Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso fires a warning to Andrea Pirlo as he enters management at Juventus

Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso has fired a warning to Andrea Pirlo after his former AC Milan team-mate was named the news Juventus boss.

Pirlo had not previously had a coaching job but was named as Maurizio Sarri’s successor on a two-year deal just a week after taking over as the club’s Under-23s boss.

The former midfield ace won four Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italianas as a player during a four-year spell at the Allianz Stadium following his departure from Milan in 2011.

Gennaro Gattuso has fired a warning to Andrea Pirlo that he is up against it as Juventus boss

Napoli boss Gattuso (L) has warned Pirlo his achievements as a player will now count for little

But his former team-mate at the San Siro, Gattuso, has warned that his illustrious achievements as a player will count for little in management and has claimed he is fortunate to be starting his managerial career at the Serie A champions.  

‘Well he’s screwed now… That’s the job,’ Gattuso told Sky Italia.

‘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.’ 

The two former Italy midfielders played together for a decade at Serie A side AC Milan

Pirlo (left) was announced as sacked boss Maurizio Sarri’s replacement Juventus on Saturday

Gattuso’s first job in coaching came at Swiss outfit FC Sion, with the 42-year-old then going on to Palermo, OFI Crete and Pisa before taking charge of Milan’s youth team three years ago.

He was promoted to first-team head coach following Vincenzo Montella’s sacking in 2017, but was himself dismissed at the end of the 2018-19 campaign after a fifth-placed finish.

He then went on to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli and won the 2020 Coppa Italia.

Pirlo won seven trophies in a four-year spell with Juventus after leaving Milan in 2011

‘Being a player and being a coach is really not the same thing at all.

‘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.’

Pirlo’s predecessor Sarri was sacked after just a single season in the job, after being unable to prevent Juventus from being knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League in Lyon on Friday evening.

Former Chelsea boss Sarri was sacked after Juventus’ exit to Lyon in the Champions League