JUVENTUS COACH Ciro Ferrara is safe in his job for now, while Bayern Munich boss Louis van Gaal has gone from villain to hero after the Germans thumped the Serie A side 4-1 to reach the Champions League last 16.
Hosts Juve needed just a draw to qualify on Tuesday and went ahead through David Trezeguet’s 19th-minute strike.
However, Bayern stormed back thanks to a penalty from goalkeeper Hans Joerg Butt and goals from Ivica Olic, Mario Gomez and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
“The coach is not in danger. Ciro is and remains the coach of Juventus,” club president Jean Claude Blanc said.
“We move forward with our project.”
A catalogue of disappointing signings have undermined Juve’s return to the upper echelons of European football following their Serie A demotion for match-fixinig in 2006.
Jorge Andrade, Christian Poulsen, Tiago, Sergio Almiron all struggled, while Brazilians Diego and Felipe Melo were booed in Tuesday’s defeat.
With media reports saying Italy coach Marcello Lippi will return to Juve after the World Cup in some role, Ferrara’s long-term future is unclear.
Van Gaal’s prospects are much brighter after his side’s display followed a sticky start to the season in Europe and the Bundesliga.
