Through a losing season, Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo and striker Cristiano Ronaldo will not abandon Turin, the Serie A champions’ vice-president Pavel Nedved said on Wednesday.
Despite having no prior managerial experience, Pirlo was unexpectedly appointed as Maurizio Sarri’s successor last August.
The 41-year-old, who won the World Cup, two Champions Leagues, and six Serie A titles before retiring in 2017, has recently come under pressure as Juve’s chances of winning a tenth consecutive league title dwindle.
Juventus were eliminated from the Champions League last-16 by Porto on March 9, before falling to a shock loss to lowly Benevento on Sunday, leaving them 10 points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
“Pirlo is and will be the coach of Juventus, that is beyond a doubt,” Nedved told DAZN.
“We agreed to work on a collaboration with Andrea recognizing there will be challenges. We tried to do more than this and didn’t succeed, but problems were anticipated. We are very relaxed. We’re on the right track, and we’ll stick to it. He has what it takes to be a fantastic coach.”
Ronaldo was also chastised after Juve’s European exit, and it has been speculated that he will leave at the end of the season.
“Cristiano is untouchable in my eyes. He has a term that expires on June 30, 2022, and he intends to commit. We’ll see what happens next,” Nedved said.
