For a short period of time in Juventus’ longest day, yesterday – which saw the sacking of Maurizio Sarri and the quick appointment of Andrea Pirlo to replace him – the name of Chief Football Officer Fabio Paratici was also rumored to be on the Bianconeri‘s epuration list.
But then the Bianconeri management confirmed their full trust in Paratici, despite a reported interest from Roma in snatching him to start their new deal under brand-new president Dan Friedkin.
The 48-year-old manager thus took some time to comment on yesterday’s shocking news and the process that brought Juventus to give Sarri the boot after just one year of contract.
“It wasn’t last night’s [Saturday] game against Lyon that led us to take this decision,” said Paratici. “We had been making our evaluations since long, we had our ideas that were the outcome of a path we shared for a full season – in which, let’s not forget, we still won a Scudetto” he added, basically confirming that Juventus and Sarri didn’t really jive from the very beginning and that the decision of giving him the ax was in the air already.
Paratici also remarked on the appointment of Andrea Pirlo as head coach, a move that came as a huge surprise to many.
“It was a very Juventus decision, very natural” was the Chief Football Officer’s comment, though many would argue that, on the contrary, this doesn’t look like a decision Juventus would take – the Bianconeri being rather used to appoint coaches who already have a strong managerial track record.
“We believe Pirlo is destined for greatness. He was as a player and he can be the same as a coach. He has everything in his mind to do that. The boy has been with us as a player and remained in contact with us.”
Paratici also took some time to dismiss the rumors that have been linking him to Roma as he reconfirmed his loyalty to the Old Lady. “I respect Roma, which is a great club, but I have been here at Juventus for 10 years and I like it a lot. My relationship with many people goes beyond the professional sphere here.“