first the shouts, then the hugs. This is how Lucio cultivates Kenan

TORINO – He constantly grooms and scolds him, in training and in matches, before forcefully welcoming him back into his arms. Personal flattery? Few, very few: Spalletti has its own way of cultivating talent. To demonstrate the affection, esteem and respect he has for his best player: Kenan Yildiz. Nothing new, at least not for those who have had the opportunity to study the Juventus coach’s approach over the course of his long career. Lucio has always done this with his phenomena, praising them in roundabout ways, often through the press. The why? Simple: he is firmly convinced that there is no better way to ensure that they can overcome the obstacle and go beyond logic. After all, as Jovanotti would say – also Tuscan like Lucio, but by adoption – “Compliments cost little and sometimes they are worth no more.”

“We are in tune”

And there is nothing rhetorical in defining a similar approach as “paternal”. Also because Saturday night was the same Spalletti to thus describe his relationship with Kenan: «We are in tune: I love him like a son, I know he can change the game for us at any moment. No one will ever be able to make me doubt his great availability, personality and knowledge of his role: I need him even when I’m at home and we don’t train. I can shout at Yildiz, he knows he is our number 10: he must take responsibility and be careful what I say to him”. This comes just over a week after Allianz’s declarations, after the victory against Roma – «His opponents know better than him how strong he is» -. Without forgetting the words of the coach on the sidelines of the match won with the Cagliari: «Kenan has super top behavior, but with the ball at his feet he needs to understand better when to break through». And if Spalletti insists in this direction it is also because he knows he is dealing with a humble, judicious boy with a good head on his shoulders and an uncommon intelligence.