Federico Chiesa dedicates the Juventus victory over Udinese to Gianluca Vialli and warns the Bianconeri must ‘keep raising the bar’ after eight consecutive wins.
There were emotional scenes before and after the match at the Allianz Juventus Stadium, as Gianluca Pessotto read out an open letter to his former Juventus teammate Vialli, who was also part of the EURO 2020 staff under Gianluca Mancini.
“Our first thoughts go to Gianluca Vialli. He was a wonderful person and I was so lucky to cross paths with him in my life, as he was a real champion, but above all a marvellous human being. At the Euros he really was like an extra player, he was on the pitch with us.
“We could talk for hours about what a great man he was. The victory is for him,” Chiesa told DAZN.
The Bianconeri secured their eighth consecutive Serie A victory, all of them with clean sheets, thanks to a late tap-in from captain Danilo at the far post.
Leandro Paredes floated a ball over the top for fellow substitute Chiesa to chest and volley it across the face of goal, finally getting the better of Udinese.
“Unfortunately, I was out for 15 days during the training retreat and the coach didn’t want to risk me in the friendlies, so I am a little behind schedule. The coach can use me wherever he wants, I am ready to play in any role. I also told Dani he could come and hug me, he’ll do it later!”
Chiesa sustained that devastating anterior cruciate tear practically a year ago to the day and is only now starting to get back on the pitch as a substitute, hoping to soon make his mark in the starting XI too.
“It has been a very difficult year for me, but I’ve put it all behind me, I have to work even harder to get back to my best and help the team achieve our objectives. We didn’t start well, but we’re back on track now.
“As the coach says, we have to keep raising the bar, because eight wins in a row isn’t enough, we have to keep doing better.”