Andrea Pirlo's appointment as the head coach of Juventus is a surprise, says Renzo Ulivieri - but the Italian Football Managers' Association chairman believes that the former midfielder could thrive in his new job, hailing him as a "profound connoisseur" of football.
The former Italy international was handed the top job in Turin just nine days after he was handed the reins of the club's under-23 setup, replacing Maurizo Sarri in the wake of the Bianconeri's Champions League exit against Lyon on Friday.
The eye-catching decision to promote the 41-year-old - who has never coached at senior level before - caught many unawares, particularly given that Ulivieri says that Pirlo has yet to obtain his full accreditation from the Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the Italian Football Federation's technical centre.