Sacking Andrea Pirlo will not solve all of Juventus’ problems

In a season riddled with humiliations, Juventus‘ humbling 3-0 defeat to AC Milan on Sunday night may well prove the most detrimental.

The result leaves them on the periphery in the context of the Champions League places, will likely cost Andrea Pirlo his job and could distort the outlook of the club going forward.

Europa League football would be nothing short of a disaster.

Tactical shortcomings

Juve’s lifeless showing against the Rossoneri was one Juventini have grown accustomed to seeing amid their recent indifference.

Subtle tinkerman Pirlo reverted to asymmetry for the bout but, once again, the structure failed to facilitate any sort of fluidity and harmony in attack. Stefano Pioli’s side were hardly free-flowing, but it was clear what they were trying to achieve: interchanging creators behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Pioli’s 4-2-3-1 sought to disorientate Juve’s 4-4-2 mid-block, while the visitors constantly attempted to overload the right-hand side in a bid to isolate Theo Hernandez down the left.

Simon Kjaer and Fikayo Tomori defended the box imperiously, shutting out the hosts’ primary source of creativity (Juan Cuadrado’s crosses) with consummate ease. How reliant Juve are on the Colombian’s wicked delivery is indicative of their creative shortcomings, especially when Federico Chiesa isn’t firing – as was the case on Sunday.

The Bianconeri’s lack of penetration and reliable methods of chance creation can be attributed to Pirlo, sure, but the absence of a bona fide creator (when Paulo Dybala is absent) is, without question, the major factor in Juve’s attacking malaise. It’s an issue that needs addressing with a matter of urgency in the summer. 

However, I wasn’t just concerned with the staticity and tepidness of Juve’s possession play. As the weeks have progressed, more and more holes have appeared in Pirlo’s defensive structure. The high and counter-presses that emerged as protagonists in the first half of the campaign have completely dissipated, with Juve’s 2-0 defeat in the January Derby d’Italia a notable turning point from a pressing perspective. Antonio Conte’s automatisms totally spooked Pirlo.

Juventus’ haul of 1,123 pressures in the attacking third ranks tenth in Serie A this season. They don’t press high, yet their mid-block isn’t secure enough to shut out opponents. While a concerted effort is made to prevent the opposition from accessing, progressing and penetrating through the half-spaces in Pirlo’s 4-4-2 out of possession shape, it’s pretty easy to break through the Bianconeri’s lines due to their lack of vertical compactness.

The midfield pivot tends to get drawn upfield – occasionally marking the opposition’s pivot man-to-man – which opens up a gaping void between midfield and defence. Look at the space Ante Rebic had between the lines before he doubled Milan’s lead on Sunday.

Nevertheless, while there is a coaching problem, you’d be naive to believe that Juve’s woes lie solely on the manager.

The Juventus board

The attitude of the egotistical Juventus board this season has been execrable. Quotes from the Juve hierarchy reek of avoidance, denial, and self-aggrandisement. Listen, egomaniacs, you’re in a period of transition. Accept it. Embrace it. You’ll be better for it.

More from Old Juve

• Juventus beat Udinese 3-0 in first match of the season
• Team previews: Will Juventus’ attack fulfill its potential?
• Team Previews: Juventus midfielders need to show growth this year
• Team previews: Juventus defenders look ready to compete for Scudetto
• Leonardo Bonucci may be leaving Juventus soon

Unfortunately, though, the club’s stranglehold over Calcio throughout the 2010s has seemingly deluded the Juve board into thinking that they’re immune from the harsh, cyclical nature of the sport.

Short-term thinking amid Allegri’s reign of supremacy – splashing out on free agents, and all that – has finally caught up with them. An altered approach to recruitment following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo has been refreshing, but it arrived a little too late to prevent the current ‘crisis’.

The squad requires an overhaul. But once that deadwood is cleared, there, lying beneath the surface like a beacon of light emerges an exciting pool of Bianconeri talent.

