Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri reflects on his upbringing and laments that children in football schools are ‘raised like chickens.’
The 48-year-old was speaking to El Pais about his dreams as a child, his first pay cheque, and the development of young players.
“What did I dream of as a child? I liked messing around, we’re like this in Livorno,” he said.
“And I continue to like it, I think it’s the right spirit with which to face things.
Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri reflects on his upbringing and laments that children in football schools are ‘raised like chickens.’
The 48-year-old was speaking to El Pais about his dreams as a child, his first pay cheque, and the development of young players.
“What did I dream of as a child? I liked messing around, we’re like this in Livorno,” he said.
“And I continue to like it, I think it’s the right spirit with which to face things.
“Living just for work is no good, because you lose the clarity of mind to manage the more complicated moments.
“This is why I live calmly, in a responsible job you must be able to experience things while keeping a certain distance.
“The first few years in Livorno I couldn’t buy myself anything: when they paid me, if they paid me, they gave 500,000 lire.
“In Pisa, in 1988, I signed a contract equivalent to €15,000 a year and I bought a Fiat Uno Diesel.
“Today's kids? They don’t play on the street anymore because society has changed and there aren’t spaces any more.
“We need to artificially rebuild things from the past and that goes for the football schools too: we should have tools to force the boys to think, otherwise they are raised like chickens.
“Look at them, there is no communication, everything is through the mobile phones, they spend the days sending text messages and then it’s clear that there is no debate and they aren’t able to withstand heavy words and will start to cry.”