Juve hint at Capello exit Wednesday 14 June, 2006
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Juventus have laid out plans for their 'English style’ club, but hinted that Fabio Capello will leave if they are relegated.
“We’ll give more space to young players and are aiming for a new model of club, starting from the Juve spirit,” explained CEO Carlo Sant’Albano. “Capello has been very clear with us and we’ll see what happens. In any case, I appreciate him.”
The future of the tactician has been in doubt ever since the Calciopoli scandal broke, as an investigation into alleged match-fixing and collusion with referees could see the Turin giants docked points or even demoted to Serie B.
Sant’Albano’s comments suggest that Capello has warned he’ll move on, reportedly to Real Madrid, if the worst case scenario comes to pass.
The former Roma and Milan boss has never been particularly popular with a section of the die-hard Juve fans due to his treatment of captain Alessandro Del Piero.
The Bianconeri changed their entire Board of Directors in the wake of the scandal and are set to make more adjustments to their set-up.
“I want to imitate the English model of football clubs,” continued the CEO. “This difficult moment we are going through has enabled us to look back over the 109 years of history, values and responsibilities we have built. I was called by the owners to lay the foundations so that this can all be preserved.”
The Stadio Delle Alpi will be restructured this year to reduce the capacity from 70,000 to 43,000 and build a business park into the venue.
“Our history is made of success, team spirit, entertaining sport, but also of elegance and gentlemanly conduct. Our victories were earned with sacrifice and hard work, and these values are at the heart of a brand which is universally recognised throughout 14 million fans spread all over the world. I firmly believe this project will bring football back to the centre of our rebirth. It’ll be up to the men involved to use those elements with fair play, intelligence and a firm hand.”