Juventus captain Danilo highlighted the importance of the clubs Next Gen setup in helping them through the season, including qualification in the Europa League. The 1-1 result against Sporting in Lisbon was enough to see the Bianconeri qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa League, despite having some shaky moments in defence. After the game, the Brazilian defender spoke with Sky Sport Italia (as quoted by TuttoJuve) about the importance of the day, given that the club also saw their 15 point penalty revoked shortly before the game kicked off:
You did not concede too much, some risks yes, although you made one mistake and apologized for it. But you once again showed great compactness.
“I would have said yes, except for a mistake of mine…. that then we also a bit of luck (smiles, ed). We played a fair game, we knew it was going to be difficult. Sporting is a team with a lot of good young players, with a coach who has a style of football they like, with a different setup. We were good to play a fair game, to be bad, the team deserves this pass.”
Today was a good day, you are in the semifinals, you got your 15 points back, but how difficult was this journey?
“To talk about the young guys, they are not just good players, they can play football. It has to be said that the Next Gen project of Juventus is very important and we have to continue on this path. After the derby against Torino and the loss to Maccabi, a different air was triggered there, a different spirit, we experienced so many difficult things this season, we never questioned the quality of the team, what our goals were, so we got here. We haven’t done anything yet, we still have 45 days to work, to do something good, however, the most important thing now is on Sunday, Napoli come to town and we have to give another show of strength.”
Do these 15 points give you more peace of mind?
“It’s nicer to look at the standings and see us third, close to second place. It is a well-deserved reward for what we have done, we have never looked for alibis. We have always tried to work and win as many game as possible. We don’t have to look at this: we have to improve and look at the next competition.”
How has Allegri changed you?
“The defensive work is not easy, it is not easy to defend sometimes in the box, letting the opponents have opportunities. In this I improved with the coach, also looking at Chiellini, Bonucci, Alex Sandro, who has been here for so many years.”
