Former Juventus striker Vincenzo Iaquinta believes the Bianconeri ‘will be the true anti-Inter’, however the Nerazzurri ‘remain the strongest’. The former Bianconeri striker spoke with La Gazzetta dello Sport about the significant changes that have taken place at his old club, not least the appointment of Thiago Motta:
Can Thiago Motta, debuting on the bench of a big team, win the Scudetto at the first attempt?
“Why not? At Juventus the pressures are different, but we’re talking about a coach who last season achieved Champions League qualification with Bologna. Thiago has achieved a feat and I’m convinced he will amaze in Turin too”.
Do you expect a winning Juventus or also an entertaining one?
“Thiago Motta combined the two things in Bologna: results and quality of play. I expect the same in black and white, also because important reinforcements are arriving”.
Giuntoli’s Scudetto coup?
“Douglas Luiz. He’s a Brazilian international and in the Premier League he has shown he can do a bit of everything. Total midfielder: he organizes the game, inserts himself, makes assists and scores”.
Some slightly skeptical fans fear a repeat of Diego, your teammate in Juventus 2009-10…
“Trust me: Diego was very strong, with his Brazilian technique he left us open-mouthed in training. Unfortunately, after a great start, he couldn’t show all the talent he had at Juventus. But the player is not in question. Sometimes it happens: I’m reminded of the Portuguese Tiago, another top player who didn’t shine with us but played at a very high level before and after the Juventus move. And also Felipe Melo, just to mention another Brazilian, was a high-level midfielder”.
With Douglas Luiz, Danilo and Bremer it’s again a Brazilian Juve, like in your times: do you see similarities?
“Numerically yes, then we’ll see on the field. I hope this Juventus is more winning than ours. Brazilians bring joy and technique, but it’s always important to have an Italian core. And unfortunately there are no more Buffons and Chiellinis of my time. Let’s see how the market ends. I hear that Chiesa can be sacrificed: a pity, I would have been curious to see him with Thiago Motta. Besides Douglas Luiz, I’m also intrigued by Thuram, a midfielder who ‘breaks’ the oppositions lines”.
Can Vlahovic, thanks to Thiago Motta’s more offensive play, reach 30 goals next season?
“If not 30, 29… (laughs). He’s a great center-forward and goals are his specialty. I appreciate Dusan’s spirit: he always gives his soul, as Mandzukic did too. I see myself in their grit. If Juventus fans still love me it’s precisely for this. I never spared myself, not even in training. Sparks flew between me and Chiellini”.
Do tell…
“Giorgio was another one like me, training or match were the same thing. Once, during a small game, in an attempt to anticipate Brazo Salihamidzic he made a very hard tackle on my ankle. That time we argued badly, but then we cleared things up immediately. Chiellini is a great person, an intelligent guy: I would be happy to see him back at Juventus as a manager”.
You left Turin in 2011-2012, when the cycle of 9 consecutive Scudetti was about to begin: if you think back to Conte?
“Antonio would have wanted to keep me and had also spent himself with the club for me. Unfortunately I got injured again and at that point it was inevitable to try to change air to start over. But I will never forget the summer 2011 training sessions with Conte. You saw people suffering and vomiting from fatigue. Almost two hours on the field, always at a thousand miles per hour. Antonio controlled us through the heart rate monitor. An immense effort, but then you saw with what intensity Juventus played that season?”
Conte’s Napoli, like Juve 2011-12, will not have European cups…
“Indeed after Inter and Juventus, I see Conte as a candidate for the Scudetto, I put Napoli ahead of Milan”.
Why do you consider Inzaghi favorite for the title?
“Inter starts again with the same coach and more or less with the same team. Inzaghi has proven to be a top and up front he can count on the best striker in Serie A: Lautaro”.
Meanwhile tonight the European Championship final is played: Spain or England?
“England, Bellingham goal. Jude is fantastic, in certain movements he reminds of the best Pogba. Spain also has many talents: the one that surprised me the most is Dani Olmo”.
A world champion like you, what idea did you form about Italy’s disappointing European Championship?
“I still struggle to explain the match against Switzerland. With the blue shirt I won and lost, but I never played without grit. And seeing the Azzurri so passive was really strange. A pity for Buffon, with whom I shared the triumph in Berlin. And also for Spalletti, whom I had as a coach in Udine”.
Just a matter of grit or was something else missing too?
“Apart from Donnarumma, I don’t see many leaders. We had Buffon, Cannavaro, Nesta, Pirlo, Del Piero… Spalletti is a great coach, but probably had little time and consequently changed too much in Germany”
