Under-fire Andrea Pirlo running out of time as Juventus slump continues
Immediately after Lionel Messi scored his penalty against Wojciech Szczesny on Wednesday, you could see the frustration on the face of Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo.
Thrown into the hot seat at Italy’s most successful team, the 42-year-old ex-midfielder watched on as Barcelona out-thought and out-fought his side in the UEFA Champions League group stage game at the Allianz Stadium.
The game ended 2-0 in the favor of the Spanish giants, but it could have been worse for the home side. Juventus have been lethargic since the beginning of the campaign and three wins from seven games is simply not good enough for a club of their stature.
Pirlo’s appointment at Juventus was supposed to be the start of a new beginning at the club. After years of underwhelming performances in Europe, the former midfielder was brought in from the Under-23s to instil a winning mentality in the team.
As it stands, though, not only is Juve failing in Europe, their domestic form has also been miserable. The team have won just two of their opening five Serie A games in what has been a poor start to the season.
Some have argued that the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is sidelined due to testing positive for COVID-19, is what has caused the team’s slump. While that might be slightly true, a team of Juve’s stature should be able to win against sides like Crotone and Hellas Verona without their Portuguese superstar.
Ronaldo has scored three goals in two games this season and his importance to the team cannot be understated. The Bianconeri have also won just once in four games in his absence and Pirlo is running out of time to turn things around.
Juventus were uninspiring under Maurizio Sarri, which led to his sacking. Should things continue in such a fashion for the team this season, Pirlo will have no excuses.
“It's a year in which we're building, but we want to try and get results. I'm not here to build without winning,” Pirlo said in his post-match conference after the Barcelona loss, as quoted by Goal.
"Maybe we will need a bit more time, but we have to know that results must come through a certain type of playing style, which we are struggling to assimilate," added Pirlo.
Pirlo may need a bit of time to get the team playing as he wants, but he has very little of it at the moment. Football nowadays is all about results and the Italian could soon be facing the sack if Juventus’ slump continues.