I’m no copycat, says Pirlo

New Juve boss makes perfect start as Old Lady takes aim at 10th straight title

JUVENTUS coach Andrea Pirlo is not out to copy anyone, he said yesterday after beginning his new career with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sampdoria in Serie A.

Pirlo, who only received his coaching badge the previous week, has cited Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte as his biggest influences but said that his style of football would be a mix of everything.

“I don’t want to copy anyone, I have my own ideas and I will take my cue from the teams that impressed me,” he said.

“We haven’t had much time because the boys have only been back for a week from their national team commitments.”

“We saw a few things today and in the friendlies but it will take time to assimilate things.

“We are missing players but, with the ones we have, we will try to do the best we can.”

Juve dominated possession, something Pirlo said he wanted them to do, and also pressed Sampdoria aggressively and broke quickly when they had the ball. However, they still needed two late goals to ensure the three points.

“It’s about finding the right balance,” he said. “Quality players are always welcome, as long as they have the characteristics to bring balance to the team.”

Swedish debutant Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring after 13 minutes in Turin with Leonardo Bonucci adding a second on 78 minutes and Cristiano Ronaldo a late third.

The match was played in front of 1,000 spectators as Serie A stadiums reopened yesterday to a limited number of fans after a seven-month coronavirus lockdown.

Juventus handed debuts to new signing Weston McKennie and Kulusevski, who joined from Atalanta in January before immediately returning to Parma on loan.

Kulusevski curled in the first goal in a move started by Ronaldo, who hit the bar minutes later.

But it was not until the last quarter of an hour that the champions finally killed off the game they dominated, with Aaron Ramsey missing a chance for a fourth late.

Pirlo’s opposite number Claudio Ranieri was anything but happy as he slammed Sampdoria for a lack of courage.

“Today I didn’t see the Samp I wanted to see, I’m very disappointed,” he said.

“We were too fearful. You can lose games but you have to try and play. Juventus played with hunger and my team didn’t.

“We were lucky to get away with 3-0 because we could have conceded a lot more. We were timid, fearful and weak and I don’t know why this happened.” Reuters/AFP