Turin – Fighting for second place. A goal which for Juventus and Milan cannot unleash enthusiasm of who knows what kind, but which makes at least an economic sense: the placement in the standings in fact affects the distribution of the TV rights of Serie A and, if the first place will be entitled to 20 million, the the second will reach 16.8, the third 14.4, the fourth 12 and so on. In an era when all companies are struggling with balance sheet problems, even 2.4 million will make sense.
Having said that, the charm of a challenge between the Lady and the Devil remains unchanged even without thinking about money, at least for the romantics of football of the past. Allegri could be part of this group: «Fighting until the end for second place would be an additional objective, but Juve-Milan is always a good match to play: they are an important team and well coached by Pioli. I don’t know if, as Stefano said, Inter are the strongest in recent years. Certainly, however, this season the Nerazzurri are clearly superior to the others: when I said it at the start of the championship I seemed crazy, but I was speaking realistically.” Bringing grist to one’s own mill is itself an art, one might say. And in any case Juve did what it could, whether it was a little or a little: reaching the final of the Italian Cup will allow it to play in the Super Cup next year, thus collecting more money, just as fourth-fifth place in the championship will help it to settle partially the accounts by attending the revised and corrected Champions League. «Marotta and Pioli claimed that we would have had an advantage in the Scudetto fight because we didn’t compete in the European cups: history, however, says otherwise, because in my first five years at Juve we won as many tricolors by reaching the Champions League final twice and four in the final of the Italian Cup”.
And it is there then that the Lady wants to return: to take to the pitch as much as possible, to travel around Europe and get tired between hotels, matches and airport stops: «Are two or three reinforcements enough to bring Inter closer? It is a question for society: it is the one that creates the market. I’m the coach. Now the most important thing is to stay focused on Champions League qualification: we are missing some points and the last word has not yet been said. I remain a corporate person, yes: the challenge will be to fight to win within a sustainable project. Here, the ambition must always be to win: however, if we reach the Champions League objective, the year will be a success.
Then it’s clear that everyone likes to win: me first.”
