Andrea Pirlo is set to miss the rest of 2013 after damaging knee ligaments in Sunday's match against Udinese after a collision with midfielder Andrea Lazzari. The midfielder limped off after 15 minutes, leaving Juve medics sweating on his fitness with the team set to visit Istanbul next week for the match against Galatasaray that will decide their fate in this season's UEFA Champions League.

 

His absence was clearly felt by the bianconeri; a side already struggling with creativity were stripped of their main creative outlet. His absence clearly unsettled the side and highlights Juve's dependence on Pirlo to create.

 

It was expected that Paul Pogba would eventually take the mantle from Pirlo and solididfy his place as the side's starting regista. But that hasn't turned out quite like the club imagined, which isn't to say that Pogba has failed to make his mark in Turin, far from it, but rather that the two players aren't as similar as was first expected.

 

Pirlo is one of those players that is virtually impossible to replicate, a player who will be remembered as one of the all time greats, seminal almost. It's little wonder why even at his current age he is still a player who is sought after by many of the top clubs; Tony Gale, while commentating on Juventus' match against Copenhagen last week, noted that "even when he appears to have made a mistake, he still manages to wriggle away", which was reminiscent of Cruyff's confusing quote; "Before I make that mistake, I don't make that mistake".

 

But it's not just his work with the ball that is the reason for his longevity at the top of the game, but rather his ability to read situations and react accordingly. So often the deep lying playamaker can be too deep and therefore allow space to the opposition's own regista, not Pirlo though. Furthermore, his movement and ability to create space is an essential part of his play. In the modern game with compressed and crowded areas of play, Pirlo's movement is what places him in the top drawer and is why eventhough football is getting quicker, Pirlo can still leave his mark on matches. 

 

His intelligence in misleading his marker creates space either for one of the centrebacks to bring the ball forward or one of his teammates in midfield, this is a big reason why whenever Pirlo plays - for either club or country - the team rarely ever looks disjointed in transitions. 

 

And it is also the reason why Pogba or Arturo Vidal will never be able to replace him as such. Rumours in the Italian press in the aftermath of Pirlo's injury was that Antonio Conte will look to play either one of Vidal or Pogba at the base of the midfield 3, or more drastically move Leonardo Bonucci into midfield and occupy the "Pirlo role". 

 

The first option is defnitely not viable at all as neither player has the intelligence of Pirlo (not many do, to be fair), but it could work if Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal form a double pivot with Pogba lining up higher up the pitch. The Frenchman is more comfortable creating higher up the pitch than he is deeper in between the centre backs, and while his passing ability and range can be extraordinary, his decision making at times can be a tad hasty and naive. 

 

Pogba's hands on style means that he is more suited to creating in between the midfield and defensive lines - similarly the Chilean Vidal. Thus the natural solution would be to invert the midfield pyramid, so to speak, from a deep lying playmaker with two more advanced midfielders to a system with a double pivot and one midfielder pushed further forward.

 

The latter option is certainly interesting. There can be little doubt of the passing ability of Leonardo Bonucci, as he is instrumental for Juventus in building attacks and it's this ability that makes him and Pirlo work so well in tandem; put simply without Bonucci, it's unlikely anyone else could make use of the space often created by Pirlo pulling his marker around. 

 

In recent weeks, Bonucci has shown his ability to step out into the position normally taken up by defensive midfielders, both in the defensive and attacking phases of play. He is often stepping out at just the right moment so that Juventus keep their shape, and it isn't as absurd a suggestion to play him in Pirlo's position as it may initially seem. His tackling ability and strength in aerial duels will also be a positive, one feels, particlarly against Galatasaray's imposing Didier Drogba. 

 

Both these options could work, but it is probably safer to pick the former. After all, Marchisio, Vidal and Pogba already have a good understanding of each other's game and having Pogba in the attacking third more often than not is a weapon that not many teams can deal with; his performance against Real Madrid in Turin is a testament to that. It will allow Juve to exploit his ability to commit defenders and also unleash those vicious shots he has become famous for. While the second option may allow Conte and Juventus to maintain their current system, it is far more riskier. Bonucci does in fact have a good range of passing but whether he can take the creative mantle from Pirlo and the responsibility it entails could prove to be a step too far, after all not even the highly rated Pogba has been able to that. 

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