30 November 2023
Juventus will open the 14th matchday of Serie A with an away match in Monza, the first of three consecutive matches the Bianconeri will play on a Friday evening. Coach Massimiliano Allegri previewed the game in the usual pre-match press conference, underlining the importance of the encounter in this important phase of the season.
A COMPLICATED MATCH
"It won't be easy in Monza and we've known this since last year: they are the only team that took six points off of us last season and we didn't find a way to score against them. It will be a difficult match and for us and it is important to follow up the draw with Inter with a good result. If we underestimate the challenge we would make an inexplicable mistake of little maturity. We know what our limits are, the group is cohesive and we hold a good spot in the standings, but we haven't achieved anything yet and we know that in football you can't afford to give up. There are six games left until the end of the first round - four away games and two direct clashes at home - so we have to take one step at a time. We always have to look at fifth in the standings and have to watch our backs to maintain the gap from the teams behind us. However, this cannot be done with the result of a single match: the championship is a marathon, not a speed race. Being two points behind Inter is a source of pride, but again, we haven't achieved anything yet."
TEAM NEWS
"Danilo and Alex Sandro are available, while we will evaluate Manuel Locatelli's physical condition today. In his case it's a problem of pain: against Inter he came on and managed to lend a hand to the team, we'll see how he responds in training today. If he is not available, I will make my assessments on Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, otherwise we will find another solution.
"Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic put out a good performance up front against Inter, but the others are also doing well: Moise Kean and Arek Milik will have their moment, I also said this to the players and there will be situations in which someone will play less. For everyone's good we must aim for fourth place. In this regard, Mattia Perin comes to mind: a player who has reached a very high level and rarely plays on the pitch, but despite everything he is always supportive of the group, always proactive. Everyone knows that we have a goal: to return to playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays."
JUVENTUS DNA
"I have a contract with Juventus until 2025, we are working well together on what the future of Juventus will be in the coming years. With the new managers and with the owners with whom I have had relations for ten years there is good harmony, with the entire youth sector that I care a lot about, a future that is important for the club. Because one thing I learned when I arrived in 2014 is that people pass through Juventus, but the DNA remains: at Juventus in fact you have to keep quiet, keep a low profile and work. The rest counts for nothing. I get along very well with this new management and we are working to ensure that Juventus has an important future not only in the immediate future, but also in the coming seasons."
OUR OPPONENTS
"Tomorrow we face a team with good players who have put many teams in difficulty, the numbers say so. Monza, as often happens in football, demonstrates that the difference is mainly made by the defensive phase: in the last ten games they have not conceded a goal three times and in the other seven they have only conceded one. They all defend together, united, so it will be a difficult match. Coach Raffaele Palladino is doing very well and I am sure that in his growth and evolution he can only improve, not only on the pitch but also off it: he can have an excellent career. Also for this reason on the pitch we will have to be the Juventus that we were in the first 13 matchdays, because we cannot afford to underestimate anyone: we have great respect for everyone and our task is to perform as a team as we have done so far, regardless of the match against Inter."
