The editorial staff of TuttoJuve.com contacted the former Juventus player and coach by telephone exclusively, Angelo Alessio, to talk in depth about the new Juventus and beyond:
What are your expectations for Juventus 2024/25?
“It is in line with what has been said, that is, with Giuntoli who has taken responsibility for the technical part and has secured a young and ambitious coach like Thiago Motta who will arrive in an important place. The line is drawn for the sustainability of costs , for this reason he is trying to fit within certain parameters without lowering the level of the team. The management is trying to bring good players to Turin, even if it will be up to Motta to make them perform at their best I’m expecting big names, Juve can’t spend a lot of money.”
How difficult will it be for such a young coach to take on such a heavy legacy whose previous results have not lived up to expectations?
“The task is difficult for many reasons, it is clear that time will have to be given. Even if the expectations will be enormous, Juve must always fight for the title. I hope that their idea of football can be transmitted in a short time, so as to find the results hoped for at the start of the season. It will be difficult, but at the same time I feel like saying that something extraordinary has been achieved with Bologna and now the bar will be raised. Thiago has been a high level player, he is used to the pressure important squares like that of Turin”.
Your Juve teaches us that we can win again immediately, do you think there could be any similarities?
“I don’t see any similarities with my Juve, here we have to rebuild unlike those 7/8 players already mentally ready that Antonio, I and all the staff found when we arrived in Turin. The one formed by Buffon, Barzagli, Chiellini, Bonucci, Marchisio and Del Piero was already a granite block, then the right pieces were added like Pirlo, Vidal, Lichtsteiner and Vucinic who went on to concretely realize first what was our idea of football that then took shape in the final 3-5-2 in which the characteristics of our players were exploited. Today’s team is still a construction site: we don’t know if Rabiot and Chiesa will stay, they will be forced to give up some players and two of these have already gone to Birmingham in the exchange with Douglas Luiz. There will be negotiations, like the one for Thuram, which will come to fruition if they manage to find the right counterparts”.
Looking at today’s starting grid, we note that Inter are inevitably considered the favorites again and behind all the other pursuers. In addition to Juve, I imagine your curiosity will be about Antonio Conte’s new Napoli.
“Yes, because Napoli is also struggling with objective difficulties and so far they are not making a transfer: Osimhen is still there and no team really wants him yet, I read on Kvaratskhelia that he wants to leave and there is the proposal from PSG, Di Lorenzo doesn’t want to stay and is followed by Juve. Napoli will have to make a transfer and form a team, we know how good Antonio is at putting it on the pitch, but he’s used to doing it (smiles ed.). Returning with Conte? No, there wasn’t this possibility. At the end of the experience at Chelsea I made the decision to do the former and I would like to continue following it.”
But to reduce the gap with Inter, could the arrival of other important players such as Koopmeiners, the aforementioned Di Lorenzo and Calafiori be enough?
“For these players we would need at least 100 million, I don’t think Juventus has all this money. There are still some counterparts left like Soulé or Huijsen, perhaps we can add McKennie and Kean, but then I don’t see any that important. Let’s see what will happen in the market, the more days that pass, the more the demands of those clubs could lower. But Juve cannot make an important transfer market.”
Would you be in favor of a Morata-tris?
“In my opinion he could be good for Juve, he adapts to playing in other roles than necessarily the first striker. He married an Italian girl, it’s no secret that he loves this team and the suggestion could be correct. The will of the player could be relevant in this case, then if Motta were to deem it valid… Why not?”.
Finally a joke about Pogba, what do you think of the whole affair that involved him?
“I was really sorry, let’s say I saw him grow and I hope the disqualification can be reduced. It really can’t end like this, especially considering his career. I’ve always considered him a great guy. I remember that he often stayed with me at the end of training for a good half an hour, Paul wanted to improve from a technical point of view. He was always eager to work, he wanted to show at 18/19 years old that he was already at the same level as those champions who were at Juventus”.
We thank Angelo Alessio for the courtesy and availability shown during this interview.
