Former Juventus boss Alberto Zaccheroni was always confident that Felipe Melo would prove his critics wrong in Turin.
The Brazilian endured a nightmare first season at Juve after joining the Old Lady for a massive €24m from Fiorentina in the summer of 2009.
However, he's now playing at his highest levels again and it comes as no surprise to the current Japan boss.
"At the end of last season I advised the club to not sell Felipe Melo," said Zaccheroni, who briefly replaced Ciro Ferrara on the Juve bench at the start of the year.
Former Juventus boss Alberto Zaccheroni was always confident that Felipe Melo would prove his critics wrong in Turin.
The Brazilian endured a nightmare first season at Juve after joining the Old Lady for a massive €24m from Fiorentina in the summer of 2009.
However, he's now playing at his highest levels again and it comes as no surprise to the current Japan boss.
"At the end of last season I advised the club to not sell Felipe Melo," said Zaccheroni, who briefly replaced Ciro Ferrara on the Juve bench at the start of the year.
"The problem with Felipe Melo last term was that he wasn't able to hold the midfield together by himself.
"This season Juve have the best midfield in the championship.
"Last term there wasn't a compact environment around the club and the team was continuously contested."
Juve, who appointed Gigi Del Neri in the summer as Zac's replacement, are currently third in the table – six points behind leaders Milan.