Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli says he knows what the the Bianconeri management think of him and revealed his idols when he was growing up. The 24-year-old earned praise for his time at Sassuolo before making the the move to Turin in 2021 where he has become a key part of Max Allegri’s starting XI. Speaking to local newspaper La Provincia, the midfielder discussed his journey to the top and why being a Juventus player is a responsibility:
“There was a period when I could no longer express myself at a high level. And it was precisely in those moments that the teachings I received helped me, head on, not to end up in the meat grinder. Football, after all, is like that: you do well one Sunday and you are the strongest of all, you do badly another and they break you down. Then you have to know how to keep your balance. That’s the secret, for which I thank Mom and Dad.
A thought for the main coaches you’ve had? Brocchi was the one who launched me and so he is in my heart. With Montella I found continuity, with Gattuso I started not playing as much, but there was a lot of fault on my part. Among other things, he is a coach who knows how to get everything out of a player. The one I loved the most is De Zerbi, who changed my life. As for Allegri, I respect him for the victories he has achieved in his career. But he is my current coach and I cannot go any further in incensing him. It would not be fair.
Juventus? Those who know me know that I am a Juventus fan from birth, as is the rest of my family, and I remember telling my agent that one day I should become a Juventus player. Hanging on the walls of my small bedroom in Galbiate are still posters of Bianconeri players of the time.”
Today? It is a responsibility because I know I have potential and I know what the club thinks of me. So it is a continuous demonstration and I hope I am on the right path. I was lucky – and I will always tell my children – to have played my first game with Juventus in what was the last time for Cristiano Ronaldo in bianconero.
Idols ? Del Piero first of all. A genius. And Nedved as well, so much so that I showed him those pictures when I moved to Turin to become bianconero.”
