Pirlo: I am just focused on doing my work well

Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) goes for the ball next to Juventus' head coach Andrea Pirlo after the ball went out of play during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs AC Milan on May 09, 2021 at the Juventus stadium in Turin.

Juventus take on Atalanta on Wednesday in the final of the Coppa Italia with this the last chance for either side to pick up silverware this season. Andrea Pirlo will be minus Alex Sandro who is suspended for this game, while Leonardo Bonucci sprained his knee and will miss the clash as well.

Speaking during his pre-game press conference, Pirlo spoke about what to expect tomorrow.

“I don’t think it’ll be a defensive game at all, because everyone knows when you’re up against Atalanta to expect shots on target, tempo and intensity.

“It’s practically a European level game. We are ready, we know them and what to expect. There’s a trophy to be lifted, we earned our place in the Final and now we want to bring this cup home. We can think about the rest from Thursday.

“The mentality will not be affected by Serie A, as we are focused only on the Final. What happened is in the past, so until tomorrow evening all we need to think about is bringing home this trophy.”

While the Bianconeri missed out on the big two titles, Pirlo already lifted the Italian Supercup and now Juve have another chance to win more silverware.

“I am fortunate to have two Finals in my first season, whereas this is only Gian Piero Gasperini’s second in his career. We had two different career paths, but we are two different coaches with very different personalities.

“He brought Atalanta to play the Champions League knockouts and his team’s success is recognised all over Europe. I am just at the start of my career and hope to have many more finals like this.”

The question of his future continues to pop up every time he speaks to the media, and this time Pirlo was short in his reply.

“I already answered this question a thousand times. I am just focused on doing my work well, by winning tomorrow and on Sunday. We’ll have to time to talk about the future.”

Pirlo didn’t drop any hints on who he would start with up front, especially after giving Dejan Kulusevski the start against Inter Milan.

“We have a few different options, as the forward players are all in good shape. We’ll decide tomorrow. The team is doing well physically and we did very well against Inter even down to 10 men. However, the mentality is more important than physical fitness at this stage,”

There will be 4,300 fans allowed in the stadium for this game, for the first time in Italy’s top flight in 2021.

“It’s wonderful and exciting. We played some Champions League games with a few fans and you really do notice the difference.

“There are teams accustomed to having pressure on them and the fans cheering them on, they can help increase focus and enthusiasm. We are one of those teams, we need to feel that stimulation from the crowd and we missed it at times this year.”


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