Lecce sack coach Giampaolo despite securing Serie A safety

Lecce announced Tuesday the sacking of coach Marco Giampaolo even though he secured Serie A safety for the club last season.

Under Giampaolo Lecce finished in 17th place, one place and three points above the relegation zone thanks to a 1-0 win at Lazio in their final fixture of the campaign.

Empoli, Monza and Venezia were relegated to Serie B.

Giampaolo replaced Luca Gotti in November when Lecce were in the drop zone and made sure that the southern Italian club would contest a fourth consecutive season in the top flight for the first time.

The close season in Italy has already brought numerous coaching changes, including some of the country's biggest clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and Atalanta.