Nervous Pirlo: You should watch games carefully before commenting

The pressure is piling up on Juventus and their young coach Andrea Pirlo. After quietly regaining their form, the Old Lady was suddenly in a position to challenge Milan for the second spot, after the Rossoneri were brushed away in the Derbi Della Madonnina by Inter. But, Juve stumbled instead, playing only 1-1 with Verona, so the difference is still three points.

For some parts of the match, the current champions were inferior and their pale performance must have been tough for Pirlo to watch. The usually very calm manager was in no mood for criticism from the journalists and pundits. Sky Sport Italia pundit Giancarlo Padovan challenged Pirlo about using players out of position only to play in his preferred 3-4-2-1 position and former Juve player responded very directly.

“We were in an emergency situation if you look at the absentees. I had already adapted Alex Sandro as a center-back, so we couldn’t invent more than that. If you are missing four defenders, full-backs, and strikers, then you tell me what I’m supposed to do” snapped Pirlo.

The journalist didn't back off, but instead continued to ask why Radu Dragusin wasn’t playing as a fourth defender, and why Federico Bernardeschi and Federico Chiesa played out of position.

“Dragusin is not a full-back and he has never played as a full-back, he is a third center-back. You should watch games carefully before commenting. Excuse me, but who would you have placed in that formation? Chiesa is an attacking winger, he played many games in that role. Bernardeschi has almost always played in that role. Perhaps they were the only two players there who were in their natural roles. When you have to make changes, everyone needs to adapt” said Pirlo.

Talking about the draw against Verona, Juve coach blamed lack of experience from these players.

„There are these small details that unfortunately young players don’t understand can make the difference and lead to points. When you are in front, you must try to bring these games home. We were missing a lot of experienced players, so the younger elements didn’t understand the way the match was going. I asked Cristiano and Alex Sandro to speak to them and make their voices heard, but it wasn’t enough. We had the chance to extend our lead, it’s just a pity we didn’t hold on to that advantage. We don’t have strikers who can just hold up the ball, so we need to play out from the back. It was tough today, as Verona pressed high, and the pitch wasn’t in the best condition either“ explained Pirlo.