“Natale Con…te” (Christmas with...you) is Sky Italia’s gift to Bianconeri fans this Christmas. A long interview, recorded in the dressing rooms at Juventus Stadium, will be shown tonight (9pm on Sky Sport 1 and 10:30pm on SuperCalcio) and tomorrow, Christmas Day (12:00pm on SuperCalcio and 5:30pm on Sky Sport 1).
Thirty minutes during which the Juventus coach looks back at a fabulous 2012 for the Bianconeri on the field. A candid Conte talks about the Scudetto and the Super Cup, records, his team’s progress, as well as his suspension.
Here’s the interview in full:
The Scudetto: the symbol of 2012
The overriding memory of 2012 is the final whistle in Trieste which signalled us winning the Scudetto, and the huddle of players and management as we celebrated the incredible success we achieved this year. Juve are back winning things because we’ve started a project. We’ve planned in the right way. We’ve continued last season’s work into the start of this term and I think we’ve laid excellent foundations. We want to entertain. I’m lucky enough to have a special group of players. With them I don’t fear anything and so we rightly quite rightly dream of achieving the best we can. If we’re good enough to achieve it, we’ll have done something absolutely extraordinary.
The Ban
In that famous press conference someone shouts something. It could have been me, just like it could have been anyone else. Things can never go back to the way they were because for now certain things will remain as they are. I hope in future the situation improves to support people in this sport, and those who behave in a certain way. I’m referring to the affair involving Cannavaro and Grava. I’m with these guys just as I am with Napoli. We need to punish those who try and throw matches, not those who refuse to do so. I’ve looked at myself as a person. I’ve tried to find the positives in a negative situation. I’ve looked at myself to try and become a stronger person and I think I’ve managed it. I punched the bench against Parma and I’ve done it several times since. It’s been very painful to not be able to be there on the pitch over the last few months, to not have my players feel my presence. I’ve never once considered leaving because I’ve always had the unconditional support of the president, my family, John Elkann, Beppe Marotta and the lads. The president has made me feel even more in responsible for – and involved in – a number of situations. It would have been a nightmare had it happened last season both for me and Juve because I would have unintentionally distanced myself, because last year there was a lot of work to be done. This year we’ve been working for more than a year and this is a team that knows my footballing philosophy and the approach we take. This meant we could make something appear normal over the past few months, which wasn’t normal at all in reality; it was actually very abnormal.
Back to normal
I’m so proud of the fact that my team responded despite the fact I wasn’t there in the dug-out. I’ve built this side and it’s full of players who know their role and have matured a great deal. And this has all happened in the space of a year. They were excellent but now I’m happy to be back to normal, and so are they, I think.
Forwards
I’m very pleased with the work our forwards are doing because they’re central to the way we play. When we’re organised we are very unpredictable because we can attack with seven players and so it’s difficult for our opponents to counter us. I guarantee all of our forwards will reach double figures for the season. You won’t find a player like Giovinco with all his ability for seven million. He’s only 24 and can still improve a lot. I don’t favour him over the others, I just pick the best team. Pogba is destined for great things, without a doubt, he’s got such ability. When people say we don’t pick young players in Italy, I remind them that six months ago Pogba couldn’t get in the Manchester United team. If someone’s good enough and they do the right things, age is not important. He has everything he needs to become one of the best in the world. It’s up to both me and him to make sure he progresses in the right way.
Midfield then and now
I don’t know if I’d have got into a midfield with Marchisio, Pirlo and Vidal but I would have made it tough. I’d have liked to have had me as a coach.
Complete coach
A coach needs to be a coach in every area. You can’t simply be a good tactician or motivator, or psychologically, or in the way your run things, or in the way you behave with the club and the media. You must excel at everything and so you need to study. I’ve never stopped studying since I became a coach. When I came to Juve last year I wanted to play 4-2-4. The issue was we didn’t have players who fit that system of play. I also had indispensible players in my squad like Vidal, Pirlo and Marchisio who can also play mezzala so midfield was our strongest area of the pitch. Over time I realised I had three players in Chiellini, Bonucci and Barzagli who excelled in certain situations. That’s when I switched to 3-5-2 or 3-3-4.
The Media
The media are a dangerous weapon, important if you can use them to your advantage. Sometimes we talk and we don’t realise what damage we’re doing. Perhaps I could be a bit nicer, a bit more accommodating, I could have the media and my colleagues like me. But when I do that I realise I lose a bit of my competitive edge, my will to win and my desire. That’s why I prefer to win and sometimes be disliked. I’m sorry but this is better than being nice and loved by people. I hope to get to the top level of the best coaches. That would bring me the most pleasure. The best feelings is to get into people’s hearts as a player. That said, had I not got results with all of this, I’d be at home now.
Juve of tomorrow
Juventus won’t make huge changes in January, we’ll make smart moves, just like we did in June. We’ll try and improve on areas where we think we’re lacking. If a good deal comes up, we’ll make sure we don’t miss out. Great players always add quality, improve the squad and make difficult things less so. When we can bring in big players, we will, because Juve needs to once again buy 40-45 million Euro players. When we can, we will. Balotelli has all attributes of a great player but he costs as much as the Mona Lisa and we can’t bring in certain “characters”. Del Piero is unique and it’ll be difficult to find someone who could emulate what he did here. I hope for the president that we can find a player like that. It would be like winning the lottery.
A look at the Champions League
The Champions League in 1996, the year we won it, was amazing. We won it at our first attempt. At that time though there weren’t clubs which were built to win, teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich which have been assembled over years to win trophies. I don’t want to wait for years. I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t try to win something. It won’t be easy but we’re building something special. We’ll be proved right over time and I ask our fans not to get impatient.
Conte’s Christmas
I was lucky enough to grow up in a religious family. I’ve got a very strong faith. I speak to God a lot. I always pray before going to sleep. I say grace before eating. I always make the sign of the cross, I put my trust in God – mine and my players. As long as God’s on my side, I’m not afraid of anything. Christmas was a big party for me as a kid. I was always with my family. There are no VIP Christmases. I always play cards with my family. I wake up on Christmas Eve with presents on my bed. Spending it with Vittoria and my family is the best thing that I could wish for. Being a father is the best experience a person can have. My dream for next year is to keep working as we have been doing, with the players and the club. I’m sure this is the right way and that it can bring us succes.
Source: Juventus.com
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