Juventus determined to continue with Pirlo despite turbulent 2020-21

The former midfield maestro’s inexperience as manager has been noticeable, but he still gets a vote of confidence from the club’s CFO.

Juventus are determined to continue with Andrea Pirlo despite his struggles as they are “convinced” he is the right man for the job, insists the club’s Chief Football Officer Fabio Paratici.

It came as a huge surprise when Juventus announced Pirlo as their head coach ahead of 2020-21.

The Bianconeri had sacked Maurizio Sarri after their disappointing exit from the Champions League at the last-16 stage last season despite the Italian manager having guided them to a ninth successive Scudetto success.

The fans were not displeased with the club’s handing the managerial reins to Pirlo – given his legendary status – but they still questioned the decision – given his inexperience.

Fast forward to today, and the ex-Italy international has not been able to fully convince that he can be as good a coach as he was a player.

The Old lady lag behind in the Serie A title race and are at risk of exiting the Champions League yet again, having lost to Porto in the last-16 first-leg.

Regardless, the rookie tactician will continue the support of the Juventus heirarchy.

Paratici told Sky Sport Italia: “Andrea is someone who enjoys pressure, as we all did when playing football at a certain level. I think that is his state of mind at this moment.

“The team is trying to take a certain tactical approach, we are convinced it is the right one, and will continue with it.

“We have now started another new path, we are well aware of the choices we have made, and we want to see it through.

“We renovated the squad, changed the coach, and we are very happy with the path we have taken. We have players with quality throughout, although naturally, any team would struggle when there are several players missing all in the same area.”