Where are they now? Juventus’ XI from Andrea Pirlo’s last game as a player

Planet Football • 11 Aug 2020

After an incredible playing career at Juventus, Andrea Pirlo has now agreed to take up the managerial hot seat at the Serie A champions.

Pirlo’s last game for the club came against Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final, with goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar securing a 3-1 win for the Spanish side.

We’ve taken a look back at the Juve side from that day to see how those players have fared since.

Gianluigi Buffon

After falling behind Wojciech Szczesny in the pecking order, Buffon called time on a 17-year spell with Juventus and moved to PSG on a free transfer in 2018.

But the legendary goalkeeper only spent one season at the Parc des Princes before returning to Turin in 2019.

Reacting to the news of his former team-mate’s appointment, Buffon posted on Instagram: “So now I have to call you Mister!?!?! Good luck for this new challenge Andrea!”

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A post shared by Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon)

Stephan Lichtsteiner

Lichtsteiner won seven consecutive Serie A titles at Juventus before joining Arsenal at the expiry of his contract in 2018.

The defender made just 23 appearances in all competitions during his one and only season with the Gunners and spent 2019-20 with Bundesliga side FC Augsburg.

He’s now a free agent and appears to be…focused on selling really expensive keys.

READ: Why is Stephan Lichtsteiner trying to sell me some really expensive keys?

Andrea Barzagli

Barzagli retired at the end of the 2018-19 season, having made 281 appearances in all competitions during his seven years at Juventus.

The 39-year-old then returned to the club as a member of their coaching staff under Maurizio Sarri but stepped down from the role in May 2020.

Leonardo Bonucci

Bonucci was a mainstay in the heart of Juventus’ defence but fell out with Massimiliano Allegri towards the end of the 2016-17 campaign.

The centre-back then made the controversial move to AC Milan before returning to the Turin club the following summer.

“Those months at Milan let me do some soul-searching and made me realise that my calling was at Juventus, who are like my family,” Bonucci told Gazetta dello Sport in June 2020.

“I met some beautiful people at Milan, first of all Gattuso. It was a difficult year, but that’s not to say it was useless. At the end of it, I was very happy to go back home.”

Patrice Evra (Kingsley Coman, 89)

After brief spells at Marseille and West Ham United, Evra announced his retirement from professional football in 2019.

The 39-year-old can now be found bravely sitting between Roy Keane and Graeme Souness in the Sky Sports studio.

Meanwhile, Coman spent two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich before joining the Bundesliga side on a permanent deal in 2017.

Andrea Pirlo

Now in charge of Juventus, which you already knew.

If Andrea Pirlo coaches like he played, Juventus will be just fine 🤩

(via @ChampionsLeague)pic.twitter.com/m2EKbwZVYI

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 8, 2020

Claudio Marchisio

Marchisio was plagued by a series of injuries during his final few years at Juventus and joined Zenit St Petersburg on a free transfer in 2018.

His contract with the Russian side was terminated by mutual consent after just 10 months and the midfielder decided to hang up his boots in 2019.

Paul Pogba

Pogba developed into one of the best midfielders in the world at Juventus before returning to Manchester United in an £89million deal in 2016.

The 27-year-old has divided opinion at Old Trafford over the last four years, but he did play an integral role in France’s World Cup-winning exploits in 2018.

Arturo Vidal (Roberto Pereyra, 79)

Not only was the Barcelona game Pirlo’s last for Juventus, it was also Vidal’s last appearance for the Bianconeri.

The midfielder joined Bayern Munich two weeks later and won three consecutive Bundesliga titles before moving to Barcelona in 2018.

Pereyra made a surprise €13million move to Watford in 2016 but has failed to live up to expectations at Vicarage Road.

Not everything Barca did this season was bad 🙃

This finish from Arturo Vidal was 👌pic.twitter.com/a7O3rwG5Qq

— Goal (@goal) July 18, 2020

Carlos Tevez

After losing in the Champions League final, Tevez made a return to his hometown club Boca Juniors and won the league and cup double in 2015.

He then spent seven months with Shanghai Shenua on a reported annual salary of £34million, later describing his spell in the Chinese Super League as a “holiday”.

The 37-year-old joined Boca for a third spell in January 2018 and recently signed a new contract with the club.

Alvaro Morata (Fernando Llorente, 85)

Morata scored Juventus’ only goal in the final and Real Madrid exercised their buy-back clause to sign the striker in 2016.

He was on the move again 12 months later, joining Chelsea, and is now back in the other side of Madrid, at Atletico, as he looks to regain his best form.

Llorente had spells at Sevilla, Swansea and Tottenham before returning to Serie A with Napoli in 2019.