[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]Juventus unveiled their new directors Federico Cherubini and Maurizio Arrivabene today, but both of them are familiar faces in Turin, writes Lorenzo Bettoni.
“Maurizio Arrivabene’s CV speaks for itself. He will be able to bring a decisive element of management into the sporting area,” said Juventus President Andrea Agnelli presenting Arrivabene.
The 64-year-old is mainly known for his spell at Ferrari where he served as Team Principal between 2015 and 2018. He’s been following Juventus not just as a fan, but also as a Board of Directors member since 2012. However, he has never covered an operative role in a football club.
He joined Philip Morris in 1997, first as Manager Event Marketing and then as Director. Back then, he was the boss of Andrea Agnelli who worked in the company at that time. They have now reversed roles, but the relationship between them has always been a good one.
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He was then appointed Vice President Marlboro Global Communication and Promotions for Philip Morris International in 2007 and since 2011 he served as Vice President Consumers Channel Strategy and Event Marketing.
“If a team is successful, it automatically becomes beautiful. If you lose you can still be beautiful, but you are much less so,” Arrivabene said during an unveiling press conference which, in the end, was dominated by questions about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus’ position regarding the European Super League.
Arrivabene sticks to the club’s motto: ‘Winning is not important is the only thing that matters,’ something which Juventus seemed to have forgotten in the last couple of years.
Back in 2019, they sacked Massimiliano Allegri to hire Maurizio Sarri who was supposed to bring a new attacking mentality in Turin.
Juventus won the Serie A title during the Tuscan’s tenure, but Sarri failed to establish a solid relationship with the players and the club, which is the main reason why he was sacked after just one season at the club. The Bianconeri replaced him with Andrea Pirlo and eventually called Allegri back.
On paper, Arrivabene’s role will be similar to the one of Beppe Marotta who had been serving as the club’s CEO from 2011 until 2018, bringing Juventus back to their winning ways. Formally, he is not the club’s CEO but the manager of the ‘Football Area’, reporting directly to Agnelli.
“This is a very exciting challenge. I like challenges and I like Juventus, even as a fan,” Arrivabene added.
He will keep an eye on the club’s finances, while Cherubini will be in charge of transfer negotiations and the management of the scouting sector.
The 50-year-old began his career at Foligno and the at-the-time Sampdoria Directors Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici kept a close eye on him for many years, eventually calling him to Juventus in 2012.
Cherubini, along with Claudio Chiellini, coordinated the launch of the U23 squad that made his debut in Italy’s third tier in 2018.
An innovative project launched by the Old Lady who are still the only Serie A club to have founded a team where young players can develop and play at a senior level when promoted from the Primavera team.
Once Marotta left the club in 2018, Cherubini became Paratici’s right-hand man to then replace the new Tottenham Hotspur’s managing director at the helm at the Allianz Stadium.
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Cherubini spent almost his entire career at Juventus and has now reached the top level at the club being appointed as ‘Football Director’.
It remains to be seen which and how many new faces he’ll be able to bring to the Allianz Stadium given that he admitted the Bianconeri could make new signings at all.
“We arrive from a few seasons where we have made important and targeted investments that put us in a position to reach the beginning of the season with a competitive team,” he said during the press conference.
“We may not even carry out a transfer market, because we believe we have a competitive team, and our idea is our coach.
“Of course, in a logic of sharing strategies and objectives, we know that something can be improved but it doesn’t mean that this will happen.”
Probably, not the words Juventus fans wanted to hear, but Cherubini also claimed there are no signals that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave the club in the summer.
After changing their third coach in three years, calling Massimiliano Allegri back to the club, Juventus have also revolutionised their control room, but the same may not happen with the squad. Only time will tell if the strategy is a winning one.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]