Serie A kicks off with all eyes on Juve's remarkable Andrea Pirlo gamble | Nicky Bandini


Will the rookie manager steer Juventus to a 1oth straight title or could Inter, or Lazio or Atalanta, finally topple them?

Millions of Italian children went back to school on Monday. So did the manager of Juventus. Andrea Pirlo was completing the final stage of his Uefa Pro licence course, defending a thesis he had submitted two weeks earlier under the title “My Football”.

His writings will soon be made available, joining those of every other coach who has passed through Italy’s famous Scuola Allenatori (Managers’ School), in the library of the technical centre in Coverciano. Most of us, though, will get our first real insight into Pirlo’s vision for how the game should be played when Juventus host Sampdoria in their Serie A opener on Sunday.

Related: Andrea Pirlo's vineyard is not a reason to think he will be a vintage manager | Jonathan Wilson

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