Giorgio Chiellini is convinced Massimiliano Allegri is the right man to reclaim the Scudetto for Juventus following the failed Andrea Pirlo experiment.
Celebrated former midfielder Pirlo failed to guide the Bianconeri to a 10th successive Serie A title last season and was sacked in May, before the halfway point of a two-year deal.
Allegri was named as Pirlo's successor on the same day for a second spell in charge, having previously guided Juve to five league titles, four Coppas Italia and two Champions League finals.
Juve amassed 142 wins in their 190 league games under Allegri – only Giovanni Trapattoni has overseen more matches – giving him a win percentage of 74.74, clear of second-placed Antonio Conte (72.81), who managed 83 triumphs from 114 matches.
During his five seasons with Juve, Allegri suffered just 20 league defeats, with his team scoring 380 goals and conceding 125 in return, averaging 2.39 points per game.
Allegri is responsible for three of the seven Juventus seasons during which they have netted 100 goals or more, meanwhile, alongside Pirlo, Conte and Jesse Carver.
Chiellini was a part of that successful period at the club and will likely play a key role in this latest new era for Juventus after penning a two-year contract extension on Monday.
Allegri's immediate aim is to win back the title from Inter, while also seeing off competition from the likes of Milan and Atalanta, and experienced centre-back Chiellini is ready to do his bit.
"I am happy to see him again," Chiellini told Juventus TV. "He gave me and everyone a great deal.
"I've kept in contact with the lads, and they've told me he's really fired up for the start of the season. I'm convinced he is the right man to take this team back to the top and create a new cycle.
"I am here to give my contribution, above all on the field, but off it too."
Chiellini has made 535 appearances for Juventus since joining in 2004 but has played just 21 times in Serie A since the start of 2019-20, partly due to injury.
He showed his quality at Euro 2020 as he helped Italy to their first continental crown in 53 years, starting five of the Azzurri's seven matches in the tournament.
The Livorno product produced six clearances, which was four more than any other Italy player, while also leading the way for interceptions (three) and aerial duels (seven).
After putting an end to potential retirement talk by putting pen to paper with Juve, Chiellini is now eyeing up a place in Italy's World Cup squad for Qatar 2022.
"The World Cup is just over a year away, so we'll see," he said. "I always want to enjoy every moment and to think of the present.
"If I am fortunate enough to be in good shape and able to participate in the World Cup, then I'll be happy. If I don't, then I'll be happy anyway.
"I've learned over the last few years that the only secret is to live in the moment and without thinking of faraway objectives.
"Now we need to get the engine going again after these few weeks when I needed time to recover, then we'll take it one week at a time, game by game, and see where we end up."
Crisis? Not for us – Erik ten Hag can see Man Utd progress after Chelsea win
Erik ten Hag dismissed any talk of Manchester United’s season being in crisis as he stressed “we are going in the right direction” following the 2-1 win over Chelsea.
United went into the contest at Old Trafford on the back of Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle, their 10th defeat in all competitions this term.
After Bruno Fernandes saw an early penalty saved by Robert Sanchez, a Scott McTominay brace, either side of Cole Palmer’s equaliser, secured United a victory that took them up to sixth in the Premier League table, three points behind fourth-placed defending champions Manchester City.
When asked at his post-match press conference what that said to him about a season that has felt like it has been in crisis, United boss Ten Hag said: “Crisis? Not for us.
“We keep calm, look at the process where we know where we have to build. We are going in the right direction.
“We don’t get distracted (by) criticism around us, but we are very critical on ourselves. We are not quickly satisfied and happy, we always want to do better. We have to improve a lot if we want to be successful – but this team is capable of being successful.”
There had been some reports ahead of the game that Ten Hag had lost the confidence of some of his players.
That led to United banning four media outlets for Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, with the club saying the action was taken for not “contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.”
Ten Hag added: “Last week we played three games (a 3-0 win at Everton, 3-3 draw at Galatasaray and the Newcastle match). Two times we played good, and then one bad performance.
“But you see this team is in a good direction. I know sometimes you have a bad performance, but then still, you can get a result. That is the next step we have to make.
“But you see how we play, the style, so dominating the opponent, in and out of possession. That is the way I want to play. I was very pleased, it was very enjoyable how the team played.”
We are not contenders – Aston Villa boss Unai Emery not getting carried away
Unai Emery insisted it was too soon to call his Aston Villa side Premier League title contenders after a 1-0 win over Manchester City lifted them above the defending champions and into third place.
