Blanc: Juve are the future
Sunday 7 June, 2009
General manager Jean-Claude Blanc maintains Juventus are the most forward-thinking club in Italy and a model for others to follow.
“Our advantage is in the ‘virtuous’ way we work,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have been able to sign Diego, one of the top 15 players in Europe, because we have balanced the books.
“Other arrivals are also planned. There is a less modern approach to football that every now and then forces clubs to sell big players to stay afloat.
“How many sides with balanced books have won the League title in Europe this season?”
The Bianconeri are also looking to the future by becoming the first Serie A club to build their own stadium, as most are rented from the local council.
Blanc also considers the decision to hand the bench over to newcomer Ciro Ferrara and bring young players like Sebastian Giovinco through the academy is a model to be copied.
“I can see his appointment as a show of faith in a young tactician, just as Milan did with Leonardo. These are courageous choices that accelerate the modernisation of Italian football.
“Ferrara has victory in his DNA, as shown by his career as a player and as Marcello Lippi’s assistant manager at the World Cup.
“He knows the players and directors, has contagious enthusiasm, charisma and intelligence that allows him to take from the best Coaches he has worked with. He also controlled the youth academy, which for us is vital.”
Claudio Ranieri was sacked two weeks from the end of the campaign, becoming the first Juventus boss to suffer that fate in 40 years.
“It has been a positive season,” insisted Blanc. “We improved in Serie A, left the Champions League with our heads held high and reached the Coppa Italia semi-final.
“In sport it’s results that count and if we compare them to the other teams in Italy then I am satisfied.”
channel4.com