Just a few hours after Juventus announced the sacking of Maurizio Sarri, it appears that the Bianconeri have already chosen their successor.
According to reliable journalist, Fabrizio Romano, via his Twitter account, former Juve midfielder, Andrea Pirlo, has been handed the role despite having no previous experience.
Andrea Pirlo is going to be the new Juventus manager. He has been choosen by the president Andrea Agnelli. Last details to be completed… and here we go ???? @SkySport @DiMarzio #Juventus
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 8, 2020
What’s interesting about the appointment is that he had only recently been announced as the manager for Juve’s U23 side, and had not even taken charge of a match with that side.
Pirlo with the quickest promotion in football. Without taking charge of a single Under-23 game, he is set to become Juventus’ new first team coach
— James Horncastle (@JamesHorncastle) August 8, 2020
It’s believed that Pirlo has also only just received his pro licence, so Agnelli is taking quite a risk in putting the club in his former player’s hands.
That’s not to say that Pirlo won’t be giving it his all, and there is a precedent for this type of move too.
When Pep Guardiola took over from Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona in 2008, he had only been overseeing the youth team prior to the top job, and look how that turned out.
He won’t need to command respect either. Pirlo has done it all in the game, and even players such as Cristiano Ronaldo will surely deign to him, unless he comes under pressure because of results.
In any event, it’s a brave and very interesting appointment.