Juventus are likely to stick with Andrea Pirlo despite the early elimination from Champions League, something that contributed to costing Maurizio Sarri his job last year, Repubblica reported. The state of affairs will be fully assessed at the end of the season, but the gaffer himself does not believe he will get dismissed.
Pirlo stated post-game: “I was hired for a wide-ranging and long-term project. Then it will be up to the management to make a decision. I talked with Andrea Agnelli after the game, he told me that we are just getting started, the players we brought in proved to be worthy of Juventus and that they can feature in this type of matches. This will be our foundation.”
He assessed the performance: “This elimination is tough to digest, it is my first major disappointment as a coach. We paid the price for four mistakes throughout the two legs. I can not blame the guys for the effort they put it. We did what he had to with a one-man advantage, we tried to play with width and fill the box. Few episodes did us in.”
Transfer market expert Tancredi Palmeri reported that the brass was willing to concede a transitional year, setting the objectives of qualifying to Champions League and making it to the Round of 8, so one was already missed. Moreover, the only possible name that could force a coaching change is Zinedine Zidane, who has been the dream candidate for Agnelli for years. However, he would have to decide to leave Real Madrid or be sacked in order to be concretely pursued.