The now all-but-certain appointment of Andrea Pirlo as the new head coach of the national team raises a question: "Why him, exactly?" It's a fair question. More than fair, in fact—it's necessary.
Because his CV is hardly dazzling, his profile has deflated the fans' excitement, and now it seems as if everything is already being written off before it has even begun. But there is more sense in this choice than people think, regardless of how it ends.
A month ago, Andrea Pirlo claimed that he has always "achieved the objectives set for him": 4th place with Juventus, the playoffs with Sampdoria, 7th place with Fatih Karagümrük (though in reality he was sacked while in 9th place), and then promotion from the UAE Serie B by finishing 2nd.
That really is quite an impressive résumé—if you read it backwards. Because read left to right, it looks like the story of Benjamin ***** on: it starts where most careers end and then develops in reverse, all the way back to having to learn the ropes in lower divisions, even in minor leagues.
But in the middle, we never saw him at his physical peak: where is Andrea Pirlo's prime? It never happened. Not yet, at least.

#pirlo #even #juventus #sampdoria