Ivan Juric said he’s always looking to improve Hellas Verona but doesn’t know if it’s possible for the Gialloblu to do like Atalanta.
Verona are ninth in Serie A and seem to have established themselves in the top half of Italian football under the Croatian coach.
The rapid growth at the Bentegodi and the style of play has led to comparisons with Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, but Juric thinks Verona are ‘far away’.
Ivan Juric said he’s always looking to improve Hellas Verona but doesn’t know if it’s possible for the Gialloblu to do like Atalanta.
Verona are ninth in Serie A and seem to have established themselves in the top half of Italian football under the Croatian coach.
The rapid growth at the Bentegodi and the style of play has led to comparisons with Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, but Juric thinks Verona are ‘far away’.
“Gasp doesn’t realise what he has done for Italian football,” Juric said at a press conference. “They had a fabulous youth sector, they created the basis for having great players economically.
“Now, they have a very good team, even if they aren’t at the level of Inter and Juve, and he manages to keep them up there.
“He doesn’t have the opportunity to buy Hakimi, but he stays there. We in Verona are far away, I think it’s very difficult. But not only for us, also for Sassuolo, who are ahead of us, like for Torino and others.
“I don’t know if it’s possible to do such a thing. You must always look ahead. If I finished 15th, I want to finish 10th, otherwise something remains unfinished.
“Even the fans are like that, and it’s nice. It’s not good to go backwards, but this year we haven’t gone forward, and on certain things we have gone under.”
When asked if he believes Verona have a great future, the coach said he has seen the growth since his arrival.
“I’m focused on what we are doing right now,” Juric said at a press conference. “In a year and a half we have done things that rarely occur.
“They are seen. We started very low, and have all grown together, at a corporate, staff and professional level.
“Now it’s different from before. Those who arrive now, find an ideal situation to work, it wasn’t like that before.”
Verona arrive from a 1-1 draw with Juventus last time but won’t take anything for granted against Benevento on Wednesday.
“We are facing a very experienced team, they are having an excellent championship,” Juric continued. “We can have difficulties, but if we do well, we can hurt them too.
“After Juventus, it seems to me that everyone has recovered well.