]Allegri: 'Next, Champions League'
By Football Italia staff[/b]
Max Allegri admits what Juventus have achieved is “almost impossible, but next year we must target winning the Champions League.”
The Bianconeri had a disastrous start to the campaign, but since October 28’s defeat to Sassuolo have put together 24 wins and one draw (against Bologna).
“It was almost impossible to win 24 out of 25 games,” conceded the Coach on Mediaset Premium and Sky Sport Italia after a 2-1 victory away to Fiorentina.
“Since the start of my coaching career I have always been confident of what I was doing and fully aware of what I needed to improve. At the end of the day, results are everything in this business.
“I often get called a 'club man’ – if a Coach has everyone on side, that helps get results, doesn’t it? If you don’t share the ideas of the club, you just politely point that out and walk away. This squad has been put together in an exceptional manner by the club.
“I’ll sign the contract next week, assuming they let me sign it!”
Juve grabbed a dramatic 2-1 victory away to Fiorentina this evening, as Gigi Buffon saved a last-gasp Nikola Kalinic penalty.
“This was a very important stepping stone towards the title. I have to give a lot of credit to Fiorentina, as they caused us many problems. My lads also deserve praise for their performance.
“We ran few risks other than counter-attacks until the 1-1, then we went into a little chaos, as unfortunately in Florence the games are never over until the final whistle. We did well to hang on.
“Buffon is the most representative and important player at Juventus. Obviously his words hold a different weight to something the others might say.”
Juventus can secure the title on Monday if Napoli fail to beat Roma. Will the team watch that game together?
“We will train as usual, then prepare the match against Carpi. Don’t forget we also have the Coppa Italia Final on May 21 and we mustn’t reach that appointment against Milan with the wrong state of mind.
“If we watch the game or not won’t change anything.
“Initially we had gone in a little soft and were a bit too relaxed, but from November onwards the journey has been extraordinary.
“Next year we must target winning the Champions League. It’s reductive to focus just on Serie A. It’s one of those competitions where one incident goes wrong and you don’t have time to recover.
“I believe that regardless of tactical systems, we have to improve our control of the ball when under pressure and in the lead. We mustn’t lose the ball in a banal manner, so that is what we need to work on in certain moments of the match.
“Otherwise we create excessive pressure on ourselves that can be avoided.
“We can improve the players we’ve got and help them reach maturity, as for example we were naïve against Bayern Munich when in control of the situation.
“The club will focus on improving the squad, as it did last summer, bringing in young players with great technique.
“Paul Pogba has improved a great deal in terms of character. I said the other day joking that as the €100m wouldn’t go to me, I’d rather keep Pogba!”
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