Juventus striker Federico Chiesa insists Massimiliano Allegri wants the Bianconeri to play ‘modern football’ and jokes that his father Enrico has not told him his shooting ‘secret.’
The Italian striker spoke to DAZN following Juventus’ 1-0 win over Lecce on Tuesday.
The Bianconeri bounced back immediately after a 4-2 loss against Sassuolo. Chiesa was asked if the defeat in Reggio Emilia affected the team against Lecce.
“Maybe in the first half, we had played two or three days earlier,” said the striker.
“We analysed the game [against Sassuolo] and we did well in the opening 20 minutes. We want to press high and play modern football as the coach wants. There were individual errors [against Sassuolo], but we beat Lecce with a good performance in the second half.
“When you play for this team, you have responsibility. We are at Juventus, a historic team with many trophies,” continued Chiesa.
“We have leaders in the dressing room, starting from the captain [Danilo]m Adrien [Rabiot] and young players like Fagioli and Miretti. We have started with great enthusiasm and we want to finish in the top four to play in the Champions League next season.”
It is not the first time this season that Chiesa has said Juventus must play attacking football.
“Surely, we proved that modern football is made of pressing and not waiting for the opponent,” he argued.
“However, we were a bit tired in the first half so in these moments, we must understand that we can wait for the opponents and not be unbalanced, which is what we did at Sassuolo.
“We can’t always press and be attacking-minded, but we are all trying to go the same way and play modern football as the coach wants. We must understand situations and avoid what we did at Sassuolo.”
Chiesa has been playing as a centre forward this season, so what are the differences compared to the winger role?
“Surely, there’s a change because when I play wide I can go one vs. one, while, when I play in the middle, there are more opponents in front of me.
“It’s part of an improvement I need to do. The coach wants it. He tells me to play closer to the goal and I think I am repaying the trust with this start to the season.
“I played with Vlahovic at Fiorentina, so we are in sync, but Milik, Kean and even Yildiz, who is improving, are great players who can help us,” continued Chiesa.
“I have a special relationship with Dusan, we’ve been playing together since Fiorentina. We are friends.”
When Alessandro Matri, one of the DAZN pundits and a former Juventus striker noted that Chiesa’s shooting style is similar to his father Enrico, Federico replied smiling. “Yes, it’s true, but he never told me his secret.”
Chiesa, 25, has scored four goals in six appearances across all competitions this season and his contract with the Serie A giants runs out in June 2025.
Oh boy, this isn’t something #allegriout fans would like to hear coming from Chiesa.