‘He’s screwed now’: Gennaro Gattuso on Andrea Pirlo’s new Juventus job

The 41-year-old, who has never managed before, either at youth or senior level, signed a two-year contract with the club until June 30, 2022.

Although Pirlo won four Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana during his four-year spell with Juventus, Gattuso believes that will have little bearing on his fortunes in the sidelines.

“Well he’s screwed now… that’s the job,” Gattuso told Sky Italia following Napoli’s defeat to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League last-16 on Saturday.

“He’s lucky to be starting at Juventus, but this profession is one where a great playing career is not enough. You have to study, to work hard, and you don’t get much sleep.”

After starting his coaching career with FC Sion in 2013, Gattuso was appointed as the first-team head coach of AC Milan in 2017. But the World Cup winner was dismissed at the end of the 2018/19 Serie A campaign after a fifth-place finish.

READ | Gattuso becomes an unlikely convert to possession football

In December last year, Gattuso replaced his mentor Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli and guided the club to a Coppa Italia title and a seventh-place finish.

“Being a player and being a coach is really not the same thing at all,” Gattuso added.

“It’s a totally different profession and we can’t learn it just from books, we need to get in there and work hard. It’s a different world.”