Rookie head coach Andrea Pirlo is off to a good start. His side, Juventus, won their first game and as expected club superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was very much in the game, which ended for the Turin club at 3-0. Yet according to Pirlo, he is not designing his game focused mostly on the Portuguese striker.
The new Juve manager said Ronaldo will get his rest when the situation permits, and that means the coach had devised gameplays that will highlight other Juventus stars as well.
Pirlo said his 35-year-old prized player will be given breaks during the season campaign. There will be games that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will not play the entire match and the manager said this will be for the less important matches.
"We are thinking about [how to use Ronaldo] and talked it over ... He's not tired yet, as we just started, but when we come up to less important games, we'll try to give him a rest," Goal reported the Italian legend as saying.
The plan, however, contradicts Ronaldo's preference for staying on the pitch whenever he can. But Pirlo said he is convinced that Ronaldo will embrace a game strategy that in the end will benefit him.
Pirlo said: "He's a very intelligent guy who knows his body very well, so he is aware of when it's time to rest or to step it up."
It appeared too that as Pirlo guns for Juventus's tenth consecutive Serie A title, he will be giving opportunities for new players. A case in point is loan signing Weston McKennie, who committed a few errors that the coach said can be overlooked.
McKennie trained early with Juventus and the lead time made him more prepared for the match, which Pirlo said was the reason the American got his playing minutes.
Also, the manager provided updates on Juventus' remaining signing targets in the summer and he admitted that the likelihood of Luis Suarez joining up with Ronaldo on the team's attacking line has suffered a setback. It's more likely that the Barca is a no-go for the Italians in the current transfer window.
Earlier reports indicated the Uruguayan did agree to sign a three-year deal with the Serie A side but passport issues will prevent the agreement from getting completed. Pirlo himself confirmed that signing Suarez this season is next to impossible.
"Suarez is difficult because it takes a long time to get the passport, so it's unlikely that it could be him," 90Min reported the coach as saying.
Juventus will continue the search to fill the position that Suarez was supposed to occupy but Pirlo made clear he is not rushing things. The Italian hinted he can still make a signing before the deadline in October.
