Juve president to leave, Blanc to assume role

Milan: Giovanni Cobolli Gigli will leave as Juventus president with chief executive Jean Claude Blanc assuming the role, the club`s owner said.

Cobolli Gigli took over in a management shakeup after the 2006 match-fixing scandal in which Juve were stripped of the 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles and demoted to the second tier. Unlike most millionaire Italian soccer presidents, Cobolli Gigli does not own Juve and was appointed to represent the club at meetings. His tenure is running out and will not be renewed.The Turin club, now back in the upper echelons of Serie A and the Champions League, is controlled by the investment firm of Italy`s powerful Agnelli family. "I want to thank Cobolli Gigli for these three very difficult years, in which he has given so much," Agnelli heir John Elkann told Italian media."On Oct. 12 Blanc will be nominated the executive president and assumes both roles." Asked about Juve failing to win in their previous four matches, Elkann added: "I`m disappointed but we will work with great humility. The road is long and there is a lot of potential." Bureau Report