Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 7y

Massimiliano Allegri's side on par with greatest Juventus team ever - owners

The president of Juventus' owners Exor, John Elkann, has written to shareholders to tell them they are witnessing a "golden" era for the club.

Juve remain on course for a record sixth straight Serie A title this season, while they could also win a third consecutive league and cup Double after reaching the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday after progressing past Napoli.

Barcelona stand between them and a place in the semifinals of the Champions League with a Treble still a possibility, and Elkann says it is hard to find a better moment in the club's history than the current one.

"We have seen five incredible seasons at the Juventus Stadium -- our home, as [club president] Andrea Agnelli calls it," Elkann wrote. "Our club ended last year with revenue and profits growing, but above all with a magnificent result on the field.

"Our fifth Scudetto in a row puts us on a par with the greatest Juve side of all time, that of the golden years in the 1930s. We have a brilliant future ahead of us and this is exactly what Juve are building, year on year."

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri has been the architect of almost half of that success, winning back-to-back league and cup Doubles after replacing Antonio Conte, who won the first three of the club's five consecutive league wins.

Allegri has been tipped to tread a similar path to Conte by moving to England, but the 49-year-old has given the biggest suggestion yet that he will snub the Premier League and remain as Juve's coach next season.

Allegri, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal, has repeatedly sidestepped questions about his future in the past, saying that he will discuss it when the time is right.

"My intentions are to continue with Juventus because I'm happy here," Allegri told RAI after the Napoli game. "I've not spoken with management yet as there are other priorities. This team has changed in two years and it still has a great deal of potential.

"Juve are a great club and you can't find many around who are better or even on a par, but right now I'm just thinking about working hard and trying to fill up the weeks in May -- and that means we've got to beat Barcelona [in the Champions League]. We want to raise the bar further."

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