Juventus players (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images )
Juventus hired Italian great Andrea Pirlo as their new manager moments after sacking Maurizio Sarri. There are clues about what kind of manager he will be.
Dressed in the corporate uniform of Italy’s biggest club, black sport coat with Juve badge, white dress shirt, and black tie, Andrea Pirlo spoke to the media for the first time as first-team manager.
I wonder what the 41-year old drafted straight out of a fashion magazine was thinking. Nine days earlier, he was at the same table, with the same uniform being introduced as the manager of Juventus’ U23 side.
Now, with Sarri gone to hopefully a club that he can be allowed to build over the years, not months, Pirlo sits with the responsibility of running one of the biggest clubs in Europe on his broad shoulders.
Known for his quiet charisma and humility, the Italian’s head must have been spinning.
In the introductory conference, Pirlo was full of coaching cliches. He thanked the club’s president, confirmed that he has ambition for the team, is excited to get started, and explained that he is on the “right path.”
Andrea Pirlo thinks passionately and thoroughly about his words and actions. He has much more on his mind.
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<p>Most notably, Andrea also raised the World Cup trophy for Italy in 2006 and the Champions League trophy twice for AC Milan.</p>
<p>Pirlo was a maestro with both feet on the ball as a player with an incredible ability to maintain possession, dispossess opponents, make key passes, and launch knuckleball like free kicks.</p>
<p>While still a player, Andrea wrote a book, co-written with Alessandro Alciato, entitled <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://backpagepress.co.uk/books/andrea-pirlo/">I Think Therefore I Play</em></a>. The writing itself is often lacking in the proper structure; however, in its stream of consciousness, story-telling lies some clues to Pirlo, the manager.</p>
<p>In chapter nine, the Italian legend explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>“I wouldn’t bet a single cent on me becoming a manager, though. It’s not a job that I’m attracted to. There are too many worries and the lifestyle is far too close to that of a player.”</p>
<p>— <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://backpagepress.co.uk/books/andrea-pirlo/">I Think Therefore I Play</em></a>, Andrea Pirlo with Alessandro Alciato</p></blockquote>
<p>This quote confirms that from a distance, he understands what the role of the manager entails, but more importantly, he has empathy for what it is like to be a world-class player at an elite club.</p>
<p>This acknowledgment is incredibly important intangibly for someone who now tells Christiano Ronaldo what to do on the pitch.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Andrea Pirlo had many role models </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-483767 size-full" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2461,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F102372467.jpeg" alt="Andrea Pirlo" width="3200" height="2461" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/102372467.jpeg 3200w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/102372467-768x591.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Italy’s coach Marcello Lippi and Andrea Pirlo (Photo credit should read GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Andrea Pirlo had many role models.</h2>
<p>Pirlo’s decision to get into the football coaching tornado has been quite recent as UEFA does not fully license him as a manager.</p>
<p>Yet, as a player, he was fortunate enough to learn from some of the best managers in world football.</p>
<p>The coaches that the Italian international admired the most also provide clues to what his tactics might entail</p>
<p>Andrea played for Marcello Lippi on the Italian squad that won the 2006 World Cup. The now 72-year old retired manager used a 4-3-3 attacking style.</p>
<p>Carlo Ancelotti, now at Everton, coached Pirlo while at Milan for eight seasons. His strategy emphasized more pragmatism based on the abilities of the players on the field. Notably, his quiet demeanor of making powerful statements with few words rubbed off on the young Pirlo.</p>
<p>In his book, the new Juve manager saved his highest praise for Antonio Conte, who was his coach at Juventus by stating the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Naturally we won the <em>scudtetto</em> at the first time of asking and it was all down to him. The success was all his, a triumph of bloody mindedness that went beyond everyone’s expectations. It really couldn’t have gone any other way, given the example we had in front of us every day. Conte was a man possessed, the very essence of Juventus burned deep into his soul.”</p>
<p>— <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://backpagepress.co.uk/books/andrea-pirlo/">I Think Therefore I Play</em></a>, Andrea Pirlo with Alessandro Alciato</p></blockquote>
<p>Conte, now at (ironically) Inter, utilizes a more defensively pragmatic 3-5-2 style of play. His tactics generally also feature a robust controlling midfield presence, which is something that Juventus currently lacks.</p>
<p>As a former holding midfielder himself, Pirlo knows how vital the role is to the on-field success of the team. Undoubtedly, it will be a point of emphasis.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What Pirlo really will bring to Juventus </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-483763 size-full" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1153,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1264546157.jpeg" alt="Juventus" width="1600" height="1153" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1264546157.jpeg 1600w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1264546157-768x553.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Pirlo joins a long line of legendary players coming home to be managers.</h2>
<p>Four months ago, Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Cannavaro, a former teammate on the 2006 World Cup-winning team, did an <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/08/14/juventus-andrea-pirlo-bring-manager/"https://youtu.be/8j9MYnybg7o">Instagram Live interview</a>.</p>
<p>In that interview, the new manager of the <em>Bianconeri </em>described that his favored playing style was the 4-3-3 attacking style reminiscent of the strategy employed by Marcello Lippi.</p>
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<p>At least, that is what most people took away from that conversation.</p>
<p>What is missing from that analysis is that Andrea stated that the style of play that he would employ would be based on the qualities of the players on the field.</p>
<p>The takeaway here, when combined with his praise of Conte and Ancelotti, is that Pirlo will likely bring a more pragmatic style that is based on the chess pieces on the board rather than a one size fits all approach like Sarri.</p>
<p>The new coach of <em>La Signora Omicidi </em>wrote in his memoir that though he admired super-scorers like Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, he felt the most important players were the defenders followed by the mid-fielders.</p>
<p>I would conclude that if fans expect Pirlo to bring an attacking possession-based style to the pitch this coming season, they will be quite disappointed.</p>
<p>What I expect Pirlo to bring to the picnic is as a “players coach” that is pragmatic rather than revolutionary. Some have suggested that what Juventus is looking for is another Zinedine Zidane.</p>
<p>Maybe.</p>
<p>Ironically, some have wondered if Pirlo is merely keeping the dugout seat warm in Turin for the current Real Madrid manager.</p>
<p>The hiring of Andrea Pirlo came as a shock to many, but it should not have been. There is a long line of legendary managers coming home to coach (Cruyff, Guardiola, Zidane, Solskajer, Lampard, to name a few).</p>
<p>Yet, Andrea Pirlo is different. He has never coached a professional match in his life.</p>
<p>It’s a massive challenge for the legendary player who never wanted to be a manager.</p>
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<p>He may prove my theory correct that anyone can coach Juventus to a league title. Still, his inexperience will hurt him, trying to reach the ultimate goal – the Champions League trophy.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">