UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE2020-21
JUVENTUS
Pirlo set to cut his teeth at the top
Following their shock defeat to Lyon in
last season’s Champions League round
of16, it was inevitable that theJuventus
board would respond by throwing coach
Maurizio Sarri under the team bus. No
matter that Sarri only had been in situ
for one season and had just led the
side to the 2019-20 Serie A title. Major
European setbacks require a scapegoat
and that was to be the coach. Much less
predictable was the Turin club’s choice of
replacement, opting to engage Andrea
Pirlo, who just a week earlier had been
appointed asJuve’s Under-23 boss.
TheJuventus powers-that-be
undoubtedly are taking a massive risk
with the 41-year-old Pirlo. He has zero
experience as a coach and in all their
time as a top-flight club, theBianconeri
have never given the first-team keys to
an absolute beginner.Juve’s argument
for choosing Pirlo for the top job is
threefold. He once was a massively
popular and successful playmaker
with the club; he stands for attractive
football; and his appointment sits well
with the senior players, in particular
the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo.
One of Pirlo’s priorities is to help
oversee the rejuvenation of the club’s
personnel squad and the pruning shears
have been extensively used. While a
number of 30-somethings – midfielder
Miralem Panic, winger Douglas Costa,
striker Gonzalo Higuain and defensive
midfielder Blaise Matuidi – were
allowed to move on, most of the squad
new boys have relatively few miles on
the clock.Juve have high hopes for
the likes of Brazilian playmaker Arthur
(24, Barcelona), American midfielder
Weston McKennie (22, Schalke) and
wingers Dejan Kulusevski (20, Atalanta),
Federico Chiesa (22, Fiorentina) and
Felix Correia (19, Manchester City).
What sort of football can we expect
from an Andrea Pirlo side?
“My team must always boss the
game, must always be in a pro-active,
dominant position,” said Pirlo at hisJuve
unveiling. He is looking for an increase
in possession time, more defenders
involved in build-up play and greater
intensity in winning the ball back.
He is likely to use either a 3-4-1-2
or a 4-3-3 formation.
The heavyweights
Main man...
Ronaldo will be
key ifJuve are to
go all the wayCOACH
Andrea Pirlo
In his heyday as a
brilliant deep-lying
playmaker, the
newly-appointed
Juve coach had good
times a plenty in the
Champions League,
twice a winner with
Milan (2002-03,
2006-07) and a
silver medalist with
Juve in 2015-16.
Canheemulatethat
success as a coach?
KEYMAN
Cristiano Ronaldo
At 35 years young,
he is nothing less
than a Champions
League goal machine,
with 130 strikes in
the competition.
Depending on how
much longer Messi
plays beyond him,
that figure may never
be matched.
YOUNGSTER
TO WATCH
Weston McKennie
Dynamic, industrious
Texan box-to-box
midfielder, recruited
on a season-long
loan deal from
German club
Schalke.How will they cope without young
Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt,
following a shoulder operation?
Pirlo will look to old-timers Giorgio
Chiellini (36) and Leonardo Bonucci
(33) to take up the slack. Chiellini
himself spent most of last season on
injured reserve, laid low by a cruciate
ligament injury. Other central defensive
options may include young Turk Merih
Demiral or using the Brazilian right-
back Danilo in a three-man set-up.How patient are the Juventus
board likely to be with Pirlo?
Given his status as a novice coach,
they will give him all the time he
needs to settle in and learn on the job.
There will be no knee-jerk responses
to reverses. He is their third boss in
three years. The aim is for a long-term
project. President Andrea Agnelli and
company understand that this will
not be a linear journey, that missteps
along the way are inevitable.