Football
9y

Everyone is against Juventus, says coach Massimiliano Allegri

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he has only just discovered how much anti-Juve sentiment there is in Italian football in the wake of his side's 3-2 win over Roma.

The fallout to that game has disappointed the former Milan coach, who sees Italian football as the only real loser of the protracted debate.

In an interview with Il Corriere della Sera, Allegri was critical of the culture in Italy, saying the game is only becoming so bad because people continue to make it that way.

"The thing that did the most damage to Italian football was that all the talk has been about the incidents and little has been said about the actual game," Allegri said. "Technically, it was a good, intense and pretty game to watch, yet there's been total silence on that.

"In Italy, people are always keen to highlight the bad things. Everybody says 'Italian football's rubbish,' but nobody does anything to improve it. Everybody says 'Italian referees are the worst' and then we see an Italian referee in the World Cup final. When we go abroad and dubious penalties are given, we keep our mouths shut, but it's not like that when it happens in Italy."

According to Allegri, there is a culture of negativity which is preventing the Italian game from evolving. He said that Juve is everybody's favourite victim.

"We need to appreciate all the good moves more and start to appreciate them, otherwise everything becomes an excuse," he continued. "The decisions [referee Gianluca] Rocchi made have been blown out of all proportion just because it was Juve-Roma. If they had happened in a lesser game, nobody would have cared.

"Because of this, a great performance by Juventus against a fantastic Roma side with an extraordinary player in [Francesco] Totti all got lost. There are 50 million football fans in Italy, 12 of which support Juve and the others support Milan, Inter, Roma and so on. But they all are against Juve and it's only now that I'm realising that."

Allegri did not care to follow the days of diatribe that followed the top-of-the-table clash nearly a fortnight ago. Instead, he has been spending time with his family and improving his English.

Before returning to management with Juve less than six months after being relieved of his duties as Milan coach, Allegri spent several months in England, not only learning the language but also appreciating a different culture which opened his eyes.

"I had to go live in Leeds because there are too many Italians in London," said the 47-year-old. "It was positive to see their league because it helped me to understand a few things.

"[The game's] not as spectacular as it's made out to be, but what does make it so beautiful is the atmosphere, the people. You'd never find a young kid being told to cover his Tevez shirt [like a young child who was refused access to Atalanta's home clash with Juve until he covered his shirt] over there. That would be out of this world.

"Once, I was giving my daughter a driving lesson and we ended up outside the San Siro. With all the gates, barriers and metal fencing -- I'd never go to a place like that as an ordinary fan."

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