Allegri proves Juve fans wrong
Print Edition
THE protests which greeted Massimiliano Allegri’s appointment as Juventus coach back in July were a distant memory as his side gave a European masterclass in Dortmund.
Juventus’ performance in Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Borussia Dortmund was a throwback to the days when Serie A sides dominated the Champions League and suggested they can be serious challengers this year for a trophy that Italian sides have not won since 2010.
Allegri’s men set up an impenetrable barrier in defence, then picked off a dispirited Dortmund with lethal counterattacks as they completed a 5-1 aggregate win in the round of 16 tie.
“This result is the fruit of the work we have all put down together, with the lads and the club,” the phlegmatic Allegri told reporters. “This is an important result for Italian football ... and I believe we have the quality to do even better.”
Yet, when he replaced the fiery Antonio Conte, who had led Juventus to three Serie A titles in as many seasons, Allegri was anything but a unanimous choice.
He had been sacked by AC Milan only six months earlier with the team languishing 11th in Serie A, and around 300 Juventus fans turned up to protest his appointment outside the club’s training ground. But his results at Juventus, which also leads Serie A by 14 points, appear to have vindicated the view that Allegri was a victim of the rudderless leadership at fallen giant Milan.
Allegri has replaced Conte’s hell-for-leather approach with a more controlled style, which has served well in Europe where it does not enjoy the same dominance over opponents as in Serie A.
“I just want to emphasize and offer the highest recognition to our coach Massimiliano Allegri, who was greeted with the utmost skepticism earlier in the season,” said Juventus Chief Executive Giuseppe Marotta. “We are leading the league with a great advantage and we have reached the Champions League quarterfinals with great credit: a big round of applause goes to the coach and the team that has done well in following his lead. It was said at the start of the season that Massimiliano had great courage to sit on this bench, but he has also shown great courage in achieving these results.”
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