Porto progressed to the quarter-finals on away goals following a thrilling 4-4 tie over two legs and they were well worth the result in Turin, which saw them play with 10 men for more than an hour.
As Juventus toiled in search of a late winner, Pirlo stood passive in his technical area. The former Juventus and AC Milan midfielder is not a shouter and that can be confusing in the high leverage moments. His side appears to have an immense personality deficit.
Unsurprisingly bullish, Pirlo refused to accept he had reached the end of the line as Juventus boss on what was his lowest night.
“I talked about the future with the President at the end of the match, my project does not end here but it spans several years,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
It is exactly that, a ‘project’, a rookie coach thrown in at the deep end where anything less than the trophy is an abject failure.
New Cristiano Ronaldo contract ‘not on agenda’, says Juventus chief
Third time was certainly not lucky for Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo and now the question that has emerged from their latest Champions League exit is: do they start from scratch?
The 36-year-old has won Europe’s premier club competition five times as a player but could do nothing to stop Porto from taking a quarter-final spot at Juventus’ expense on Tuesday night.
Old Lady sporting director Luca Paratici claims Ronaldo could be tempted to end his experience with Juventus.
Juventus director Fabio Paratici to Sky Sport about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future: “There’s still another year of contract [expiring in June 2022]. Cristiano’s contract renewal is not an immediate issue on the agenda, there’s time to talk about it”. ?? #CR7 #Juventus
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 9, 2021
The Juventus chief told Sky Sports Italia: “Fortunately, there’s a year left on his contract – we have time eventually to discuss it with him. Let’s just say it’s not on the agenda right now.
“Cristiano has his career in his hands. Always with these great players, you know that when they decide to end their experience with one team and move on to another experience, it’s they who decide, and you have to respect that decision.
“We have to consider how he will feel in order to continue or not once his contract expires.”
The club’s idea is to reduce the heaviest wages and invest in young Italian and European players.
Juventus are expected to revolutionise the side with a team built around Demiral, Dejan Kulusevski, Matthijs de Ligt, Chiesa, Arthur and Weston McKennie.
Ronaldo blamed for Juventus Champions League exit
Trailing 2-1 from the first-leg in Portugal, Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus fell behind early on through Sergio Oliveira’s first-half penalty, through a double from Old Lady winger Federico Chiesa forced the game into extra-time.
Oliveira’s long-range free-kick went through Ronaldo’s legs in the wall to give Porto a crucial away goal advantage, meaning Adrien Rabiot’s late goal was simply a consolation.
La loupe de Sky Italia sur le deuxième but de Porto. C’est interdit… #JuventusPorto pic.twitter.com/lOXosVKMMo
— GuillaumeMP (@Guillaumemp) March 9, 2021
Ronaldo was criticised by Sky Sports Italia pundit and former Juventus manager Fabio Capello for his “unforgivable” error in letting Oliveira’s free-kick go through his body as he turned away from the ball.
“They (the Juventus players in the wall) were scared of the ball and jumped away from it, turning their backs. That’s unforgivable.”
Alessandro del Piero, Juve’s all-time top scorer, also had his say after his former club’s exit.
“Cristiano has responsibilities, of course. He didn’t have many chances but he wasted one of those headers we’ve become used to seeing go in. But you can’t just blame him. Juventus were playing against 10 men for more than an hour.”
Although CR7 has been unable to inspire Juve to European glory since his arrival in Turin, he has still managed to score 14 goals in 23 Champions League matches, increasing his all-time record tally in the competition to 134.
The Portugal international has also hit 84 goals in 98 domestic games, including 78 in Serie A – winning four major trophies in total while also recording 22 assists.
