“Pirlo puts Juventus in an attacking but well organized game.”

Dynamo Kiev head coach Mircea Lucescu placeholder image He spoke of the current Champions League club coaches, who, when they were players, defended the colors of the teams led by the Romanian specialist.

– What kind of football do you expect from Juventus, led by Andrea Pirlo, who began his career as a player under your direction?

– Of course, he will be attacking football. Attacking but balanced. It will not be just an improvisation. There is no room for improvisation in modern football unless the necessary foundations are laid. If you have one, you can improvise all you want. But without him, the state of affairs becomes noticeably more complicated. Then Pirlo puts the team in a game of attack but well organized and focused on results.

– He is not the only former player of yours who currently manages one of the Champions League participants. Then there are Diego Simeone (Atlético) and Okan Buruk (Istanbul Basaksehir). Are you also keeping a close eye on them?

– Yes. All of these are midfielders. Midfielders are more prepared to work as coaches, as they control the course of the game, both on offense and defense. Simeone and Buruk impressed me when we discussed the relationship between a soccer player and a mentor. Now they are both great coaches. In Romania and Ukraine, there are also my former pupils who now work as coaches. I think I taught them something useful. They worked with me when they were still very young. So I gave them a professional education, I taught them to communicate with people and take care of their health. In general, there are many things that come to the fore when you are in football. And these things stay with you forever.

Read also: LUCHESKU: “The youngsters of the Dynamo need to play in the Champions League to grow”