Simone Pepe reveals he annoyed Antonio Conte at Juventus, praised Max Allegri and said he’d have become a petrol station attendant without football.
The winger, now at Pescara, will be up against his former club on Saturday and took the opportunity to look back over his Juve career.
“I basically never shut up,” Pepe told Il Centro newspaper. “In the locker room I was a real pain, always playing pranks. Conte told me that I could do and say what I wanted off the field, but during training we needed the utmost silence.
Simone Pepe reveals he annoyed Antonio Conte at Juventus, praised Max Allegri and said he’d have become a petrol station attendant without football.
The winger, now at Pescara, will be up against his former club on Saturday and took the opportunity to look back over his Juve career.
“I basically never shut up,” Pepe told Il Centro newspaper. “In the locker room I was a real pain, always playing pranks. Conte told me that I could do and say what I wanted off the field, but during training we needed the utmost silence.
“I had trouble with that. I would kid around with everyone during the stretching exercises too. Conte is the best Coach I ever worked with, he was my mentor. He knows how to talk to players, how to get the most out of everyone and tactically explains everything in detail.
“Conte is a Coach, a fitness coach and a psychologist, so Juve were unstoppable with him, like a tank.”
Pepe was also at Juventus under current boss Allegri, so how did the side change?
“Allegri is less severe than Conte, but did really well in dealing with the squad. He brought his ideas and was very intelligent to press the right buttons.
“I remain in contact with many of my former teammates at Juventus, like Leo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzaglo, Carlos Tevez and Marco Storari.
“Chiellini is practically part of the family, we are very close. I’ve got tattoos with the dates of the Scudetto victories. I also have tattoos representing my children, hobbies, golf and the SuperMario mushroom. I was obsessed with that game.
“If I hadn’t made my career in football, I would’ve been a petrol station attendant. I wanted to do that as a job when I was a kid, because whenever I saw them, they had wallets stuffed with cash…”