Analysing Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus – Part 2: The Key Men
Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus were defined by a sturdy enough defence, an incompetent midfield, the productivity of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the magisterial talent of the free-roaming Paulo Dybala.
The Bianconeri were like a sandwich with no filling, but somehow good enough to retain their Serie A crown.
Since Andrea Pirlo took the reins last summer, the “total and collective” approach he notes in his dissertation has been on full display. While Sarri struggled to establish harmony in an aging squad, Pirlo, thanks to the reimbursement of youth, has endured no such problem.
Thus, while Sarri’s reign was made fruitful thanks to the ridiculous production of one of the greatest and an on-song genius, Pirlo’s short time at the helm has already seen heroes emerge all over the field.
Here are five key stars in Il Maestro’s Bianconeri.
You can read part one of the series, analyzing the tactics, here.
Danilo
As swap deals go, Manchester City and Juve’s exchange of Joao Cancelo and Danilo has proved one of the most successful of the modern era.
The Brazilian has gone from strength-to-strength this term, with Pirlo handing the former Cityzen a crucial and specific role. His function is a flexible one, with his impressive versatility on full display; in Juve’s 4-4-2 block out of possession, Danilo will line-up as either a right or left-back – depending on Juan Cuadrado’s availability – but drift infield to form a back three when Juve have the ball as part of Pirlo’s fluid 3-2-5 configuration.
The reasoning behind this is two-fold: first, to aid the Bianconeri’s build-up, and second, to provide central compactness in transition.
However, there are times where the Brazilian will advance from his centre-back position to provide overloads up the field.
Overall, though, Danilo has served as a metronome, almost, to Pirlo’s Juve. No player attempts (82.5) and completes (73.8) more passes than the Brazilian per 90 minutes in Serie A this season, while the versatile defender’s already enjoyed more league action under Pirlo (1,576 minutes) compared to Sarri (1,440 mins).