Antonio Cassano slammed Juventus' season under Massimiliano Allegri, insisting it "would be suicide" if his former coach remains in charge of the Bianconeri next term.

Juve are eight points adrift of Serie A's top four with nine matches remaining, though their situation could look very different should the appeal they lodged against their 15-point penalty for transfer fee irregularities earlier in the campaign be successful.

Nevertheless, the Bianconeri would still trail runaway leaders Napoli by 15 points, while they exited the Champions League at the group stage.

Juve could still finish the season with silverware as they are in the Coppa Italia semi-finals and Europa League quarter-finals.

However Cassano, who played under Allegri at Milan during the 2011-12 season, is far from impressed by their achievements this term, and believes the club should seek a replacement for his former boss ahead of 2023-24.

The former Italy striker told Gazzetta dello Sport: "In July, Allegri said: in March-April, we have to be in everything. [The] result: he went out in the Champions League group in a shameful way; in November, he was out of the championship fight.

"The Coppa Italia and Europa League save nothing; Juve must fight for the Scudetto.

"The squad has been devalued: [Dusan] Vlahovic above all. [Angel] Di Maria, who remains a genius, is misused 50 metres from the goal. 

"[Allegri] has 20 internationals and plays horrendously. The team are always behind the ball, everyone in defence.

"Starting again with Allegri next year would be suicide: the mistake was to give him a long contract. But if making mistakes is human, persevering is diabolical."

Roberto Mancini has "worked miracles" in charge of Italy and should not be hounded out of the role after their stunning failure to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

That is the view of former Italy international Antonio Cassano, who described the current Azzurri vintage as "mediocre", citing last year's Euro 2020 triumph as proof of Mancini's brilliance.

Italy suffered a shock 1-0 loss to North Macedonia on Thursday to miss out on the World Cup for a second edition in a row, with some pointing the finger of blame of boss Mancini.

However, Cassano, who played 39 times and scored 10 goals for his country, said those critics "should be ashamed".

"Let's face it: our national team is a mediocre team and Mancini took them to the top of Europe last summer, making a miracle, playing in a way never seen before," he told Bobo TV. 

"I am truly sorry for Roberto, whoever asks for his resignation should be ashamed.

"We should all pray that Mancini will remain at the helm of the national team, he is the lifeline of Italy.

"[Ciro] Immobile, [Lorenzo] Insigne... many players seemed to me in difficulty. Italy has a mediocre team and Mancini had worked miracles so far."

The 39-year-old, who last played for his country in 2014, said Italy had been missing a talisman since Christian Vieri left the international stage in 2005.

He said: "Bobo, we haven't had a striker in the national team since you left."