Italian Serial A champions, Juventus have appointed Andrea Pirlo as their new head coach on a two-year contract, only hours in the wake of terminating Maurizio Sarri’s contract.
Pirlo was only appointed the club’s Under-23 head coach a month ago, but has secured a major promotion before assuming responsibility for one match with the Serie C outfit.
Well, it will be a significant task for the 41-year-old who has never managed before, either at youth or senior level.
A statement from Juventus read;
“Today’s choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead from his debut on the bench, an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes.”
The midfielder comes back to Juve having featured for the club between 2011 and 2015. He helped lead the Bianconeri to four straight Serie A titles, as well as the final of the 2014–15 Champions League.
Internationally, the playmaker represented Italy on 116 caps and was a member of his country’s triumphant 2006 World Cup team.
Well, his playing career come to an end in 2017 after a 3-year spell at MLS side New York City FC, after which he started getting ready for a career in coaching.
Pirlo will assume control over a team that has won 9 consecutive Serie A titles, but has kept on missing in the Champions League.
Maurizio Sarri was fired just after one season in spite of winning the Scudetto at the first time of asking. Juventus were shockingly knocked out by Lyon in the UEFA Champions League last 16 on Friday, 7th August, as a 2-1 triumph over the Ligue 1 side was insufficient to maintain an exit on away goals in a 2-2 aggregate final score.
Nevertheless, following a meeting of Juve’s hierarchy on Saturday, the decision was taken to quickly replace the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli boss.
Meanwhile, former Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino, alongside with former Juventus managers Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte were immediately linked with the job but the Bianconeri have rather opted to take a risk on Pirlo, a coaching beginner.
Well, Pirlo will have high expectations to meet, with it currently established that success in Europe is the foremost goal for Juventus.
Meanwhile, the club’s last Champions League win came in 1995-96 and Pirlo will be relied upon to help end a drought that has now reached 24 years.
In 2018, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo was relied upon to assist end the club’s wait for European glory, but the Portugal superstar has only managed to lead Juventus to a quarter-final exit at the hands of Ajax last term before this present season’s stunning round-of-16 elimination at the hands of Lyon.
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