 19 points behind Napoli.
Vincenzo Italiano’s contract was extended by a year through 2027 after he led the squad to the Italian Cup title — Bologna's first major trophy in 51 years — which qualified the team for the Europa League.
Milan reportedly wanted to hire Italiano but Bologna gave him a salary increase to 3 million euros ($3.4 million) per season, plus bonuses, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
Cesc Fabregas has been a revelation at Como in his first coaching job and was reportedly considered as a possible replacement for Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen until Erik ten Hag was hired by the German club.
Como seems willing to spend more to keep Fabregas in place.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE -Juventus' head coach Massimiliano Allegri gestures during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi holds a ball during a training session of the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As residents across much of the country take down their holiday decorations, sobered by New Year's resolutions and a return to business as usual, in Louisiana people are ramping up for the biggest celebration of the year.
Throughout the state residents are preparing for Carnival season, a pre-Lenten and weeks-long bash that includes feasting on savory dishes, opulent balls and a stream of massive parades rolling through city streets.
The bucket-list worthy period of festivities promises indulgence, costumed revelry and literal pounds of glimmery plastic beads to carry around one’s neck. Here’s what to know about Carnival.
Carnival in Louisiana and around the world is rooted in Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It's marked by feasting, drinking and revelry before Ash Wednesday and the fasting associated with Lent, the Christian season of preparation for Easter.
Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city’s world-famous celebration.
However, the festivities are not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations stretch across Louisiana and into other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, where Mobile lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. Additionally, there are world-renowned celebrations in Brazil and Europe.
Although some people use the terms “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” interchangeably, they are actually different things.
Carnival is the entire pre-Lenten period. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is one day.
Mardi Gras marks the grand conclusion to Carnival Season. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, making it the final moments of indulgence before the solemnity of Lent.
Carnival always begins Jan. 6, which in the Catholic world is called Epiphany or Twelfth Night since it’s twelve days after Christmas. And the season always ends with Mardi Gras.
But, because it’s linked to Easter — which does not have a fixed date — Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between Feb. 3 and March 9. This year Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17, making Carnival 43 days long.
The beginning of Carnival also marks the start of when it is socially acceptable — and encouraged — to eat king cake. Lines will snake around the block at popular bakeries known for the seasonal staple
The brioche-style pastry, which some bakers say traces back to an ancient Roman holiday, has become one of the iconic and most-delicious symbols of Carnival.
The traditional ring-shaped and sweet-dough cake is streaked with cinnamon and adorned with decadent icing colored purple, green and gold. The cake is often filled with fruits, pecans or different flavors of cream cheese frosting.
Also in the treat is a tiny plastic baby. Whoever has the slice with the little figurine hidden inside is supposed to buy the next cake or throw the next party, lending an unending excuse for another festive gathering.
The traditional cake has evolved over the years with restaurants launching their own unique versions, including one that is filled with boudin — a Cajun-style sausage — and another that is made out of sushi rolls.
Carnival is best know for elaborate and massive parades. This season there will be more than 80 parades in and surrounding New Orleans — many of which last hours.
Energetic marching bands, costumed dancers and multi-level floats laden with fantastical hand-built figures, will wind through communities.
The parades embody their own identity. They include an all-female parade, one that pokes fun at politics, a Sci-Fi themed parade with revelers dressed as Chewbacca. The largest parade hosts 3,200 riders and more than 80 floats, and one of the smallest, in the literal sense, features floats made out of shoe boxes.
Float riders and walking members of Carnival clubs — known as krewes — pour much time and money into preparations for the extravaganza. But all that work pays off as celebrants, many donning homemade costumes, line streets and sidewalks to watch.
Most spectators will have their hands raised in hopes of catching “throws” — trinkets tossed to the crowd by float riders. While throws include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, highly sought-after hand-decorated shoes and even bedazzled toilet plungers.
The krewe for the largest parade in New Orleans, Endymion, estimates that they toss more than 15 million throws along the parade route. The krewe's motto is, “Throw ’til it Hurts.”
Although Carnival is often known for fancy balls and boisterous parades, other areas and groups have their own traditions.
In central Louisiana people will take part in the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run. These rural processions feature masked and costumed participants who will perform and beg for ingredients, and even chase after live chickens, to use for a communal gumbo at the end of the day.
In New Orleans, some African Americans mask in elaborate beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits, roving the city to sing, dance, drum and perform. The tradition, a central part of the Black Carnival experience in New Orleans since at least the late 1800s, is believed to have started in part as a way to pay homage to area Native Americans for their assistance to Black people and runaway slaves. It also developed at a time when segregation barred Black residents from taking part in whites-only parades.
FILE - The streets are filled during the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE- People gather for the start of the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
