Ivan Juric feels his mentor Gian Piero Gasperini and Serie A coaches are ‘the best in Europe’ and that those coming from abroad ‘have something to learn.’
Torino finished the season with a 3-0 loss to Atalanta on Sunday, but they will qualify for the Conference League if Fiorentina win the same competition next week.
Juric played under Gasperini as a player and wasn’t short of praise for his former boss.
“For me, Gasp is the best coach in Europe and his players are fantastic,” Juric told DAZN.
“They have top-class players. Scamacca, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Koopmeiners. They have great players, a fantastic playing style and clear ideas. It’s a great team.”
Juric has confirmed he’ll leave Torino at the end of the season, but he is still incredibly proud of what he achieved at the club.
“The season was fantastic. All the players gave their best,” he said.
“We had injuries, but we always adjusted the team. It was fantastic. Let’s hope Fiorentina win [the Conference League] so Torino will go to Europe. Many players have improved; three are going with the [Italy] national team. These numbers are important.”
So, why is he leaving?
“Torino would like more. There is always this feeling, and I think that with the team I had available and what we did, we gave our all. Despite all the difficulties in these three years, we’ve done something great. To do more, you need more—more quality, more strength, more everything. It’s this. I am not disappointed; I am proud of the journey. Torino have an interesting group of players now.
“Look at where Torino were three or four years ago,” he continued.
“Others expected more, but I work for Torino, and you must do your best with the players who are available, and I think we did it. When you bring three young players to the national team, it means you worked greatly. It’s not easy to go beyond what we did, this is why I am proud.
“I look at the numbers, the team’s value now and three years ago and I think we’ve done a fantastic job.”
How does he rate Serie A coaches?
“To me, we are on a different level. You could realise by watching the [Europa League] Final with Bayer Leverkusen or the [Atalanta] match against Liverpool. There are clubs in the Champions League, like Real Madrid or Manchester City, with great players who win anyway. But tactically, I think our coaches are on a different level. We have different approaches. Leverkusen had never lost, we admired them in Germany and they struggled so much against Atalanta.
“Inter were eliminated badly [from the Champions League] this season, but they lost the Final last season and they dominated the game. It means that the level is very high. To me, foreign coaches have something to learn.”
This is even more true of Gasperini.
“To me, what he’s done in these eight years is unprecedented. He developed talented players and sold them for huge amounts of money and every year, he added more quality players. It means he knows everything. From picking the players to coaching and managing them. Atalanta have great quality and they play so well.”