Massimiliano Allegri feels Juventus must pay more attention to details and insists Federico Chiesa is not fully fit, but doesn’t know which club Antonio Conte will coach next season.
Juventus visit Hellas Verona on Saturday and need a win given that they only earned one point in the last three Serie A games, suffering back-to-back defeats against Inter and Udinese.
“Surely it’s not a good moment because we earned one point in three games,” Allegri said at a pre-match press conference on Friday, as quoted by Ilbianconero.com.
“It’s always complicated in Verona, it’s a tough pitch. they are not doing badly; Baroni is doing an excellent job, considering their condition. We need a great game and a better attitude, not in terms of performance, but in terms of attention to detail.”
Allegri suddenly changed the Juventus line-up in 2017 after suffering an away defeat against Fiorentina helping the Bianconeri win the Scudetto and reach a Champions League Final, so he was asked if he’s planning to change his tactics this time.
“We’ll continue like this. Three negative results won’t change the trend of the season,” he replied.
“That year in Florence it was different. We had to change and now there’s no need. I think. Performances against Udinese and Empoli were in line with the rest of the season. We must improve the performance of single players. We can’t concede goals from a set piece. Details make the difference.”
Nevertheless, Juventus have been without a trophy for 1,000 days and are still empty-handed in Allegri’s second spell at the Allianz Stadium.
“It’s not frustrating. I’ve been lucky to coach important clubs that have given me the chance to win many trophies,” said the coach.
“It’s true that we haven’t won a trophy for three years, but we still have the Coppa Italia and they haven’t let us play in the Champions League. The club has demanded to reach certain targets, and we are bringing this forward with new directors.
“Aside from this, Juventus have always played in the Champions League since 2011. There are teams that didn’t play in the Champions League for seven or eight years. Juventus were accustomed to winning, and when it no longer happens, it’s not frustrating, but you have to do more, knowing that there are opponents as well.”
Chiesa started against Udinese on Monday but failed to impress and was subbed off in the second half. Will he start against Verona?
“I’ll see. Chiesa is not training regularly. He will be important in the final part of the season,” Allegri said.
“We have four strikers available, everyone is available. It will be important to have a different attitude. We need more attention to detail and in situations where we can concede goals.
“The more attacking players we have, the better, but we must keep a balance. Football is not an equation; otherwise, everything would be easy. It’s important to have players like Fede, Yildiz and the others. We must start again from tomorrow. It will be a tricky game, so we must be careful.”
Allegri hasn’t yet decided on his future, but Conte continues to be linked with a return to the Allianz Stadium.
“Let’s take a step at a time. Let’s try to finish the season by doing our best, learning from the last games,” said Max.
“There are moments when things don’t go as we want, so we must change them. Juventus have many young players who are gaining experience in important games. There are directors who are doing anything to strengthen the team.
“I repeat. I have a year left in my contract and we are working well this season. We must get to the end in the best condition.
“I don’t know where he [Conte] will coach; he has great, excellent things in every club. However, what we must focus on, is the Verona game. We must qualify for the Champions League and play the Coppa Italia semis. We have three months in which we must have passion and enthusiasm.”