Juventus: What will Andrea Pirlo bring as a manager?
Pirlo was a sublime player who did not want to be a manager.
Andrea Pirlo’s playing career was prolific and legendary. As primarily a defensive midfielder, he won Italian Footballer of the Year three times. He was a part of six Scudetto winning teams, including five in a row.
The last four seasons of that title-winning run were spent at Juventus after spending over a decade at AC Milan. Pirlo was the main sparkplug of the Old Lady’s rejuvenation as an Italian power in the first half of the last decade.
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Most notably, Andrea also raised the World Cup trophy for Italy in 2006 and the Champions League trophy twice for AC Milan.
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.
While still a player, Andrea wrote a book, co-written with Alessandro Alciato, entitled I Think Therefore I Play. 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.
In chapter nine, the Italian legend explains:
"“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.” — I Think Therefore I Play, Andrea Pirlo with Alessandro Alciato"
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.
This acknowledgment is incredibly important intangibly for someone who now tells Christiano Ronaldo what to do on the pitch.