Breaking: Juventus Appoints Andrea Pirlo As New Manager |The Source

By Akinwale Kasali

Less than 12 hours after the sack of Maurizio Sarri as the Manager of Juventus Football Club of Italy, the Club Management has announced former Player and ex- Italy Football International, Andrea Pirlo as its new Manager.

Pirlo was only named the club’s Under-23 head coach last month, but has secured a major promotion before even taking charge of one match with the Serie C outfit.

It will be a major challenge for the 41-year-old, who has never managed any Club before, either at youth or senior level, since he retired from Football.

Pirlo returns to Juventus having starred for the club between 2011 to 2015, where he won the Serie A Scuddetto, Italian Super Cup and the Coppa Italia on more than three occasions.

The prolific midfielder helped lead the Bianconeri to four straight Serie A titles, as well as the final of the 2014–15 Champions League.

Internationally, Pirlo represented Italy on 116 occasions and was a member of his country’s victorious 2006 FIFA World Cup team.

His playing career ended in 2017 after a three-year spell at Major League Soccer side, New York City Football Club, after which he began preparing for a career in coaching.

Pirlo will take over a team that has won nine consecutive Serie A titles, but has continued to fall short of in the Champions League.

Sarri was sacked after just one season despite winning the Scudetto at the first time of asking.

The Italian Serie A Champions were booked out of the European Club Championship in the Round of 16, losing to Olympique Lyonnais Football Club of France 2-2 aggregate score, but were eliminated through the away goal rule.

Lyon defeated Juventus 1-0 in France, while the Italian Champions won 2-1 in Turin, with both team tied 2-2 on aggregate.

Two goals in either half by Cristiano Ronaldo were not enough for the Seven straight Serie A Champions, who suffered a heartbreak with Memphis Depay scoring for the French Side from the Spot Kick in the 17th Minutes of the match.

Sarri became the oldest Coach in the history of Italian Football to have won the League, which is first major title win in Italy, having won the UEFA Europa League with Chelsea in the 2018/2019 season, defeating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Juventus sacked Sarri following an inconsistent season that saw them win the Italian Serie A and failed to progression beyond round of 16 in the Champions League.

Following a meeting of Juventus’s Management hierarchy on Saturday, the decision was taken to swiftly replace the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli manager.

Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, along with former Juventus managers Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte were quickly linked with the job but the Bianconeri have instead opted to take a risk on Pirlo, a coaching novice.

Pirlo will have high expectations to meet, with it now established that success in Europe is the principal goal for Juventus. The club’s last Champions League win came in 1995-96 and Pirlo will be expected to help end a drought that has now reached 24 years.

The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 was expected to help end the club’s wait for European glory, but the Portugal superstar has only managed to lead Juventus to a quarter-final exit at the hands of Ajax last term before this season’s stunning round-of-16 elimination at the hands of Lyon.