TURIN. Allegri’s Juventus tomorrow faces Spalletti’s Napoli with many doubts that have turned into unfortunate certainties: the South Americans will not be called up and Cuadrado has remained in Colombia for gastroenteritis, while Chiesa is injured for tomorrow’s match.
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus will play in Naples tomorrow and will not field their five South American players. In your opinion, is this situation normal?
This is the calendar and it must be accepted with all serenity. The South Americans arrive in Italy between tonight and tomorrow morning: the risk of getting hurt makes no sense. They leave home, rest and work also because the Champions League is on Tuesday and the first is the most important of the group. I don’t know how it will end in Naples, but we will play a great match.
In Spain they postponed the matches with the South Americans. Is it okay to play?
I accept the calendars and times. There are competent bodies that decide, I organize myself to play. And if everyone expresses their opinion, then a mess comes out … We are calm and try to score points in Naples.
Your team is in an emergency, what game will it be?
It will be a good match, we are facing a team with great technical values and it is in a good moment. We go to Naples and it is not difficult to train: there is no Church and the South Americans stay at home. Then Cuadrado, who was perhaps the only one who could come to Naples in time, did not leave Colombia because he had a bout of gastroenteritis. But all this must not create excuses: whoever takes the field will be able to play an excellent game. We have a technical team, tomorrow they will be able to demonstrate and we have a nice and fun month ”.
How is Church doing?
He has a muscle resentment and I prefer to avoid problems. It will be an intense match in Naples.
How did Mckennie find it?
He returned well, worked well and will be eleven. I evaluate where to play him, whether in midfield or on the frontline.
Will De Sciglio and Pellegrini be owners?
They are ready, I have to evaluate who to play.
Kean part owner?
I found it well. He is young, he did well in the PSG and we wanted to, he would have arrived regardless of Ronaldo’s departure.
Did Ronaldo put you in trouble?
He didn’t want to play for Juve anymore, he went to United. We anticipated what we had to do by a year. Then life goes on, what happened makes no sense. In life you have to do.
Will his departure be a stimulus for the team?
Juve has always won as a group, not with the single. In the DNA there is this characteristic of sacrifice and making oneself available. It takes great ambition and great self-love.
How is Kulusevski?
Young people are young and need a path of growth, net of how much they have been paid. Instead they have enormous responsibilities: they have to understand the moment of the matches, how to manage themselves. A 22-year-old does not have the experience and management of a 30-year-old, but only by playing can one grow and have mental stability.
Will there be tactical changes given the emergency? Think of the three-man defense?
I decide today how to play, but the word emergency is not there. We have the ideal formation to play against Napoli: I am very serene, in the difficulties we need to pull something more. It is inspiring and we will get out of this situation. In the first two games the performance was there, but the result also counts: we need to improve a lot, with Empoli we were frenetic. It takes balance to be a strong team and you must always be able to manage the unexpected: the game must be played with inner tranquility and the mental strength of a team that knows it is strong.
Does the ranking put pressure or stimulate?
We arrive calmly, there is no rush. I understand that 5 points lost after 2 games can create doubts, but one piece at a time we put everything back on its feet.
With the transfer market closed, what are Juve’s goals?
Always be competitive until March, and then fight for the goals. The team is excellent, we need to improve on self-esteem and as a team. We have to be good at improving, but net of the results there is always something to grow.
What will this match say?
Napoli is a candidate to win the Scudetto, but the championship is long. There are many games and there is time to recover: no anxiety or haste. Always balance: don’t get depressed when things go wrong and don’t get excited when things go well. You have to be good at doing simple things to start again, or rather to start.