Allegri 'not jealous' of Sarrismo
By Football Italia staff
Max Allegri explained why Juventus “could never play” like Napoli or embrace Maurizio Sarri’s style of football. “All that’s left is what’s written in history books.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
You can read the entire Press conference as it happened on the LIVEBLOG.
Napoli and Maurizio Sarri have been praised for their style of football, but Allegri notes there’s more to football than entertainment.
“I speak of objective facts. The facts state Juventus have 85 points and Napoli 81. I hear a lot of talk, I listen and I have fun. I keep my opinions to myself,
or you can go to the bar in Livorno and ask my friends what I think. 
“Sarri has done extraordinary work. He inherited a team from Rafa Benitez and moved Marek Hamsik to wide midfield, that’s the main difference. He builds his games on defence, as he only has Arkadiusz Milik who is tall and good in the air,
the others are all little.
“He put together a team that is beautiful to watch, but also got some very good results over the years. He has improved a lot from his time in Lega Pro and is proving his worth.
“Over the last six years, Napoli have changed about one player, as far as I can tell. I think that’s an advantage. Over the last four years, Juventus changed many players and did extraordinary work on the market, bringing in players with different characteristics to those we had.”
Allegri was asked if he was jealous that Sarri has a style of football named after him – Sarrismo – whereas nobody talks about Allegrismo.
“I am not jealous. I am glad that after so many years of hard work, Sarri has reached the level he deserves.
“All Coaches learn from their experience and improve every year, seeing what needs to be improved or tweaked. I think a Coach should make the most of his characteristics and the qualities within the squad.
“Sarri is making Napoli play well and getting the best out of the characteristics of his players. Juventus could never play the same way as Napoli, because we’ve got a much stronger physical impact and height, whereas they are all pretty short.
“At the end of the day, all Coaches have one objective: to win. The strategy and the way of getting there is not the same. If I usually find two open doors and one day they are closed, I have to find another strategy.
“The fact remains, all that is left is what’s written down in the history books.
“Napoli’s season is extraordinary, but they have been for several years now with the style of football and good results. They spent an entire solar year on top of the table. They’ve become a reality both on an Italian and European level, so Italian football ought to be proud.”
Sarri spoke about pressure, claiming Napoli had nothing to lose in Turin, so Allegri hit back with a joke.
“Napoli don’t have pressure with the Champions League, Europa League or Coppa Italia, so it’s only right that Juventus win, right?
“It’s wonderful to play these games, whether in Madrid, the Coppa Italia Final or a Champions League Final. We’ve got some great fixtures coming up and should go into them with great enthusiasm.
“If Napoli finish ahead of us come May 20, we’ll tip our hats to them, but for now we are ahead.
“Right now all we have to do is do. There’s no distraction, there’s no calculations. When the fixture list came out, as always, I looked at the final six rounds and I said the Scudetto would certainly be decided in these final weeks.
“The fact Juve and Napoli reach the last five with a four-point gap was improbable, because we can both reach at least 96 points. In any case, regardless of how our season went, we could not mathematically be safe winning the title with five games to go.
“Juventus have the points we deserve. There’s no reason to say oh if we’d won at SPAL or Crotone.
We can’t win all the time. Juventus put in a lot of effort in Madrid and it was natural we’d leave something behind afterwards, as that’s physiological.
“
At Crotone we conceded another goal with a bicycle kick. This year, we’re having trouble with bicycle kicks… Hopefully there won’t be another tomorrow.”
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Allegri: 'Decisive only for Napoli'
By Football Italia staff
Massimiliano Allegri insists the Scudetto showdown in Turin is “decisive for Napoli, but not for Juventus” and Gonzalo Higuain will make the difference.
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
You can read the entire Press conference as it happened on the LIVEBLOG.
“We’re in better psychological shape than Napoli.
It’s very simple, tomorrow a mini-league begins of five games, we have a four-point advantage,” said the Coach.
“There are other points available to win the title. It’ll certainly be important for Serie A, but it won’t be decisive.”
Allegri was asked about reports Paulo Dybala could be dropped, in part because of a thigh injury.
“I haven’t yet decided the line-up. Dybala is in good shape, I don’t understand why he shouldn’t be.
We’ve recovered almost everyone, so we are ready to take on tomorrow’s wonderful evening of sport with two teams who are creating a great title race and at the end of May, the best team will win.
“If Juventus are the best, we’ll finish first. If Napoli are the best, we’ll finish second and tip our hats to them.
“Juventus are having a very good season, we have 85 points and there are five rounds to go. On the other side, Napoli are having an equally important campaign, as they are on 81 points and can reach 96.
“It’s a football match, we’ll play it calmly. We know that we are facing a side that has been up there for the whole season. It’ll be very decisive for them, but we have a four-point advantage, so we know that we can get points elsewhere without problems.
“I have two or three doubts, but not just for the starting XI. It’s a long game, it’s important to have one or two options who can come off the bench and change the game.
“I have to decide whether to play with Dybala, without Dybala, or maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and have some other idea out of nowhere. I have some ideas, but there’s a long way to go before tomorrow.
“I have to see how Andrea Barzagli is doing. Medhi Benatia played two games. The important thing is that everyone is at our disposal and I hope to choose the right players to have a good game.
“
Gonzalo Higuain has these peaks and troughs over a season. He’s in great shape and I think tomorrow he will be decisive. Miralem Pjanic has recovered.
Everyone is fine, except for Stefano Sturaro who has this tendon issue and Mattia De Sciglio with the sole of his foot, but otherwise everyone is ready for this wonderful evening of sport.
“We must be prepared not so much for tomorrow’s game, but these final few weeks of the season. It’s a big opportunity for us, as it will be against Inter, Roma and Bologna too. We’ve then got the Coppa Italia Final against Milan.
“It’s a wonderful end to the campaign and we must play with calm, as this team is accustomed to important matches, albeit aware we are facing a Napoli side that has picked up 81 points and had a series of great campaigns.
“We must play with cool heads, because
it is far more decisive for Napoli than it is for us.”
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