Details are important – Massimiliano Allegri urges Juventus to focus at Verona

By Sports Desk February 16, 2024

Massimiliano Allegri challenged his Juventus side to pay “attention to detail” when they travel to Verona for Saturday’s Serie A clash.

Juve sit seven points behind league leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand, and are in search of their first win in four attempts following losses to Udinese and the table-toppers, which came after a 1-1 draw with Empoli that saw Arkadiusz Milik sent off in the 18th minute.

Verona sit third-from-bottom with four wins in 24 matches but, with just six points separating 19th-placed Cagliari from Lecce in 13th, will be desperate to gain any advantage on fellow relegation-threatened clubs.

Allegri told a press conference: “We’ve earned a point in two games at home and that’s not good, tomorrow will be a complicated away match, Verona are in a difficult situation but are doing well. We need to work on our attitude not only in terms of performance, but above all in terms of attention to detail.

“Our performances have not been worse, even on a numerical level, but we must analyse everything, beyond the result. Against Udinese, we made a mistake on an inactive ball and we were punished, this is football. Details are important.

“We have to learn what didn’t go well over the last few games. The performances were good and we have to start from there. The management will then work to strengthen the team for next year, because we hope to play many more matches.”

Allegri revealed he will have “everyone available” for the trip to Verona and, while forward Federico Chiesa has been linked to a summer transfer to the Premier League, emphasised that the 26-year-old will be “very important to us for the rest of the season.”

Juventus have not won a trophy since lifting the Coppa Italia in 2021, but the boss was confident his  side are on the right trajectory, remaining one point clear of third-placed AC Milan and with an 11-point advantage over Atalanta in the fourth Champions League place.

They also remain alive in the Coppa Italia and will host Lazio in the first leg of their semi-final on April 2.

Allegri added: “It’s true that we haven’t won a trophy for some time, but we have an Italian Cup that we can try to win and we have a path that we have started. Furthermore, never having been out of the Champions League for 11 years in a row is important when rebuilding.

“The most important thing for us now is to get a result tomorrow and then we have to achieve our main objective, which is Champions League qualification. We have three beautiful months ahead to look forward to, with passion and the desire to achieve results.”

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    Barca opened a two-goal lead thanks to efforts from captain Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, but after Marc Casado was sent off in the 82nd minute, the hosts fought back with two late strikes.

    Alfon Gonzalez and Hugo Alvarez were on target as Celta denied Barca the chance to move eight points clear at the summit, and Flick said his side could have few complaints.

    "It wasn't only the last few minutes, we played a really bad game tonight," Flick told DAZN.

    "If you don't play at 100% you can't win. That's just the way it was the whole game. We have to be honest.

    "These things happen. It was a bad game. The players are not happy. Everyone can play better than what we did today. You have to stay focused. Sometimes it may seem that what we do is easy, but it is not."

     

    Flick would not point fingers at Casado for the red card or defender Jules Kounde for a bad mistake that led to Celta's first goal. Instead, he criticised his side's collective effort and performance levels.

    "The red card and Kounde's mistake are just a consequence of the bad game from the team. We made a lot of mistakes and lacked confidence on the ball throughout the match," Flick said.

    "We didn't play the football we are used to but we were lucky with some situations and in the end got a point but we have to react because it cannot be repeated.

    "I hope what we saw today doesn't have a negative impact in our Champions League game against Brest on Tuesday. We have to learn with the mistakes we move on."

    Barca top LaLiga with 34 points, five ahead of Atletico Madrid in second and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who have two games in hand. 

  • 'In eight years we never lived like this' – Guardiola shocked by City drop-off 'In eight years we never lived like this' – Guardiola shocked by City drop-off

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    "In eight years we never lived this. I knew sooner or later we would drop," Guardiola said after Saturday's game.

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    City's drop-off has coincided with star midfielder Rodri – who won the Ballon d'Or last month – being sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

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    That same year the Caribbean Premier Showcase team was invited to the islands of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago to bring the same opportunities for their high school soccer athletes. Shortly after these stagings the showcases were rebranded to Caribbean Premier Showcase (CPS) reflecting the organizations commitment to the Caribbean.

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    “There is also the academic check with takes place after, each school have their own admission processes and requirements which crates the second stage of follow up to make sure the student is eligible for recruitment,” he added.

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    Colleges confirmed so far include Iowa Western College CC, Wright State University NCAA DI, Eastern Kentucky University NCAA DI, Pearl River CC, Tougaloo College CC, NYU, UCON NCAA DI, Comberland University NAIA, Lincoln University NCAA DII, Concordia NCAA DII, Missouri Valley NAIA, New College Florida NAIA, ⁠Baker University NAIA, ⁠Johnson County CC, ⁠Lindenwood University NCAA DI, ⁠Missouri State University, ⁠Keiser University NAIA, ⁠Hampton University (Womens Soccer) NCAA DI, ⁠Maine Maritime University (Women Soccer) NCAA DIII, ⁠Ruben Gap (High School), ⁠Broward College CC, Hill College CC, ⁠Ranger College CC, ⁠Allen CC, ⁠Southeastern CC, ⁠NIU (NCAA DI), ⁠Fairleigh Dickinson University NCAA DI, ⁠Daytona Beach CC, ⁠North Eastern Community College CC, ⁠Daemen College CC, ⁠Central Community College CC.

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    The Caribbean Premier Showcase will be held on January 8, 2025 at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School; on January 9, 2025 at the Horace Burrell Facility in Kingston and on January 11, 2025 in association with the Inter Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), All DaCosta Cup versus All Manning Cup teams.

    Maragh said their team while focused on the Caribbean have been invited to help with other showcases; this past May in Athlone, Ireland and next year in Portugal, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda.

    The application process is now open and athletes can register online at carribeanpremiershowcase.com:

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