Andrea Pirlo assures he gave his Juventus players a good talking to after the Fiorentina defeat. ‘I never want to see that performance again.’
The game with Udinese kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.
The Bianconeri saw their 2020 come to a surprising finale with the 3-0 home defeat to Fiorentina.
“We got back together for training on Monday and I saw a team eager to get back out there after a bad performance,” Pirlo told JTV.
Andrea Pirlo assures he gave his Juventus players a good talking to after the Fiorentina defeat. ‘I never want to see that performance again.’
The game with Udinese kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.
The Bianconeri saw their 2020 come to a surprising finale with the 3-0 home defeat to Fiorentina.
“We got back together for training on Monday and I saw a team eager to get back out there after a bad performance,” Pirlo told JTV.
“It’s a difficult game coming up, as Udinese are in a good period of form, are physical, organised and dangerous on the counter-attack. We’ve got to focus the preventative marking on their strikers and the midfielders who push up.
“We already know Roberto Pereyra well, as he was part of our squad here, so it’s going to be a very difficult match.”
Juan Cuadrado is suspended, having been sent off early into the 3-0 loss to Fiorentina, while Arthur Melo, Merih Demiral and Giorgio Chiellini have resumed training.
“We talked about that game and everything was wrong about it, from the attitude to every detail. It was a bad way to end 2020. We had a good meeting where we discussed our future objectives and what happened, so it was a productive encounter.
“I never want to see that performance again. We’ve improved in many aspects lately, but I am convinced we can do far better.”
This is Pirlo’s first season as a coach, so has he learned any valuable lessons already?
“Just as when I was a player, we need to judge situations in their entirety and look at the bigger picture. It’s too easy to see you go from hero to zero in the media, but I’m used to it, having already been a player at the top level. It’s nothing new.
“When you are in charge of Juve, you’re going to run into a lot of difficulties and have to take on a lot of responsibility, but I’m ready for it.”