Andrea Pirlo: Juventus hire club legend to replace Maurizio Sarri as manager

The former midfielder was in charge of the U23s less than two weeks

Andrea Pirlo has been appointed new Juventus head coach (Getty Images)

Juventus have appointed Andrea Pirlo as their new manager on a two-year deal.

The Italian champions have acted swiftly following the sacking of Maurizio Sarri, who paid the price for his side’s Champions League exit on Friday night.

The 41-year-old Pirlo, who made 164 appearances for the club between 2011 and 2015, was only named as the Under-23s manager 10 days ago and has no senior experience as a coach.

But the club have opted to give a new boss the chance to bring ideas in from scratch, having previously gone with the experience and clear identity of Sarri, Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte.

Pirlo inherits a squad which has won nine successive Serie A titles, but the message here is clear that the club hierarchy views success in Europe as a managerial barometer.

During his playing days, Pirlo won four league titles with Juventus, plus another two with AC Milan and the FIFA World Cup with Italy.

A statement from the club read that the ”choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead from his debut on the bench” and that he takes over “an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes.”

The new coach will face a summer of potential changes in the squad, with Miralem Pjanic already heading to Barcelona and Arthur coming the other way.

There have also been rumours over the likes of Federico Bernardeschi, Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala leaving.

Juventus won the title by only one point this season, compared to 11 last season, and also lost the Coppa Italia final under Sarri.