The resolution came as a great marvel given that Pirlo had been announced as Juventus’ new under-23 coach a week earlier. The club’s selection also contradicted absolutely what the bookmakers expected: former Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino was touted as an imaginable replacement for Sarri, but Pirlo was nowhere in the picture.
Although Juventus led Juventus to the most sensible of Serie A in the season just concluded, a remarkable ninth consecutive name, Sarri was in a hurry to deliver the Champions League with the players at this disposal. However, they crossed the finish line, only one point ahead of Inter Milan, which led Juventus to the race by name until the end. But the overall defeat to Lyon, which eliminated them from the Champions League, turned out to be the drop that filled the glass for Sarri.
By Stages Pirlo, the top decorated midfielder of his generation and world champion with Italy. The 41-year-old, who last played for Major League Soccer New York City FC in 2017, is the newest on a list of former players who now lead european ‘superclubs’ for those who have already played: Frank Lampard at Chelsea. , Ole Gunnar Solskjor at Manchester United and Zinedine Zidane at the Real MadridArray, to name a few. But that’s where the common ground end. Pirlo, so far, has not enjoyed the education of a team. The same cannot be said of Lampard, Solskjor or Zidane, who tried their control skills elsewhere before embarking on a wonderful success. Other players from the golden generation of Italian footballers who now lead in Serie A, such as Gennaro Gattuso in Naples and Simone Inzaghi in Lazio, have at least had educational commitments with other teams.
Returning to a former club as a coach is not a simple adventure for all players. Solskjor’s initial difficulties at United at the end of the 2018–19 season, when he won the full-time position after excelting as interim coach, is an example. Others, such as the former Barcelona Xavi playdotor, have also approached these conditions cautiously. The Spanish club is reportedly looking to bring former midfielder back to Camp Nou (he is lately coach of Qatari team Al Sadd) to upgrade quique Setien, who appears to be on hold.
However, the only thing on Pirlo’s side is a ton of Italian gaming experience. He began his career with Brescia in 1993 and continued to play for Italy’s 3 largest groups: Inter Milan, AC Milan and, despite everything, Juventus. He won two Serie A titles for Milan and four more at Juventus. His club also hopes that after betting and winning many titles with some of the more productive coaches the Italian fit has noticed: Carlo Ancelloti at AC Milan, Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus, Pirlo would have learned a few things about management. a team, in addition to the tension that accompanies the representation of a logo as big as Juventus. Although it has not reached the heights of European football in recent seasons, Juventus remains one of the top clubs in the world. According to KPMG’s fifth annual club score report released earlier this year, Juventus is valued at more than 1.7 billion euros and was one of the five most sensitive clubs in terms of expansion as a percentage of the number of fans on social media from January 2016 to January 2020.
On the field, one of Pirlo’s greatest responsibilities will be to review a team with an average age of 29.7 years, according to the knowledge of Transfermrkt football statistics. Gianluigi Buffon, 42, is still part of this team. And the fact that Juventus had to rely on 35-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to get them out of the tough conditions of last season says it all: it ended with 37 goals in all competitions in 2019-20. Pirlo may be encouraged by the fact that it still has high-quality young players who can shape the backbone of a new team. He has two of the world’s most productive young defenders, Dutch star Matthijs de Ligt, 20, and Turkish Merih Demiral. Apart from that, personalities such as Paulo Dybala, Federico Bernardeschi, Rodrigo Bentancur and Adrien Rabiot demonstrate that there is no shortage of skill in this team. As a component of some new recruits, all you want is a manager with serene head and vision. These are an attractive time in Turin and when the new Serie A crusade begins in just over a month, all eyes will be on Andrea Pirlo, the coach.
Click here to read Mint ePaperLivemint.com is now on Telegram. Join the Livemint channel on your telegram and updated
Log in to our to save your favorites. It’ll only take a moment.
Your query has expired, reconnect.
You are now subscribed to our newsletters. If you can’t find any of our emails, check your spam folder.