Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri reveals he could have walked away after the Champions League final defeat, and predicts “this will be a much harder year”.
The Bianconeri reached the final for the second time in three years, but a terrible second half display in Cardiff saw them beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid.
“Everyone was wondering if I’d walk away if we won, and instead I was on the verge of doing it after the defeat,” Allegri revealed in an interview with Sky.
Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri reveals he could have walked away after the Champions League final defeat, and predicts “this will be a much harder year”.
The Bianconeri reached the final for the second time in three years, but a terrible second half display in Cardiff saw them beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid.
“Everyone was wondering if I’d walk away if we won, and instead I was on the verge of doing it after the defeat,” Allegri revealed in an interview with Sky.
“I had to think and above all to see what was inside me, to start again in the best way because this year will be a much harder year.
“After three seasons with Scudetti, Coppe Italia, Champions League finals and Supercoppe it’s normal to look inside because at the limit there’s the risk of collapse.
“Instead I decided quickly after, I spoke to the club and all the conditions are there to have a great season. It will be a challenge within a challenge, a challenge within ourselves where we have to improve the quality of our game.
“I never talked to anyone else, and I never made commitments to anyone, because the first club to have known everything was always going to be Juventus.
“I was immersed in our objectives and I was never interested in the future, I decided after the final.”
After three doubles in a row, will the Champions League be the main goal for next season?
“The main objective is the one which is in the DNA of Juventus, that is to say the Scudetto. After that come the Coppa Italia and the Champions League.
“I’d say that in the last three years Juventus have established ourselves well among the top eight teams, and it [the Champions League] is an objective Juventus must pursue.
“Then in the Champions League you’ve seen that one year you can make the quarter-final, just as you can reach the semi-final or the final.
“The objective of getting there this year will be much more difficult though, because there are the five English teams, namely Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, [Manchester] United and Liverpool.
“They’ll be aggressive competitors so we’ll have to be ready.”
The Coach then gave a more detailed reflection on this year’s final.
“The first half was a half which was really well played,” Allegri recalled.
“I’d say that we had more shots on goal. Then in the second half they dominated us, they were better and they deservedly won the final.
“That’s what we have to restart from without any drama, without going through the big disappointments and depression that I’ve felt over the last 12 games.
“I understand the bitterness of not having won the final, having lost the second in three years, but you have to see the glass as half-full.
“We won another Scudetto, the sixth in a row, and that’s legendary. We’ve won three Coppe Italia in a row and we’ve been in two Champions League finals.
“Playing a second half like that lost us the final, but it doesn’t negate an extraordinary year where Roma and Napoli both got record points totals in their histories.”