Miralem Pjanic believes Max Allegri has a unique ability to get into the heads of his players and keep them calm during the tough moments. The former Bianconeri midfielder spoke to TuttoSport about his former team and why Allegri is the perfect man to be in charge of the Old Lady during their recent tough period:
How does Allegri resolve even the most complicated situations?
“First of all, let’s take into account that in the course of a season a complicated moment always arrives. You hope it won’t be there, of course, but sooner or later you find it. At Juve, moreover, the pressure comes from all sides: you are obliged to win, to be among the leaders. But Allegri knows how to get inside the players’ heads, he keeps them calm during the storm. It is no coincidence that he is one of the most successful coaches in the history of Italian football: there are those who win and those who do not. He is very prepared, he knows the environment. This year it took him a while, but he was also very unlucky with injuries. Yet I’ve never seen him complain. He does with what he has at his disposal at the time. He handled this huge crisis situation perfectly at a time when there was also a change of management. Despite everything, today we see Juve in second place and this is a great merit of the group and the coach’.
Is there one time out of all that Allegri has particularly amazed you and made you think, ‘this is in another category’?
“It’s a less specific and more general question. I can say that he is in another category because he is so serene in his work that, as a result, he also transmits serenity to the team. I remember the complicated moments we went through and I remember that in those phases his words and those of his staff were always right. Also, another very important thing, Allegri manages to play all the elements he has at his disposal, so there are few who complain and are not happy because they don’t have minutes. This year even more so: he has given space to many young players who are deserving of their place because they are getting results and growing at the same time. If I became president of a team one day, I would always want a coach like Allegri. Always.
By the way, Napoli-Juventus will formally close the Andrea Agnelli era.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with him and it’s still like that today. I hold him in very high esteem: he’s an amazing person. Ever since I arrived there has been a good feeling between the families too: he has always helped us, he has always been available for whatever happened. But he was also a very present president with the team and the players, especially in the most difficult moments. He made the group feel confident, he talked to us. Yes, because when things are going well it all seems easy, but there are also times when things are not going so well and when the team has doubts. Results in hand, he has been one of Juventus’ most successful presidents. He did extraordinary things. I know how much he cared about winning and I know what determination he had. A great example: humble, hard-working. I hold him in great esteem. No one will ever take away from him what he did and he will always be a part of Juventus.”
