Juventus manager Thiago Motta faced the press ahead of his team’s vital match against Atalanta, a rescheduled fixture from the 19th round of Serie A. Both teams are coming off disappointing draws, with Juventus adding another to their long list of stalemates this season in the Turin derby.
Motta began by addressing the team’s current state: “The group is recovering from the derby. It’s important to recover both physically and mentally. We’re angry because we didn’t win, but we’re focused on the next match against a team that’s doing well.”
On the injury front, Motta revealed, “Bremer, Cabal, Milik, and Conceição are unavailable. Vlahovic needs to be evaluated this afternoon, he’s not at his best and we need to assess him.”
When asked about the team’s recent form, Motta was candid: “We’re the first to be angry about not winning. In the last game, we played better than our opponent. We created situations to take the lead but weren’t good enough. The solution is work, work, work. It’s right not to be content, but we must be positive knowing that the work we’re doing is the right one.”
Addressing the notion of a crisis, Motta stated, “We’re preparing during the week for victory, we need to improve many aspects.”
On young talent Kenan Yildiz, Motta praised his versatility: “He’s doing very well playing on the right. But he’s also done well on the left and in the middle. Let’s not forget he’s a very young boy who’s growing quickly given the moment we’re experiencing. He has great quality, he needs to improve many things, especially in the defensive phase.”
Motta also expressed satisfaction with Joseph Mbangula’s progress: “Honestly, I didn’t expect such growth from Mbangula. He’s had to grow more than would be normal due to our circumstances. He’s doing very well, he’s very selfless, understands well what he needs to do for the good of the team.”
When asked about the team’s dependence on Dusan Vlahovic, Motta emphasized the importance of the entire squad: “All players in the squad are important. Dusan is important for us, no doubt. When he’s present we’ve been happy, without him we’ve done well. He, like all the others, is important.”
Motta refused to comment on transfer rumors involving Randal Kolo Muani, stating, “I don’t talk about players from other teams, I don’t like it when they talk about mine either.”
In closing, Motta stressed the importance of focusing on the immediate future: “The team is united and has always been united. We can’t think too far ahead because then we forget what we have to do today. We need to know what to do on the field tomorrow, then we’ll think about the next one and the one after that.”
