Manuel Locatelli underlined how the Juventus squad have united following their 15-point deduction and commented on his growing leadership role in the squad.
The Bianconeri were penalised by the FIGC court last month for alleged falsified capital gains. The club were handed the point deduction and various current and former directors, including ex-president Andrea Agnelli, were given bans of varying lengths.
Juventus are still under investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office, whose ‘Prisma investigation’ could see the club handed further punishment.
Speaking to DAZN, Locatelli first discussed how the squad need to bounce back and start climbing up the table.
“We have to restart from a positive attitude. Thecoach always tells us that if you start from a positive attitude the qualities come out.
“With Atalanta and Lazio we played a good game, we have to restart from this. We all have qualities and if we give our best, we bring them out.”
He commented on the speech he gave his teammates ahead of Juventus’ clash with Salernitana.
“Danilo told me that I should speak to the team in the pre-match circle that we make on the pitch. I felt like it and I just said what we had to do. It’s a moment in which we have to score as many points as possible without looking at anything else because it’s not our business and we can’t solve it.
“Our goal is just to score points and move forward in the other competitions. I said that the one thing we couldn’t fail was attitude and in the end it went well.”
The Italian midfielder touched on his growing leadership role in Turin.
“The coach’s words are good, it’s clear that to become an important player you have to have an important season, not just a single period.
“A strong player can be seen throughout the season. Being consistent in performance is my priority and my goal. I am happy with what we are doing, I feel good.”
Locatelli recounted how the Juventus squad reacted when they heard about the 15-point penalty.
“These are things that affect us, we talked among ourselves. As soon as the sentence came out we wrote to each other on our group chat and the next day we talked about it.
“We came to a conclusion: it’s useless to talk about whether they can give us the 15 points back or not, the club has said they will take care of it and we only have to think about scoring points on the pitch.
“To see us there in the table is certainly not nice, but this is the reality. Now the goal is only one, to keep going. On social media we posted photos of Juve the day after the ruling because in difficult moments men come out.
“Now we have united even more, but now we have to put the club in front and give everything for this shirt.”
He commented on the importance of the Europa League.
“It’s an important goal we have. Going forward in all competitions, the games become great. You’re playing in a European competition, so it’s a goal we set ourselves.”
The former Sassuolo midfielder spoke about the growth of youngsters Fabio Miretti and Nicolo Fagioli.
“Good. I’ve been there myself: when you’re young it’s not easy to maintain a mental balance because sometimes you have great games, sometimes less so.
“You have to be good at finding the balance in that. A club like Juve and coach Allegri manage to defend them well. They are two guys who listen and want to wear the Juve shirt.”
He reflected on the painful loss to Napoli.
“I would like not to take back the blow I took from Osimhen, who sent me a message the next day. I appreciated that.
“It was an important moment. We had a bad game, it was a very dark moment. Now we look forward. I wanted to leave after the fight because I wasn’t together.”
Finally, Locatelli discussed his dreams as a man and footballer.
“To win the Champions League and the World Cup, but also to fulfil myself as a father and as a family.
“We are looking forward to the birth of our son, I think it is the most beautiful moment for a family. The path my wife and I have taken is a beautiful thing.
“He will be born in March, but I have no anxiety. I am living it well. I also just became an uncle, my sister is happy. I won’t say the name.”