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Former Juve player Massimo Mauro praises Motta's team, but hopes for a less cautious attitude to be able to ignite the attack: "I appreciate Thiago's humility"
Good morning Massimo Mauro . This Juventus of Thiago Motta seems to have started the season in black and white in the true sense of the word: best defense with zero goals conceded in the championship but also few goal opportunities created. Do you think it will be like this for the rest of the season or, being a new team from many points of view, is the situation destined to change? « The answer can only be articulated. I like the project. In fact, I like it a lot. The assumption of responsibility has been transversal. Finally the right men in the right place. Giuntoli was given carte blanche from the point of view of the technical change. A man of football who takes care of the field, then Scanavino who, in inverted commas, controls what happens from the point of view of economic management and a president who is a high-profile technician. If I think back to the recent past, a change of this kind on the bench has been made two other times and it didn't go well: with Sarri, who even though he won the Scudetto was not confirmed and with Pirlo who won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa and with whom they could have continued but they preferred to return to Allegri. Now Giuntoli has turned the dressing room inside out and it's normal that it takes time. Changing the DNA isn't easy but it was done in an intelligent way. The good thing about Motta is that he is proving to be humble, if he has to defend he defends, it's not that he had the attitude of someone who wants to win every game 4-0. We saw good games with Verona and Como while not with Roma and Napoli. But it has nothing to do with the judgment on the project which remains more than positive. It takes time to get results even if at Juventus you obviously never have enough... ».
If you think back to the recent 0-0 against Napoli, what in particular didn't convince you? " Well, I honestly didn't understand a couple of the coach's choices. But he's the coach, I'm an external observer. If the team had created five or six goal-scoring opportunities in the first half and if Vlahovic had missed them or moved badly then ok, I would have understood the decision to take him off to put in another centre-forward who in this case he didn't have or trying what he did, trying to stretch Napoli with Weah. But you can't question Vlahovic like that after a half where he objectively had no specific faults ."
Motta's football and the judgement on Cambiaso
Beyond these first few games in chiaroscuro, what do you like about Motta's football and in what aspect do you find it particularly modern? « First of all, the fact that he goes looking for novelties within the squad. This is a beautiful thing, which gives enthusiasm. It puts everyone in competition. And there are also difficult situations to digest, like Danilo who has almost never played. However, the team has conceded zero goals so Motta is right. In my opinion he would like more skill on the wings, that's why he put Koopmeiners so close to Yildiz to help him in the match against Napoli. You can see that he studies alternative situations to get closer to the opponent's area. What Juve has done very well so far is the counterattack, when the team has space it is beautiful to watch at speed. Really interesting choral actions, which excite ».
Cambiaso is among the players who are proving to be universal in interpreting their role. What do you think of him? « He is a boy who has initiative. With Napoli he made that magnificent action with a dribble in the middle of the field which was followed by the percussion to the edge for the assist to Koopmeniers who then shot high over the crossbar. I hope to see more and more of these proposals. I don't like it when Juventus exaggerate with backward or horizontal passes. Making a bad pass towards the opponent's goal is normal because you are trying to do damage, but if you insist on these back passes sooner or later you make a mistake and it would be harmful because you were not taking risks trying to be dangerous. The coaches of the past are often criticized but those who had the qualities to do so were asked to target the man, skip past him and create numerical superiority. This aspect is fundamental. And in today's game, having someone who dribbles is strategic: at Juve they have them and so they do it, from Gonzalez, Yildiz and Conceiçao. They dribble more! Football, in general, with these continuous passes in defense is becoming disrespectful for the fans who pay for the ticket and go to the stadium not to see the goalkeeper with the ball at his feet but the midfielder who takes on the man. It's not good like this .
Criticism of Douglas Luiz
What can a squad like Juventus's aspire to in a championship that after five games is proving to be more balanced than ever with Torino surprisingly leading the way? " Inter is the strongest team but it's not a given that they will be the one to get the most points because the Nerazzurri players will always have to give more. Inter started badly but there's a truth that anyone who played for Juve knows very well: when you're the team to beat, everyone gives a lot more to make you fall. If Inzaghi's players don't find the desire to give 110% in every game then I see it as difficult. Lautaro and his teammates must give more than last year. I see Martinez as less brilliant, he hasn't scored yet, maybe it's just a question of luck, we'll see. In this championship there could be room for many in the fight for the Scudetto. Not just Inter, who are the strongest. I also see Napoli, Juventus, Milan and I also think Atalanta, who have a beautiful squad and I like them a lot. Torino is now in the lead and I appreciate the fact that this team is humble. It never loses its distance, whether it is attacking or defending: there have been some bad draws at home, true, but in the championship no one has ever put it under. Melancholy is beautiful but it does not help to have and build a better future. Toro has a precise dimension, it cannot compete with those who can afford much higher budgets: the Granata must fight to get into the Europa League. I do not understand the protest over the sale of Bellanova: he is a winger who goes straight, good, but if they offer you a proposal of 20 million I will take him in a carriage. I see a beautiful harmony between Vanoli and the team .
Up to now, Douglas Luiz has hardly been seen. How surprised were you by this fact? « From what we could see in Empoli, it was right to let him remarry, in Tuscany he was embarrassing, he walked. If instead he were to be used little in the future, then yes, it would become a problem considering that he was paid 51 million ».
The Yildiz controversy
There is a debate about Yildiz. Is he better on the left where he is used or in the center as a second striker? " If Motta wants Juve to play with Nico Gonzalez and Koop there are no alternatives. With Napoli, if I really had to or wanted to remove Vlahovic, I would have put the Dutchman as a false nine, Yildiz behind and Weah on the wing. But I don't see them during the week when they train... ".
This Italian football where is it going in terms of patience… De Rossi sacked, Fonseca was ready to suffer the same fate if he hadn’t won the derby… « It’s always been like this, now there are cold owners who have little to do with football. It’s not an absolute novelty, the fact that two Americans threw out a flag has caused an uproar. It doesn’t scandalise me even if it’s a decision I don’t agree with. At Marassi Roma could have won and run riot ».
And how much do you like club football in the hands of funds? " I hate it, I hate it. Italy is a different country, we have become Americanized in everything, why now also in managing football? I know that money is needed but the passion with which fans follow football in Italy is not comparable to that with which Americans follow basketball or baseball. For us it is culture, custom and history. For them it is just sport. We grow with sporting faith, they with sportsmanship, which is beautiful but it is something else. Seeing someone who only talks about balance sheets is positive but go to America. From this point of view Juventus is an extraordinary boast. I believe it is the only company that has belonged to the same owner for over 100 years. I hope it never goes into foreign hands and remains in the hands of the Agnelli lineage ."
After three 0-0 draws in a row in the league, Motta shows up at Marassi against a Genoa that is struggling and has also lost Malinovskyi. What kind of match do you expect? « At Genoa I had one of the best experiences of my life, being president, for this I must always thank Dr. Scerni and the rossoblù fans. Genoa – and let's go back to the Americans – has been scaled down. Gilardino is a gentleman, he preferred to gloss over it but he would have a lot to complain about. Genoa is taking risks, it could be a very difficult year. From Juve in this match I expect people who take risks, dribbling, dribbling and more dribbling. I want to see 10 crosses for Vlahovic in the first half, as many in the second half, passes for him. If he doesn't score then we criticize him ».