Juventus coach Max Allegri believes his team will face a tough opponent when they take on Sassuolo tomorrow. The Bianconeri have started the season in strong form, beating Lazio 3-1 last week, with many pundits seeing them as clear favourites for the Scudetto.
Speaking in his pre-match presser, Allegri explained why the team have to stay focused for now, and also offered an update on the fitness of his squad:
“Now we have to stay focused because there’s too much euphoria and, while on the one hand that’s nice, it can take away energy and attention. We’e only on Matchday 5 and Sassuolo, with the exception of a 3-0 win with a [Paulo] Dybala hat-trick a few years ago, have always been tough opponents. They’re coming off the back of a big defeat to Frosinone, so we’ll have a tough task and we will have to be very attentive, physical and technically good. It ill be important to get a good result. We have to get back to normality, which is winning as many games as possible and is part of Juventus’ DNA. We have a big game tomorrow, and then there’s another on Tuesday. The strength of any team is to have balance, because that’s how results are obtained. One win or loss should not change that, nothing collapses when we lose or draw a game, we just have to keep on working. I repeat, there are better-equipped teams and we have to fight with them, we have to do it with the desire to improve and with work.”
“[Federico] Chiesa and [Dusan] Vlahovic are fine, on Wednesday Vlahovic had some back pain and Federico had some fatigue with his flexor. They’re fully available. On Tuesday we’ll have a game, three days later, which will only happen for midweek Serie A rounds this year, but we are only thinking about Sassuolo. I think we’ll rotate on Tuesday and I’ll evaluate Vlahovic’s condition for tomorrow. But everybody up front is doing well, including [Moise] Kean and [Arkadiusz] Milik. [Kenan] Yildiz will be with the Next Gen tomorrow, while Huijsen will be with us permanently from now on as Alex Sandro will be out for a while. Fagioli has the technique to play in front of the defence, in 2017 I defined him as a playmaking midfielder and that’s what he continues to be. Then with experience he will also be able to play in front of the defence. [Weston] McKennie is fine, I’ll take a look at him today. [Timothy] Weah is a good option, he’s settling in well after just a few months in Italy but I’m happy with the way he’s integrating.”
“Next year we have to be in the Champions League. We have a chance to get into the top four, but it won’t be easy because Inter, AC Milan and Napoli are stronger than everybody. We have to go one step at a time, with balance, without mood swings that are tied to single results. Whatever path we take will be determined to have been right or not by the results at the end of the season. We have to have the desire to be at the top, we have to get the results to get into the Champions League. You don’t win or lose league seasons on one game, and you don’t qualify for the Champions League or not because of one game.”
“[Francesco] Magnanelli is very good. The staff, including those who have been with me for 18 years and those added more recently, bring great value. I’m happy when some of them, like [Paolo] Bianco or [Simone] Padoin, start their career as a coach. I like my staff to be made up of quality people and it would be a source of pride for me to have people I’ve worked with to go into coaching. I’m very happy with everybody who woks at Continassa, there’s a good team with a good spirit.”
“We have a less experienced squad this year, but we’ve got enthusiasm and dynamism. We have to keep working hard to improve, remembering that we have to run more than everybody else and results will bring more confidence and belief. Everybody here must feel the responsibility. When you are at Juventus you have to grow faster. We have young players who we know can make mistakes, but we also have experienced players. The boys are growing and we have to be clear about what we can achieve. The way this team is structured, it’s clear that it has a big future. There are a lot of Italians, young players, all with a future and that is important. If we make it into the top four this year, after a generational change, we will have helped the club a lot. It should be remembered that last year, on the field, we finished third.”
“The national team coach visiting was a real pleasure, because we are there to put the national team playes in the best working conditions and to have as many players called up as we can. In the last squad we had Chiesa and [Manuel] Locatelli, but there are others who can be called up too. We’re committed to Juventus and also the national team.”
“I’m very happy that the country recognises the educational, social and mental wellbeing-promoting value of spots. Among other things, I’ve been a coach committed to sport and health for years. The numbers in Italy have changed in recent years, there’s more obesity among kids so they need to be motivated to do sport. Sports give you rules, education and discipline and that’s why I’m happy about the introduction of Article 33 into the Italian Constitution, because it will help to go into schools to educate the new generations that will be the future of Italy.”
