Pirlo: Juventus have missed Conte

Nov 30, 2012 10:30:00 AM

The experienced midfielder has nothing but praise for the successful coach, while also offering words of encouragement to young Italy centre-mid Marco Verratti who is at PSG

Andrea Pirlo feels that the absence of head coach Antonio Conte has hurt Juventus in the opening months of the 2012-13 campaign.

The 43-year-old was handed a 10-month ban at the start of the season for his failure to report instances of match-fixing during his spell in charge of Siena, which was later reduced to four months, and Pirlo is glad that Conte is on the verge of a return.

"We miss Conte a lot on the bench, especially at half-time. He always has a word for everybody, and can turn a match around with his tactical changes," Pirlo was quoted as saying by Tuttosport.

"Fortunately, his ban is almost over. It's only one more week. He really is an exceptional coach. He's always well prepared and is capable of transmitting his philosophy to the team."

The influential midfielder then had his say on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, labelling the youngster as his natural heir.

He added: "Verratti is quite similar to me. He's a great player. We must give him time to develop and let him make mistakes in order to improve. I see him as my heir."

Verratti, 20, joined PSG from Pescara in the summer transfer window, and has been one of the revelations of this season so far.

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!

play

open

Inside Goal.Com

Player Ratings: Siena 1-2 AC Milan
Goal was on hand to judge all the players as Allegri's men finished third in Serie A and secured a Champions League berth next season
Player Ratings: Barcelona 2-1 Valladolid
Goal rates the players on show as the newly-crowned Liga champions cruised past the challenge of Miroslav Djukic's men to keep up hopes of reaching 100 points
Arsenal hold their nerve in top-four battle
Arsene Wenger's side produced a clinical performance to secure a top-four Premier League finish but now they must kick on if they wish to challenge for honours next year
Player Ratings: Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal
Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley secured the Gunners the win over Alan Pardew's side and made sure they would be playing Champions League football next season
Player Ratings: West Brom 5-5 Man Utd
Sir Alex Ferguson was given a farewell to remember, but certainly not for the right reasons as the Romelu Lukaku-led hosts battled back from three goals down to earn an unlikely point

Goal.com