Manager Juve Pirlo admits he has a decision to make a decision on Ronaldo’s continued presence in the defensive walls after seeing the spark of yet another dull storm from the Portuguese.
The discussion focused on Cristiano Ronaldo
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 97 goals for Juventus since arriving from Real Madrid, while his presence is often necessary within the defensive walls given his height and frame. The 36-year-old, however, has faced criticism lately for a clear reluctance to fully commit to blocking dangerous free kicks, with Porto firing a shot outside to qualify for a notable Champions League and Parma scalp over Cristiano’s head in Serie A on Wednesday.
Juventus kicked back to claim a 3-1 win over Parma, and Alex Sandro stepped up as an unlikely hero as he scored two goals, but much of the post-match discussion focused on Cristiano. Pirlo was questioned about whether he needed to get the superstar performer off the wall after seeing him duck under the force of Gaston Brugman. The Bianconeri boss said that unfortunately these things happen, they will evaluate what to do in the next matches and whether to put it against the wall.
Something must be changed
Unwittingly, given the events of the past few days, Pirlo has also been challenged by the Super League’s proposals, which Juventus has featured prominently. Andrea Agnelli guided these negotiations, but the project, which had been in development for some time, collapsed on itself after fierce reactions from players, supporters and sports organizations. When asked to join the Super League, which saw 12 teams sign up initially as members, Pirlo said Andrea Agnelli explained what was going on, but most importantly, secured himself a spot in the top 4 to qualify for the Champions League.
To the closed format of a breakaway league that would see Juventus not threatening to drop out of the elite competition, he also said that he had already spoken about it, as did the president and the director, and that they all know the same thing. Something needs to be changed at the European level, because the ideas that were proposed were good, but they are also open to other proposals and will respect the rules.