Max Allegri joked that he’s never been to Budapest and hopes that his players will give him the ‘gift’ of visiting there in the Europa League final. The Bianconeri face off against Sevilla in the second-leg on Thursday evening following the 1-1 in Turin last week. Speaking in his pre-match presser, Allegri referred to Juve’s season as a ‘folkloric year’ given the off-pitch issues that contain to plague the club, suggesting that the players ‘deserve’ a place in the final:
Would you like to be rewarded by Ceferin?
“We have to think only about the field. The whole team wants to reach the final in a folkloric year. The boys deserve this final. Tomorrow it will take personality and lucidity. We know it’s a tough game and there will be difficult moments.”
You have been the benchmark of this Juve team. What feeling prevails in you?
“When you are close to the finish line you would like to get there right away but instead it takes a lot of calm and lucidity. I have not been a lightning rod, the guys have been very good we have all worked together to get this far. Tomorrow is an important opportunity to reach another final, which would be a great result. I have never been to Budapest and the boys would give me a big gift. It will take a bit of luck hopefully on our side.”
How is Vlahovic?
“The team is doing well physically, that’s a good sign. We had a better second half with Cremonese. Who will take the pitch will be important, but the changes will be decisive.”
Can getting to the finals shorten the team’s growth path?
“You have to analyze what we have done this year. There were negative things, then opportunities were created. We have young people who have played a lot, and they have given energy to the whole team while also helping the older ones. Juventus finds itself with a heritage at home, which is a very important thing. We can’t build everything in a moment, we have to try to build everything well, get to the end of the competition and finish the best. At the end of the season we evaluate everything because there will be things to improve. With clarity and firmness, now we have to be focused on what we have to do.”
Can you explain the adjective folkloric?
“This was a year in which every day we had points taken away or given back. Besides the goals we had to have we were also thinking about other things. We took everything as an opportunity and it worked out well for us. As I always said, on the field we have to do what we are called to do which is to do our best.”
What kind of moment is Fagioli experiencing?
“The good fortune of having 5/6 young people who are born in 2000, it is normal that they have to go through those moments as well. There are good moments and some not so good, it’s part of their growth. At 27 years old he will have the maximum maturity, it explains Rabiot who plays different games today than even last year. Fagioli, after the mistakes with Sassuolo and Napoli where he did not chase the opponent, didn’t make any more. They are young guys, like Iling, Barrenechea, who stopped because of his tendon, Soulé, Gatti who when he arrived played good games at the beginning and then he was a bit lost. You are at Juventus, it is not easy because the jersey has a different heaviness than the others. You don’t have to get excited when you do well or get down when you do badly. We have to be good at giving balance to these guys.”
How much can the environment affect them?
“We have already played here, it is a decisive game both for us and for them because we are playing a final. We will have important spaces to create problems for them, we know their strengths and also their weaknesses. It will take personality in the moments when we have the ball and there will be moments when, their gusts, can create difficulties for us.”
Will we be able to see a lineup with two outfielders and two forwards?
“I have a doubt in defence, midfield and attack. I will decide tomorrow morning. The game will be a long one and you can change as you go along, it may be okay to hope to guess the formation. But there will also be a need for other features and we will see how to fix things. If there is a need.”
Did you ask the team to go to the finals?
“I haven’t asked for anything, they already know on their own. The game will play itself, right now we need to lower the energy expenditure because if not, we risk going off track.”
Is there more or less pressure than in the other European semifinals?
“There is equal excitement of playing these games. Tomorrow night we hope to be all happy because if not we have to spend an evening in Seville angry, but these are the games you want to play. You have to be good and have a bit of luck to get ahead. The emotions of these games are hard to find elsewhere, though. You are in Europe, the goal is closer. We have to be good, just as we have to be good then to dive back, on Saturday when we resume training, into the league.”
