Former Turin's "Juventus" star Alessio Tacchinardi urges Andrea Pirlo to dedicate his career to the national team or the club.
The Italian team's defender, nicknamed "The Architect," received a lot of criticism for his lackluster performance in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League match against Piraeus' "Olympiacos," which the Greeks won 1-0. Only 77 percent of his passes reached their target in the second half, and often losing the ball on his own side allowed the Greeks to launch quick and dangerous counterattacks.
In an interview with "Tuttomercatoweb," A. Tacchinardi encouraged his compatriot to make a decision: "Andrea is a champion, but he must choose between the club and the national team."
"Pirlo could use the national team break for rest. What I see now is a player coming back from the national team camp exhausted and completely drained. Many famous footballers retired from their national teams for the sake of their club careers. Alessandro Nesta and Francesco Totti are the first examples that come to mind," he said.
"Players are not robots. With so many commitments, the workload can become unbearable. Juventus needs players who are physically and mentally prepared," said the Italian, who spent 13 years at the Turin club.
Asked about Juventus' chances of reaching the next stage of the Champions League, A. Tacchinardi replied: "The relentless aggression throughout the match is how Juventus plays in Italy and how they should play in Europe."
"In the Champions League, there are often matches like the one against Olympiacos. There are no weak opponents in this tournament, and everyone knows they can achieve a positive result. Juve started the match with the handbrake on. Only in the second half did they start to play properly," he said.
"With such attitude, you won't rise to the top of the group. Juve needs to play all 90 minutes or say goodbye to the Champions League. I think this team is capable of reaching the quarter-finals. The loss to Olympiacos was the last mistake Juventus could afford. The level of play has risen in Europe, but in Italy, it has declined. In this case, progress is impossible if you can't adapt to the pace of the Champions League," reflected A. Tacchinardi.
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