Juventus coach Max Allegri again outlined why he is so wary of launching young players. ‘There is a tendency in Italy to consider kids champions after two or three games.’
The 54-year-old tactician has been criticised by many Bianconeri supporters for not making the most of the youth academy or Under-23 side, instead moving more senior players into unusual positions to fill the gaps during their injury crisis.
While more in the media are blaming the lack of youth playing regularly in Serie A sides for the failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Allegri takes a very different approach.
“In recent years I’ve noticed there is a tendency in Italy to consider kids like champions after two or three games, but that is rushing them ahead of schedule,” Allegri said at the Festival of Youth in Gaeta.
“A 20-year-old player can never have the maturity of a 28-year-old.”
The Juventus boss is also no fan of social media when in football, especially for the players.
“It’s just one more way of conditioning the players. Sometimes it’s useful to pull yourself out of these situations.”
Having said that, Allegri does have a social media account and famously created his own hashtag on Twitter after a last-gasp victory with #Fiuuuuu!
That is the Italian spelling of ‘Phew!’