Matthijs de Ligt and Federico Chiesa are potential superstars, while Merih Demiral and Dejan Kulusevki are good enough to evolve into protagonists. Nicolo Ravella, Nicolo Fagioli and Felix Correia are raw but exciting prospects too.

The summer is destined to bring about hierarchical changes, with the contracts of both Fabio Paratici and Pavel Nedved up at the end of the season. However, as long as Andrea Agnelli remains in the most powerful seat, it’s tough to envisage a radical change of course. The whole European Super League episode depicted the very worst of the power-hungry, money-grabbing capitalist that is the Juventus chairman.

Hopefully, humbling recent events on and off the field bring Agnelli in touch with reality.

A €31m-a-year problem

Cristiano Ronaldo’s late show in Udine may, in fact, prove problematic for Juve. The victory over Udinese was undermined by the Milan defeat, while Ronaldo’s vintage heroics likely convinced the board to keep the starkly declining great on their books for 2021/22. At the tame cost of €31m-a-year, no less.

This is a problem.

Ronaldo’s production is undeniable. 99 goals in 130 Juventus games is super impressive and it’s almost remarkable that he’s scored 27 times in 31 Serie A appearances this season considering just how poor he’s been overall.

Pirlo’s principles emphasise the collective, but Ronaldo is the antithesis to such a concept. Not because he’s overwhelmingly individualistic, but because he can’t perform the function that his boss desires. He tries to combine, rotate and develop relationships, but he’s simply not very good at it.

Against Milan, Ronaldo was prominent between the lines, dropping deeper and deeper to receive possession but with often disastrous results. Slack, sloppy, error-ridden. It’s been a feature of his play all season. At the age of 36, there’s a worrying lack of assertion and variation in one-v-one’s (dribbling), with his role in the Juve side unclear. While he’s freakishly productive, Ronaldo’s presence inhibits Juve’s chances of evolving into a side entrenched in fluency. He’s a poacher and a very good one, but nothing more. This between the lines stuff has got to stop. Both Ronaldo and Pirlo – or the next man in – have to realise that.

Nevertheless, keeping Ronaldo beyond the summer only prevents the club from utilising the transfer market and embracing this transitional phase.

Has Andrea Pirlo shown enough?

Gianluca Di Marzio (via Transfer News Live) reports that Pirlo is set to remain at the helm for the rest of the season.

However, Sunday night’s defeat will be difficult to recover from with just three games remaining. If Juve finish outside the top-four for the first time since 2011, Pirlo will unquestionably get the boot. But, if they’re able to climb their way back into the Champions League spots – the margin is a mere point – before the season’s out, Juve may well be tempted to grant Pirlo the summer to work things out.

Pirlo’s principles are modern and progressive, with the first half of the season drenched in promise. However, his coaching as of late has been a concern: unnecessarily tinkering the side and failing to learn from previous errors.

When I wrote my analysis of Pirlo’s Juve, they displayed a vibrancy in attack and an impressive intensity without the ball, but they’ve swiftly evolved into a mundane, predictable unit dismissive of the art of pressing.

There are personnel issues and it was unrealistic to foreshadow another Serie A title this term considering the competitiveness of the division and the supremacy of Antonio Conte’s Nerazzurri.

Nevertheless, Juve aren’t devoid of talent. Perhaps only Inter boast a superiorly talented squad. The difference is Conte, Pioli, Gasperini, etc. They’ve established a balance in their respective sides that has facilitated harmony and allowed them to punch above their weight. Roberto De Zerbi’s Sassuolo and Ivan Juric’s Hellas Verona are two other examples lower down the table.

In short, Pirlo has failed to maximise the potential of this Juve squad. While Maurizio Sarri’s reign was pretty turgid, he was able to get a tune out of Dybala and secure the Scudetto.

Pirlo has potential, but this is a job beyond his current coaching capacity. For me, Juve would be wise to dismiss the novice whether they’re playing on a Wednesday or Thursday night next season.

Il Maestro’s dismissal won’t solve all of the Bianconeri’s problems, though. There’s a myriad of issues to solve ahead of 2021/22.