Andrea Pirlo rejoining Juventus as U-23 coach

Andrea Pirlo has returned to Juventus as a coach.

Andrea Pirlo might have retired from playing in 2017 after a 22-year professional career, but the legendary midfielder and Italian hero has ended his hiatus from soccer after just three years, as he got the itch to start coaching. Luckily, one of his old clubs allowed him to get his feet wet in their youth academy.

Pirlo couldn’t stay away from the game for long, as he has returned to Juventus, with whom he spent five seasons as a player, as a coach for their under-23 team.

Andrea Pirlo is one of the best defensive midfielders in history.

After starting his career at Brescia, Pirlo ended his career as a deity in both Milan and Turin following his stints with AC Milan and Juventus. With the Rossoneri, Pirlo appeared in over 400 games, netting 41 times and taking home nine trophies, including two Champions League titles. Pirlo won Serie A in each of his five seasons with Juventus. He finished his career as a designated player with MLS side NYCFC under Patrick Vieira. For his native Italy, Pirlo was capped 116 times, scoring 13 goals.

Pirlo redefined the deep-lying playmaker position, as his ability to control the pace of the game and lob beautiful passes all over the field, all the while playing solid defense, earned him the nickname “The Maestro.” In addition to his long passes that bordered on the artistic, he might be the best free-kick taker we’ve seen in the last few decades.

Never a particularly athletic player, Pirlo succeded due to his razor-sharp mind and feel for the game around him. If he is able to instill that same ability to read the game in Juventus’ best young players, Maurizio Sarri might win Serie A every year for the next decade due to the surplus of young studs Pirlo helped create.

https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/1288851697230651392

If you’re a young player in Juventus system, you couldn’t ask for a better coach than Pirlo, as his wealth of knowledge about the game coupled with his ability to command a dressing room should set Juve up nicely for 2020 and beyond.