Juventus-Naples this Wednesday is full of emotion, a duel between two friendly coaches, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, a duel between two teams that used to dispute the 'scudetto' and are now fighting to enter the next Champions League. Faced with speculation that he could be fired if he loses this postponed match, Pirlo emotionally stated that he wants to show that he can continue leading Juve next season and that he feels “the confidence of my players, they follow me and are the first in being sad about the situation we are in “
This Wednesday Juventus-Naples, postponed in October due to the coronavirus, is key for both teams' options to qualify for the next Champions League. “It is a final, we have the obligation to win to stay close to the first,” said Pirlo, who has 3 casualties due to the coronavirus, Leonardo Bonucci, Federico Bernardeschi and Merih Demiral. An outbreak of Covid-19 in Naples led to the postponement of this meeting in October.
Eliminated in the eighth of the Champions League by Porto, in Serie A Juventus is 4th after losing against Benevento (0-1) and drawing in the derby against Torino (2-2), tied on points with Napoli, 5th.
Regarding his future, Pirlo, for whom it is his first experience as a coach, said this Tuesday at a press conference: “It is normal that the results have an influence on the work of the coaches and I must guarantee that I can be the coach of the Juventus next year. I am in daily contact with the president (Andrea Agnelli), they say what happens. I have his confidence, which gives me great serenity ”.
Pirlo said he had been personally informed by Agnelli of the president's friendly meeting with Massimiliano Allegri, former Juventus coach (with which he won 5 'scudetti'), a meeting in which some media saw the prelude to Allegri's return to the bench of the 'vecchia signora'. “In football, friendships remain, it is normal.”