Former Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo has replaced former Napoli & Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri as the club’s manager, the club has confirmed.
The Old Lady crashed out of the Champions League after losing to Lyon on away goals on Friday night.
Juventus bosses have acted swiftly in replacing Sarri with Pirlo.
Andrea Pirlo Replaces Maurizio Sarri as Juventus Manager
Days as Under-23s Manager
Andrea Pirlo has put pen to paper on a contract that ties him with the Italian champions until 30 June 2022.
Pirlo lifted four of his six Serie A titles with Juventus and has been afforded the opportunity to add to his medals at the club.
He left in 2015 for Major League Soccer side New York City, where he retired in 2017.
Just days ago, he was appointed as coach of the club’s under-23 side. However, he will now take charge of the first team, despite a lack of managerial experience.
Aside from those days as under-23s boss, this will be his first experience as a manager.
Familiar Managerial Recruitment Across Europe
Club president Andrea Agnelli has resisted any urge to move for the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Massimiliano Allegri, or Zinedine Zidane and instead hire the legendary Italian.
Pirlo’s appointment will no doubt be seen as a gamble, however, he joins a whole host of big names in the game managing their former clubs. Frank Lampard, Mikel Arteta, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Zinedine Zidane, to name some of them.
The club website state that Pirlo will be ‘THE coach for the Juventus people’. They also say the decision is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead the club.
Champions League Hopes
Winning Serie A was not enough to keep Sarri in a job, so it remains to be seen what expectations they will have for Pirlo.
With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala at his disposal, he will surely be expected to go further in the Champions League than his predecessor.
Popular Appointment
A World Cup winner with his country, Pirlo will be a popular appointment, even if fans would have preferred someone with more experience.
He scored 19 goals and provided 38 assists in 164 games for the club as a player.
A Champions League title may be Juventus’ ultimate desire and their new manager is familiar with the trophy, winning it twice as a player in 2002/03 & 2006/07 with AC Milan.
Familiar Face
Strangely, the 41-year-old will take charge, with former teammate Gianluigi Buffon, one year Pirlo’s senior at the club.
Buffon recently signed a one-year contract extension in Turin.
Main Photo
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