Andrea Pirlo may have only had eight games in charge of Juventus, however, there are already questions being asked about his suitability for the role.
As many individuals have found in the past – and will likely continue to find out in the future – being a legend on the pitch as a player does not always translate when off the pitch in a managerial role. The ultra-cool Italian is just the latest to showcase that rather horrible trend.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, however, Juventus’ recent form does not appear to be showing any signs that he is any different to the norm.
Poor performances
In the eight games they have played so far, the Bianconeri appears to be on a downward trend, as they have struggled to compete on the pitch in both the Serie A and the UEFA Champions League.
Juventus currently occupy fifth place in the league competition, having managed to amass nine points from their first five games. Whilst that might not necessarily be a bad start, when taking a close look at results, then it is clear that there are issues and those that look for football betting tips might want to avoid the Italian behemoths for now.
The Old Lady may have started things off with a routine win against Sampdoria, however a 2-2 draw with AS Roma was followed by a 1-1 draw away to Crotone – a side many would expect the Italian giants to have taken all three points from. Indeed, the fact that a red card was shown in each of the two draws will have also raised some concerns.
Those results were also followed up with a 1-1 home draw against Hellas Verona as well.
Tactics and best Starting XI still remain questionable
One reason as to why the team have struggled as much as they have, though, could be simply that Pirlo does not appear to know his best team or the best formation to use. In his first three games, he used three different formations and has tried to bring in a new style of play after taking over from Maurizio Sarri.
Indeed, the 3-5-2 system appears to be favoured for now, however, it does not appear to be getting the best out of the players he has available, as Juventus slumped to a defeat to FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League without a shot on target – Alvaro Morata might have scored three offside goals, but they do not count.
The midfield has struggled with creativity as well, as men like Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur failed to create anything whilst Federico Chiesa has found it difficult to get involved in this system.
Paulo Dybala’s situation makes no sense
Paulo Dybala has also suffered under Pirlo, as it seems the manager does not know how to fit the Argentine in the squad. Considering he was last season’s Serie A MVP, it would surely have been difficult to leave him out of the line-up?
He did make a start in the game against FC Barcelona, however, that may have been because Cristiano Ronaldo was unavailable. Even youngsters such as Dejan Kulusevski and even Manolo Portanova have been preferred since the beginning of the season as well, though.
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