14 December 2023
Following the fantastic 1-0 win over Napoli last weekend, Juventus will be back in Serie A action on Friday evening at 20:45 CET to take on Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Here is what coach Massimiliano Allegri had to say during his pre-match press conference.
THE MATCH
“We need to be clear-headed regarding the game on Friday evening. Genoa are strong at home. They're aggressive and they play good football. [Alberto] Gilardino is doing a great job. We'll be up against [Radu] Dragusin, [Koni] De Winter and [Alessandro] Vogliacco, who all came through the ranks at Juve. We'll need a different performance from our last three [Inter, Monza and Napoli]. The record book shows that games against the Rossoblu are always tough. I remember a game years ago when we were 3-0 down after 23 minutes. We need to be wary of them and play at their tempo. It’s a historic stadium which is difficult to play in and the fans really get behind them. We’ll need to showcase all our qualities.”
TEAM OBJECTIVES
“Individual objectives for the end of the first half of the season don’t matter. We’re just focused on our team goal, which is qualifying for the Champions League. At the start of the summer, I think it was hard to imagine the table looking like this. We need to stay grounded, take it step by step and manage the negative moments that could present themselves. Having 36 points right now isn’t enough for anything. We need to try to pick up as many as possible. We’ve quickly become a team. I can feel how committed these players are, which has really helped us out. We know that Inter are the favourites to win the Scudetto. Their squad was built to get the second star and take the trophy home. All we need to do is think about Genoa to try to overcome a very challenging hurdle.”
FITNESS UPDATE
“[Adrien] Rabiot is fine. [Moise] Kean won't be involved because he's got a long-standing leg problem. He’s done well in terms of braving it and continuing to play in spite of the pain. Now with the full squad available, he needs to have treatment to sort out this injury, so he’ll be out for three to four weeks. As for the rest of the team, everyone else is available except for [Mattia] De Sciglio, who we expect to gradually return in 2024. [Timothy] Weah has recovered and will be part of the travelling party to Genoa. [Fabio] Miretti was left out as a technical decision, but he’s working hard in the right way.”
CHIELLINI AND BONUCCI
“[Giorgio] Chiellini has extraordinary qualities. We spoke just after he announced his retirement from football. He’s had an incredible career. He’s now starting a new chapter in his life in which he needs to decide which pathway to take in the future. He has the right attributes to perform certain management roles. He’ll certainly take stock and assess what’s best. I wish [Leonardo] Bonucci all the best. If he wants to embark on a coaching career, he’ll need to find the motivation to start something completely different. I know he’s intelligent enough to fit into that role.”
COMPARISONS WITH NEW COACHES
“I don’t think there’s a battle between ‘old’ and younger coaches. The more experienced coaches among us try to defend ourselves and do our job as well as we can. There's no absolute truth to coaching. There are so many variables and football is also special for this reason.”
YILDIZ AND THE NEXT GEN
“With Kean out of action, Yildiz will certainly get more chances. Just like the other lads, he’s developing well. He needs to keep improving and wait for the right moment.”
ATTACKING DEPARTMENT
“I’m really pleased with my forwards. In the last few games, [Dusan] Vlahovic has shown his technical quality and fine physical and mental state, despite missing a penalty away to Monza. It could be a chance for him and [Federico] Chiesa to get back among the goals tomorrow. Other players have scored goals recently and that’s great. What matters is having the right approach, running hard and applying pressure to help out defensively.”
MOTIVATION AND OWNERSHIP
“I’m not tired and I certainly wasn’t a director last year. Juventus have top-level staff. That’s always been the case throughout the Agnelli family’s 100-year involvement with the club. There’s never been any reason to doubt that. You need solid foundations to achieve success. In terms of structure, this club has always done as much as possible.”