Leon Bailey’s deflected strike in the 74th minute proved to be the winner as Villa equalled a club record with a 14th consecutive home victory.
Pep Guardiola said Villa could “definitely” be among those still in the fight come the end of the season but Emery insisted they still have much work to do to catch up with the likes of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
“We are not contenders,” he said.
“There are seven teams who are contenders more than us. Now we are on game 15. We are going to play game 16 on Saturday against Arsenal and we are going to focus on it. We are happy to be third but to keep it is going to be very, very difficult.
“While we are there we are going to try to keep it. If we keep progressing during the season, playing matches and winning like we are doing maybe we can be a contender but I think we need more time.
“We can believe but we are not contenders. There are another seven teams and that didn’t change. It is game 15. Maybe by game 30 or 32, but not yet.”
The win gave Emery his first over Guardiola as a rival coach at the 14th attempt, 15 years to the day since they first came up against one another.
“Always I like to prepare matches against the best teams, the best players and the best coaches,” Emery said.
“When you are playing in a high level the opponents are of a high level. But beating him for me is not something special. It is really a process I am doing as a coach.”
Defeat left City winless in their last four league matches, down in fourth place and six points off the pace of leaders Arsenal.
Guardiola said the credit belonged to Villa on the night but admitted he had much to think about to get their title defence back on track.
“The better team won,” Guardiola said.
“Aston Villa was better than us. We struggled. It was really difficult. They are well organised, fast and physical players, they are able to control many aspects. That is the reason why they are up there. They played good football and we could not do it.
“It is my duty, it is my job to find a way to come back. Many years now we are together we found a way, we are able to find a way to win games, to find a way to do it.
“Now that we are struggling we have to change the dynamic, win as soon as possible, Luton, Crystal Palace, to change our mind and continue to win there.”
The absence of the suspended Rodri was again telling. This was the fourth match of the season the Spain midfielder has missed through a ban – and City have lost all four.
While there are other key players out – Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku and of course Kevin De Bruyne – City’s reliance on their midfield holder is obvious.
“Without Rodri we could not win against Liverpool and Spurs, of course Rodri is so important but when Rodri is not there we have to find a way to do it,” Guardiola said.
“Today is simple, the better team won, you have to accept it. In football it happens. I said (to the players), ‘I know you tried, I know you want it, you have proven it to me many many times’.
“Now the results are not good, that’s why I have to see the games, reflect, and see how we try to do it.”
Roy Hodgson sends message to unhappy Crystal Palace fans after Bournemouth loss
Roy Hodgson pleaded for Crystal Palace supporters to stay onside after a 2-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth ended in a chorus of boos and an object being launched by a disgruntled fan in the boss’ direction.
Headers in each half from Marcos Senesi and Kieffer Moore extended the Cherries’ unbeaten Premier League run to four matches, while Palace remain in search of just their second home victory this season after a promising start to the campaign.
Palace, who dropped to 14th place with the loss, were hoping to pick up points ahead of a difficult run of fixtures, beginning with Liverpool on Saturday followed by a trip to Manchester City before meetings with Brighton and Chelsea.
Hodgson said he was unaware of being targeted by the projectile until after the fact, joking: “So you mean to say there was a fan out there who doesn’t like me? That will definitely stop me sleeping.”
The boyhood Palace fan also addressed earlier comments made to broadcaster Amazon Prime Video, in which he had suggested Eagles supporters might be “spoiled” by positive results in recent years.
He explained: “The fact is if I said that in the spur of the moment, to some extent there’s truth in it, yes.
“I mean we’ve punched above our weight for a number of years now. We’ve kept this team in the league for a number of years, but the fact is we are still in a situation where every game for us has got to be a fight. Every game for us has got to be street fighting.
“We need the fans of Crystal Palace as we know them, because without them it will become really, really hard for us, because the players need them, so I suppose my point, if I’m making a point at all, is don’t desert us because it’s a bad moment.
“We’re as sad as you are. We aren’t giving you what you want. If I say you’ve been spoiled, well, that’s pretty harsh. I mean, what is spoiled?
“But for me you have to remember that my relationship with the club is basically a fourth division club, a third division club, a Championship club. The first division of the football league when I was growing up was beyond my wildest dreams.
“Now it’s not. Now I think we are a bona-fide Premier League team. I think we’ve earned that right.”
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