Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner has admitted that losing New York City FC midfielder Andrea Pirlo was a real blow to the Bianconeri.
Pirlo left The Old Lady in the summer to move to the MLS side after his contract with Juve expired at the end of the 2014-15 season.
“Now we have [Paul] Pogba and [Claudio] Marchisio who can provide the passes Pirlo used to provide,” said Lichtsteiner in an interview with Premium Sport.
“However, losing someone like Andrea is always a blow because he is a champion who gave the team so much. The whole team feels this, not just me.
“This year was very successful, in many ways it was a little unexpected . The team is strong, we have so many champions who play at such a high level.”
The full-back was also asked about Juventus’s Champions League last 16 tie against Bayern Munich and whether Carlos Tevez and Paulo Dybala are comparable.
“We’ll see if compared to three years ago something has changed but it’s hard to say now, they are a very strong team and they have a good coach,” added Lichtsteiner.
“Tevez and Dybala? I do not like this comparison because Tevez is older, he has won more, he is a true champion.
“Dybala can become a champion, but right now you can not compare a 20-year-old with a 30-year-old, we will see what happens in the next decade.”
