Andrea Pirlo has criticized seeing Juventus midfielder Arthur, who signed for the Italian champions from Barcelona last summer in a partial exchange deal with Miralem Pjanic.
Pirlo, who has been named Juventus coach in his first senior position in the recent season, was speaking after the Italian side’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the Champions League.
Alvaro Morata, the La Ruga striker, came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 92nd minute for Juventus after Cristiano Ronaldo canceled the opening match for Merto Ozone.
“We intended to start with a different position, but we know that there could be difficulties in matches that seem minor on paper,” Pirlo told Sky Sports Italia in quotes quoted by Futbol Italia. “We were very superficial at first and we had to chase the game.
“Our first pressure was not strong, which is normal after many matches to lose a little bit of intensity, but the important thing is not to extend and allow the counterattack. We did that several times in the first half, but then we managed to stabilize.”
“I was expecting more players, but Ferencvaros shouted, we had to try to move the ball back and forth more quickly to spread them. We moved it very slowly, which made it easier for them to defend.
“Ferencvaros keeps a fine line and invites you to attack them, but if you don’t do it in time, it will be in their favor. When we got the timing right, we were almost always dangerous.”
Arthur was criticized by Fabio Capello in the studio for his performance. Capello argued that his death was too short, slow, and horizontal.
Pirlo agreed, saying: “He got a bit of a pig’s head today while keeping the ball and trying to find more direct through balls when he should have spread it widely and trying to spread Ferencvaros’ defense.”
“He should have opened the game further to create singles situations. If the ball moved too slowly, it would allow them to return to their position.”
Capello asked if Arthur really had the ability or vision to split the defenses. “Not much now, but he’s learning,” Pirlo replied after chuckling.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Group G, Barcelona beat Dynamo Kiev 4-0 in Ukraine to secure their place in the round of 16 of the tournament. They are three points ahead of Juventus in second place, with the Catalans setting a record of 100% in Europe this season.
Featured image provided by Juventus.
