Giorgio Chiellini admits “there’s always Champions League disappointment” and reveals his pride at replacing Pavel Nedved on his Juventus debut.
Chiellini looked back on his Juve career with the club’s in-house TV channel on Monday, the defender having made his first appearance for the Bianconeri almost 12 years ago to the day.
“We were one step away from making history in 2015 and 2017,” he explained.
Giorgio Chiellini admits “there’s always Champions League disappointment” and reveals his pride at replacing Pavel Nedved on his Juventus debut.
Chiellini looked back on his Juve career with the club’s in-house TV channel on Monday, the defender having made his first appearance for the Bianconeri almost 12 years ago to the day.
“We were one step away from making history in 2015 and 2017,” he explained.
“When you think about it, there’s always a bit of disappointment but also the awareness of having done something extraordinary.
“There was a lot of emotion: I’d only arrived two months before [my debut], but like all the youth at Juventus, it took a while to enter a team of champions.
“I just think about how, in that game, I replaced a Ballon d’Or winner in Pavel Nedved.
“When you get here, you’re catapulted into another reality and you struggle a bit at first, but eventually I was able to cement my place in the team.
“Scoring in the 2015 Coppa Italia? That was a special game because I scored and dedicated my goal to my daughter, who was born a few months later.
“It was the first cup I lifted as captain and it moved me. It was also the first trophy in a run of three consecutive doubles and it really made us dream.
“First Scudetto in 2012? The emotions I felt in Trieste would only be comparable to if we won in Berlin and Cardiff because that Scudetto came after so many years of suffering.
“After so many difficulties, it marked a rebirth: there was an incredible amount of tension that week, and the explosion of joy we experienced in Trieste was among the greatest I’ve ever lived.”