Max Allegri believes the race isn't over between Juventus and the Roman teams for the Scudetto, whilst praising Italy's performance in Europe.
The Bianconeri's Scudetto rivals recently switched from Roma to Lazio, keeping the geographical rivalry identical. For Allegri, the nature of the challenge is also unchanged.
“Lazio are a different team than the one we faced in the first leg, because they are much more confident in their strength now. They play some good football, and they have players who have developed individually.
Max Allegri believes the race isn't over between Juventus and the Roman teams for the Scudetto, whilst praising Italy's performance in Europe.
The Bianconeri's Scudetto rivals recently switched from Roma to Lazio, keeping the geographical rivalry identical. For Allegri, the nature of the challenge is also unchanged.
“Lazio are a different team than the one we faced in the first leg, because they are much more confident in their strength now. They play some good football, and they have players who have developed individually.
“It may have been possible to think that Juventus would win the championship by April 20, but I don't care about winning it on that date or on May 5, I want to win it, full stop.
“As for when exactly that's going to happen, nobody knows.
“We still need a lot of points to win it, because Lazio and Roma are still capable of making 82 and 81 points.
“So it's still a very long road in Serie A and we need to get there slowly, conscious that the games are going to be difficult, because we'll be facing some very strong teams.”
The 47-year-old was also asked about Napoli and Fiorentina, who picked up respectively a 4-1 victory and a 1-1 draw in yesterday's Europa League rounds against Wolfsburg and Dynamo Kiev.
“Before saying anything else I'd like to pay my compliments to Napoli and Fiorentina for what they did in the Europa League.
“And I'm very happy, because it adds value to Italian football. Unfortunately in Italy we have a greater tendency to destroy than to build, because that comes easier.
“That's why people say that Italy is in trouble, football is in trouble, everything is in trouble… then you wake up one day to find that two of our teams made it to the Semi-Finals of the Europa League and one could reach the Semi-Finals of the Champions League.
“This shouldn't be a given because making it to the final stages of those two competitions is something very challenging, if you consider how tough the other teams are.
“It's a step forward for Italian football, not least in terms of our score in the rankings. Italy picked up a lot of points this year, which may come in handy a few years from now if we want to have four teams in the Champions League again.
“As for the condition of my players, [Paul] Pogba is still a long way from recovering from his injury. [Andrea] Pirlo played in the last match and worked his game up slowly, but he needs to play more.
“It's understandable that if you're out of playing time for 50 days, you lose not just your physical condition but your ability to evaluate distance on the pitch, your passes, and the way to hold yourself in the game.
“Andrea needs to play, and he'll find his best condition from a tactical and technical point of view one game at a time.”
Allegri was also asked if he had any messages for supporters who were worried about a possible departure of striker Carlos Tevez.
“Right now all of the supporters should think of backing the team. Transfer rumours are persistent over the year, because the mercato is always open, unfortunately.
“You've got to know how to keep your focus, from here until June 7. Supporters should be happy about this team and about what the players and the club are doing, and I think that all of us together can reach our final objectives.”
In closing, the Coach was asked about his personal feelings now that he is leading Serie A and has a strong record in the cups too.
“I don't feel vindicated and I don't need to take revenge on anyone, because I think I won a few results of my own in the past.
“I'm not surprised by my own achievements, not at all. That's a question that I leave for you, or for those who didn't expect Juventus to be here at this point in the season.”