Juventus defender Danilo explains why it’s not easy to have a good relationship with Pep Guardiola and confirms he snubbed a move to Bayern Munich in the summer.
The Bianconeri had a slow start to the season in Serie A with just two wins from six league games.
They have eight points ahead of Saturday’s Derby of Turin, but they have won both their opening Champions League games. First against Malmo and then against Chelsea.
“That win [against Chelsea] can teach us where we can get,” Danilo told La Repubblica newspaper.
“We won against the champions of Europe and our target remains to win the Scudetto. It’s true that we haven’t had a great start, but Juventus know how to redeem themselves, as we say here, Juventus never give up,” he added.
Danilo is working under the third coach in three years at Juve.
“When there are changes, things don’t always go your way. In his first year at the City, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea won the title by 20 points. In the changes, you need patience, you have to wait for the maturation of the game and ideas,” the Brazilian said.
“It takes time for the head of the players to understand the things that the coach likes.”
The Brazilian has worked with some of the best managers in the world, such as Zizou Zidane, Pep Guardiola and Massimiliano Allegri.
“I’ve been lucky, they are different, but they are all winners. I have tried to learn from everyone. It was with Guardiola that I changed my way of seeing things, I didn’t play much also because of an injury.
“It’s true that it’s not easy to have a good relationship with him, he is never relaxed, he thinks about football all the time. I think at home, in the evening, he puts his wife on the couch as she were a player on the pitch.
“From Allegri, I try to learn something that I had not yet been taught, he wants something totally different and I am sure I will become stronger.”
Danilo joined Juventus from Manchester City in a swap deal with Joao Cancelo in 2019. Maurizio Sarri was his first coach in Turin.
“I thought it would have been easy to learn Italian, but I struggled to understand Sarri at the beginning, so I had to take lessons.
“Only after six or seven lessons came the pandemic and we had to stop, but during the lockdown, I started reading books and newspapers in Italian, watching your programs and so I learned.
“Today, I am happy with the experiences I’ve had. I have the right mentality, and I can stay here for a long time, even if I feel more English. Manchester was perfect for me, but Turin has been a great surprise.”
Bayern Munich wanted to sign the Brazilian in the summer, but both Danilo and Juventus rejected any approach from Germany.
“I didn’t want [to join Bayern] and luckily, Juventus wanted the same. This is the right place for me.”