Just a week ago, Andrea Pirlo returned through Juventus to the club’s under-23 coach. A lot for that.
On the same day the club fired Maurizio Sarri, Juventus appointed Pirlo as the new manager. Pirlo, an Italian national team and a legend of the club, has not enjoyed control in the past and has signed a two-year contract to lead the Bianconeri until 2022.
The good fortune of Serie A will not be enough for the club’s bet to be validated, given that it has won nine consecutive national titles, and the last two have been followed by coaches who have hit the exit. Success in the Champions League is the ultimate goal, and since Cristiano Ronaldo acquired Real Madrid two years ago to help Juventus return to the most sensible of the Europa League, their Champions League performances ended with a quarter-final. Massimiliano Allegri and an eighth-round outing with Sarri.
“Today’s selection is based on the confidence that Pirlo has what it takes to lead since his debut on the bench, a skilled and talented team to pursue additional success,” the club wrote in an unassigned statement.
There is no doubt about Pirlo’s references as a player. The 2006 World Cup champion has won six Serie A titles and two Champions League titles as a player, the latter as a member of AC Milan. He finished his MLS career with New York City FC alongside Frank Lampard, who now leads Chelsea, and also followed in Sarri’s footsteps after the Italian’s dismissal.
It remains to be noted whether he can reflect his good luck on the field as a technician on the bench and that is the question that everyone in Turin will ask himself next year. Juventus will surely be able to reflect what Zinedine Zidane has done for Real Madrid by jumping into the national team and finding a quick European good fortune: Zidane has spent time training Real Castilla first.