By Stefan Coerts
Andrea Pirlo has revealed that the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be his last big tournament with Italy’s national team before he makes way for younger players.
The Juventus midfielder has made nearly 100 official appearances for the Azzurri since making his senior debut in 2002 and was part of the team that won the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
“I think Brazil 2014 will be my last tournament with Italy, then it will be time for me to step aside and let some of the youngsters take over,” Pirlo told reporters.
“The national side have given me a lot. I was lucky enough to win the World Cup and when that happens you find everyone adores you, even fans of other teams.”
The 33-year-old then went on to discuss the race for the Serie A title and insisted that Juventus fully deserve to win the Scudetto.
“We’ve been the most consistent team. Last year the title was unthinkable at the start of the season and what we did was an extraordinary achievement,” he continued.
“This year we set out with the aim of repeating that success and we’ve shown that we’re a notch above the rest. We’ll wait until we’ve got this last point sewn up, hopefully this Sunday, but we deserve to win the Scudetto again.”
Juventus will be crowned Italian champions at the weekend if they get at least a draw against Palermo on Sunday.
