Juventus have appointed their legend Paolo Montero for the last two games of the season and Football Italia has spoken to Italian journalist Marco Amato, who has been following the Bianconeri’s U19 daily to know more about the Old Lady’s caretaker coach.
Juventus appointed Montero as Massimiliano Allegri’s interim successor for the last two games of the season against Bologna and Monza.
The ex-Uruguay defender took charge of his first training session with the senior team on Sunday morning and will lead the Bianconeri at the Stadio Dall’Ara tomorrow.
Montero was appointed Juventus Primavera coach (U19) in 2022, so he spent the last two seasons at Vinovo, where Juventus’ youth and female teams train.
“When Montero arrived last season, he played with a 4-2-3-1 formation, sometimes 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. However, he always used a four-man defence,” Marco Amato, a journalist for Ilbianconero.com who follows every match of the Primavera team tells Football Italia.
“He coached Yildiz in his first season, plus Nicolò Turco, another strong striker, and Joseph Nonge Boende in central midfield. Juventus U19 had a very strong attack [in 2022-23] and were attacking-minded, but they never really found a good balance. They scored many goals, but they conceded many times, too. Almost like Zeman, I’d say.
“Juventus U19 has been much more balanced this season, but with less quality as well. They’ve struggled a bit more also because many players are really, really young, so they lack experience even in this league.
“It was pretty disappointing for Juventus U19 to lose in the first round of the playoffs last season, with players like Yildiz and Huijsen, among others. This season was different; they didn’t even qualify, but they had less quality.”
Montero has changed the system as well in the current campaign, but his personality on the touchline has not changed.
“Since the very beginning, he’s been using a 3-4-2-1 in almost every match,” says Amato.
“Montero is very passionate on the bench, he likes to make his voice heard. He was sent off a few times over the last few years. There was a video from a few months ago that went viral. He appeared to urge his players to continue playing even if an opponent was lying on the ground. I was there, and there was a misunderstanding. Montero has a big temper on the touchline, but he’s honest and fair.
“He’s a true gentleman in terms of media management and very kind during post-match interviews,” the journalist continues.
“He always thanks reporters for following the Primavera. He explains everything to reporters; he always takes responsibility when things do not go well. During his post-match interviews, he said many things about the Juventus DNA and what it means to play for Juventus.
“This was a big change from the previous coach who prioritised the project over results. Montero partially thinks the same, but at the same time, he often says: ‘We are still Juventus, so the growth must come through victories and the understanding that here losses and draws are not accepted.’ He once said that finishing second at Juventus is a fracaso a failure in Spanish.”
His relationship with footballers is also quite impressive and well described in a documentary, Plantar una semilla, which Juventus recently released (and which you can watch above).
“During a match, [Diego] Ripani told him that midfielders were struggling with that set-up,” Amato recalls.
“Montero listened to him, changed the system and turned the game around. He may be a Juventus legend, but he listens to footballers.
“To sum it up, Montero is very nice off the pitch. In terms of results, he could have done more, especially in the first season, but I don’t think he could have done much more in this one.”
On Monday, Montero will make his debut on the Juventus bench after making 278 appearances as a footballer with the Bianconeri.