Tuesday night will arguably be the most important night of Andrea Pirlo’s young managerial career so far.
Juventus are trailing on aggregate after losing the first leg at Porto, but turning around a 2-1 loss is far from being an impossible mission.
From Barcelona, to Milan and Inter, the rookie coach has already been into several important fixtures since the start of the campaign.
Although his team had done well in some of it whilst botching others, the stakes have never been higher than this one.
The Old Lady’s entire season could depend on the outcome of the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Admittedly, the Bianconeri’s chances of going all the way through to the final look slimmer than usual considering their current troubles.
The Italian champions are now the outsiders in the Scudetto race, as Inter could end up dethroning them after nine years of domestic dominance.
Unfortunately for Pirlo, he inherited a squad that is lacking in depth in comparison with previous seasons, and the injury bug had prevented him from finding a consistent formation throughout the over-packed campaign.
Nonetheless, the Italian manager has the obligation to at least end the season with the least possible damage, and making a run towards the UCL semi finals would be much more acceptable than being knocked out against a supposedly weaker side in the round of 16 – Just ask Maurizio Sarri.
Moreover, a qualification to the next round could earn the club an extra 10 million euros in revenues – which makes Tuesday’s clash even more vital considering the current financial crisis.
Therefore, the 41-year-old needs to book his place in the next stage one way or another, as a respectable European run could be his only chance in saving his Juventus tenure, and perhaps his entire managerial career.
