Burgess leaves Crows for Italian giant, replacement named

Darren Burgess has left the Adelaide Crows to take up a key fitness role with Italian football powerhouse Juventus.

Burgess has taken the Director of Performance role at the Serie A club, returning to the world game after previous stints at Liverpool and Arsenal.

He joined the Crows in 2022 after his expertise helped guide Melbourne to a drought-breaking premiership in 2021.

Burgess was seen as a possible lure for the Crows to attract Christian Petracca to the club from the Demons.

A statement form Juventus read: “Juventus is delighted to announce the arrival of Darren Burgess, who will take on the role of Director of Performance.

“He will work closely with Damien Comolli, Giorgio Chiellini, François Modesto, Igor Tudor and across all the technical areas and every age group of the Club to form a high-level team dedicated to promoting excellence in performance, innovation and athlete wellbeing.

“Darren's appointment – he will begin working with Juventus once the necessary international paperwork has been completed – marks a significant step forward in Juventus' commitment to excellence in performance, innovation and the wellbeing of its athletes.”

Burgess admitted it was an "outstanding opportunity" presented by Juve.

“I’ve loved my time at the Crows and the football program has made significant progress, and the Club is in a really strong position,” Burgess said in a club statement.

“It would have been great to be around to watch this group achieve further success but this is an outstanding opportunity, if not a once in a lifetime experience for myself, my wife and children.

“I’ve always had a passion for the world game and the scope of this new position is expansive and presents fresh leadership and senior executive level challenges.”

The Crows have confirmed that Burgess will be replaced by Ian McKeown who joins from NHL club Philadelphia Flyers.

“This is an opportunity that my family and I were compelled to pursue,” McKeown said.

“Having worked in the AFL industry, I have always had great respect for the Adelaide Football Club and have been impressed with the progress that they have made, the quality of the people that I have been exposed to in the recruitment process and I am excited by the opportunity that awaits us in the years ahead.

“With regard to the High Performance Program, it is in a strong position with a great team of people at the Club, and having worked with Darren in the past I am sure there will be some philosophical succession in the way we do things.

“We have had an amazing experience with the Philadelphia Flyers and I am grateful for the opportunity that was afforded to us but we are excited to get back to Adelaide and we look forward to immersing ourselves in the Club.”