Andrea Pirlo's Juventus appointment: Cristiano Ronaldo has every right to be upset
In the summer of 2018 when Cristiano Ronaldo bid adieu to Real Madrid and arrived at Juventus, he spoke about how this move was driven by his innate desire for a brand new challenge. “Champions never tire of new challenges”, he said.
That challenge of course was to win the Champions League with Juventus. Doing so would mean that he’d become only the second player after Clarence Seedorf to with this competition with three different clubs. This would also perhaps be a decisive enough accomplishment to settle the ever ongoing Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate.
Has Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus gone as planned?
Not quite. Last Friday’s defeat to Lyon is the first time in a decade Cristiano Ronaldo exited the competition at the last 16 stage. Last year it was at the quarter final stage to Ajax. It is worth remembering that he had won 3 consecutive Champions League trophies in the three years preceding these two.
This is outright mediocrity by his towering standards and like always on Friday night he did his best to pull his team out of it. But alas his efforts which included scoring both of Juventus's goals weren’t enough on the day.
These aren’t the only lows he has experienced with the Old Lady. His first defeat in a final for 6 years came last December when Juventus lost the Super Cup to Lazio. In his two years at Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo has only 2 Serie A titles and 1 Italian Super Cup to show for.
Serie A of course is a competition that Juventus have won for 9 straight years now, including 7 before Cristiano Ronaldo joined them.
Also read: Top 10 Juventus players of all time
Is Andrea Pirlo the rightman to fulfil Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League dream?
This is the second gamble Juventus have taken with managerial appointments in as many years. Last year they chose Maurizio Sarri, who looked destined to fall short the moment he walked in. Now to replace him they have gone for a rather romantic appointment in Andrea Pirlo.
There is no doubt that Andrea Pirlo was one of the greatest midfielders of his generation and being a club legend, he has the advantage of knowing its workings in and out. But is that enough to meet the ambitions of a club like Juventus and a player like Ronaldo?
If one were to consider Andrea Pirlo’s manager experience – it amounts to a mere nine days as Juventus’s U-23 coach. Andrea Pirlo’s former Milan and international team mate Gennaro Gattuso raised his doubts within hours of former’s appointment.
"Being a player and being a coach is really not the same thing at all. He's lucky to be starting at Juventus, but this profession is one where a great playing career is not enough”
While hindsight may prove otherwise, right now it is very difficult to envision an inexperienced manager navigating though the tricky knockout stages of Champions League against the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone.
Cristiano Ronaldo is 35 and time is running out for him. If he has to add to his Champions League medals, it has to happen in the next 2 to 3 years. With Andrea Pirlo’s appointment Juventus has put this in jeopardy and Cristiano Ronaldo has every right to be upset with them.
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