Max Allegri explained that when he returned to Juventus, he was tasked with bringing through Next Gen players, lowering the wage bill and making the team sustainable. The Bianconeri boss was speaking with The Athletic, and talked about his second stint in Turin, Manchester United’s track record with academy players and Juve’s current run of form:
“When I came back I was asked to rejuvenate the team, the objective was to bring through three Next Gen players every year, lower the wage bill and make the team sustainable while remaining competitive.”
“United have eight or nine players from their academy in the first team, let’s say you have five players from the Next Gen in the first team for eight years. It means, for eight years, you have a cost that’s significantly lower than if you sign five players.”
“Managing the young players? You try to make the most of the good moment, hen you know that, after a little while, the hard part comes. All young players go through it. Miretti and Fagioli have experienced it. Yildiz will get through it too. Youngsters have ups and downs. They don’t reach maturity until 25, 26. Whoever has the most mental strength gets there first.
“A player’s peak hasn’t changed. They say that between 26 and 30 is the best age because, by then, you’ve got some experience, you’ve matured and you improve. It was like that 40 years ago, too.”
“Juve’s previous domination of the league? We need to adapt and understand that the nine scudetti in a row was an extraordinary thing,” Allegri replied. “It won’t happen again in Serie A. There have been only two times like it in Juventus’ history — the five years in a row under Carlo Carcano and Carlo Bigatto in the 1930s and the nine in a row from 2012 to 2020. Other than that, Juventus have at most won two in a row, then one after three years, like other clubs have done. The nine in a row sent perceptions out of whack because the reality is different.”
“Champions League? It’s normal that with the reform of the Champions League — which will be tough to win… almost impossible because the new format is like tennis — it’ll be between the top eight and it’ll be hard for one of them not to get to the final,” he said.
“They’re doing it (the ‘Swiss model’) to ensure the top eight get to the final, I think, because they want it to be a show. This gives you the chance to work even more on youth development, on being sustainable and competitive in your own league, and making sure you qualify for the Champions League every year, to then have a good year in the competition and try to go as far as possible.”
