Coach Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus’ start wasn’t all bad – “if we looked back at everything that was said and written then we’d laugh”.
The Bianconeri took just one point from their first three Serie A games, their worst return since 1962, and were 12th on October 28 after defeat to Sassuolo.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus’ start wasn’t all bad – “if we looked back at everything that was said and written then we’d laugh”.
The Bianconeri took just one point from their first three Serie A games, their worst return since 1962, and were 12th on October 28 after defeat to Sassuolo.
However, the defending champions hit back in style, winning 24 of their next 25 games, and Napoli’s defeat today officially gave them the Scudetto for a fifth year in a row.
“Two minutes isn’t enough time to sum up the season,” Allegri told Sky.
“It’s amazing. We’ll still honour the League, and above all prepare for the Coppa Italia final [against Milan].
“Winning 24 out of 25 games is unique, though maybe another team will do better in the space of six years – maybe it’ll be Juventus again.
“At Christmas the goal was to be six points off the top, and in March it was to be second. I have to say we did even better than predicted.
“To have Napoli behind after the extraordinary season they’ve had… They’re close to 82 points, and usually if you get 82 points you get the Scudetto.
“The bad start? After the Roma defeat I came away from the Olimpico calm, I knew we would have a great season.
“Three or four months later, at the return game with Sassuolo we reviewed the game itself, and there was so much negativity at the time.
“We lost a strange game, and it was said that Juventus played badly. It’s normal that we were missing something, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone saw it.
“You need to be balanced in your judgement. I had 10 new players, young ones, with a group that had done great things.
“We won the Supercoppa, but there was already an unpleasant air around and maybe even inside Juventus, so I thank everyone who was behind me and helped me to rebuild, from the hierarchy to those in the club shop.
“The merit for this Scudetto goes to everyone. If we reviewed everything that was said and written back then we’d laugh.
“That’s why you need balance in football.”
Allegri has already targeted the Champions League next season, but does he regret substituting Alvaro Morata when 2-0 up at Bayern Munich this term?
“After the game I thought for a few days about what I could have done differently, but I had to let it go right away because we had big games coming up.
“I threw on [Mario] Mandzukic for his experience, but by the end we were reduced to playing the ball in a simple way and no longer had the strength to get goals.
“On the bench I was convinced that we wouldn’t concede a goal, and that was my presumption. We were unlucky this year against Bayern Munich.”
Finally, the Coach was asked about the importance of holding onto Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala this summer.
“It’s important to confirm the whole group,” Allegri replied.
“It doesn’t make any sense to talk about the transfer market right now.”