New Juventus signing believes the club will have to compete against Inter, Milan and Napoli for next seasons Scudetto. The Polish international signed outright for the Bianconeri this summer, and speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he explained why he only ever wanted to join Juventus and why competition for a starting place doesn’t phase him:
A year ago these days there was still no talk of your transfer to Juve. You arrived on loan at the end of August: had you already understood that you would be staying for a long time?
“I was still in Marseille, how time flies… The last season went by very quickly, with all the off-field difficulties. But the club decided to buy me and I’m very happy: it was my childhood dream to play for a world top club like Juve. Now I want to take advantage of this moment and have as much fun as possible.”
You have chosen to stay without the Champions League and perhaps without European competition: why?
“I had already chosen Juve a summer ago and I found myself very happy here. Here you can feel the history, the tradition, the shirt has a different weight from the others. We had a difficult year, but these things happen in football, we just have to think about improving. We have all the potential to score more points than last year and to win at this club which has always had the objective of lifting trophies. This is also my ambition and I want to achieve it here. I didn’t want to go to nowhere else”.
How much weight did Allegri have in your signing?
“I knew the coach wanted me, I’ve always felt his trust, it was very important.”
Allegri spoke of the Champions League , do you think it is a utopia to dream of the Scudetto?
“I think it’s too early to talk about the Scudetto, a good start will be essential. There have already been important changes in the squad, some players have left and there are young players we know we can count on, because they are strong. Let’s see how things go , Allegri said that first of all we have to go back to the Champions League, then we’ll see if we’re strong enough to be able to win the Scudetto.”
Your first year at Juve: excellent start to the season with a decline after the injury. What grade do you give?
“I don’t like giving me marks, others have to evaluate me. But it’s true that I started out very well and then I had some difficulties after the injury. I was out for a month and a half and it took me another 2-3 weeks to get back into rhythm . I missed an important part of the season, also because I was out in January, when I was starting to feel good physically and tactically. Injuries never help, but in my opinion as a team we weren’t doing well. It is known that forwards have to score, because for them you always look at the figures and if you don’t score goals, there’s immediately talk of a crisis, but it’s as a team that we need to improve, especially in the offensive phase. We have qualities individually to create more chances and also to exploit them.”
How much have injuries weighed on your career? Are you working to avoid them?
“I’m a professional and I take care of my body all around. Injuries penalize a bit, they take away your rhythm and often your confidence, especially if you’re out for a long time, but in the end, despite all the problems I’ve had, I’m arrived in one of the most important clubs in the world, so I can say that things went the way I wanted and that the injuries didn’t take away so much from me.”
You have scored 45 goals in Serie A in 120 games, one every 149 minutes: better than Vlahovic, Dybala and Giroud. Yet we often talk about you as a second choice…
“It’s a label that I don’t dwell on, I don’t think so and I know that not even the coach sees it that way. I’ve never heard anyone tell me that, the coach, my teammates or the agent that I’m a second choice. I don’t look at social networks and I don’t read, I go onto the pitch and play my cards. But if I’m the owner, it means that I’m better than the one that is the first choice for public opinion… the pitch is the judge supreme”.
Would you be surprised to see Lukaku at Juve?
“I don’t like talking about the transfer market”.
Are you more afraid of Vlahovic’s farewell, the arrival of a cumbersome “9” like Lukaku, of a young man on the launch pad like Jonathan David or do you fear no one?
“We don’t know what will happen, everything is possible, I heard Giuntoli’s words, if an indispensable offer arrives, everyone can leave, so let’s see. I hope that in the end Dusan can stay, for the rest nothing changes for me. If we want to be competitive, we need more strong players in every position, competition is needed if we aim to win.”
How did you find Giuntoli, your director at Napoli? Will he be enough to bring Juve back to success?
“Giuntoli did very good things in Naples. We’ve always had a good relationship, he did his job well and that’s how he arrived at Juve. I found him enthusiastic and positive, but he’s so natural. He tells the truth and not what you want to hear, that’s very important.”
Having just been signed, you are one of Juve’s few untouchables: how do your team-mates experience the possibility of being on the market from one day to the next?
“Every year there are these situations because everyone wants to play for Juve. In the open market, anything can happen and there are no untouchable players. An important club like Juve always has the ambition to improve, no one can feel safe but the players know what a life they lead and that everything can change in an instant”.
How did you teammates experience Bonucci’s exclusion?
“Leo wrote the history of Juve, we know it’s not an easy time for him, because as a player you never expect these choices, especially when you’ve done so much for the club. But they are technical and club decisions that I can’t really speak on”.
Before signing, did you make sure that Allegri was not going to Saudi Arabia?
“Actually, I had already decided before there was any talk of Arabia for Allegri”.
And are you tempted by Saudi Arabia?
“I didn’t even think about it, because I made so many sacrifices to get to Juve and I’m just enjoying the moment here.”
There are those who go to Arabia and those who arrive in Italy from America, like Pulisic and Weah. Apparently Serie A still attracts the US market: so isn’t it true that it’s a league that has lost its appeal?
“Just look at what happened last season, with the Italians’ three finals in the European cups. Strong players come here every year even if you can’t always keep the same level in football. We certainly can’t play the same cards as England, because our clubs cannot compete economically.”
It is said that winning in Naples is difficult…. are the Azzurri still the team to beat?
“If they won once why can’t they do it again, especially if they keep the big names?”.
Who do you think will compete for the Scudetto against the Azzurri?
“I’ll include the two Milanese clubs, together with Roma and Lazio, but also Juve. But it’s difficult to say now who is the favourite, because anything can happen on the market”.
There are those who maintain that Allegri’s game penalizes the forwards: is it true that you preferred Juve to the possibility of being coached by Sarri at Lazio?
“I just wanted Juventus, I read the rest in the newspapers”.
The first test in the USA will be against Milan: last year you lost twice out of two and the Rossoneri have so far made the most transfer markets. Do you feel on their level?
“We’ll see it during the championship because this is still a moment of construction. Milan have taken strong players like Pulisic and Reijnders. They certainly aim to win the Scudetto.”
