The technician, the cursor and the all-rounder: the flexible Pirlo baptizes his trio

Could this be the beginning of a new era for Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus? The match against Parma on Saturday night impressed not so much by the result (you can expect a poker against a team in the second half of the Italian champions table) but by how it arrived. We already analyzed the importance of the midfield in the performance of Juventus, but today Pirlo added his own considerations.

THE COACH’S THOUGHT – “Ramsey, Bentancur, and McKennie? They’re different players who trade well. One perhaps more technical, the other more insertive, Rodrigo knows how to do a little of everything ”. This is the Juventus coach’s thinking about the trio that dominated the Tardini, allowing the team to express “liquid soccer” at its best. But pitching this midfield triad wasn’t a trivial choice …

KNOW HOW TO CHANGE – If until three days ago Ramsey seemed an alternative to Kulusevski and McKennie for the role of false offensive midfielder, in Parma they all played together. Pirlo proved to be … liquid, but we prefer to say “flexible”, also in this: it has known how to review its positions, maintaining coherence of ideas but without becoming gangrenous in fundamentalism. Effectively, contributing with their change of course to make the same ideas more effective.

NEW CONFIGURATION – In fact, against Parma, Juve also took sides in a different way than usual. For the first time all three midfielders really looked like this, without “strange” roles. Instead of two midfielders, there was a center back (Bentancur, the one who “knows how to do everything”) and two midfielders: connection “technical” Ramsey and “insertion” McKennie to break the lines, both his and the rival. With Kulusevski to regain his role as a pure winger. And who broke the dead end?

OTHERS – In all this, it is worth dwelling on the “excluded”. Arthur, who despite himself was not in Emilia and will not be tomorrow due to injury. And Rabiot, who was instead turned down by Pirlo after the disappointing performance against Atalanta (when he let McKennie out in the Parma final, Portanova brought him in). But if the system takes off and liquid football solidifies a bit, they too will be able to find the certainties that they and Juve need.