29 May 2015
On the day of the 30th anniversary of the Heysel disaster, Massimiliano Allegri began his press conference by remembering the 39 innocent victims who lost their lives on that fateful night in Brussels.
The manager will be joining the first-team squad and his backroom staff for this evening’s memorial mass at Turin’s Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio, and sought to add a personal tribute of his own when speaking to the media this lunchtime.
The 47-year-old said: “What happened 30 years ago, on that tragic night, was a black page in world sport and the history of Juventus. Today we commemorate the victims and our hearts go out to their relatives.”
After attending the service Allegri and his men will depart for Verona, where they play Hellas in their final Serie A game of the season tomorrow evening.
Previewing the encounter, he continued: “It will be an important game for us as it’s our final test before the Champions League final. We need to focus exclusively on Verona in order to round off our season on the best possible note.
“I still haven’t fully decided on my starting line-up but Tevez will play. He wasn’t involved last Saturday and will have the opportunity to draw level with and overtake Toni in the Serie A top scorers list. Both would be deserved winners for their achievements this season.”
When asked about next weekend’s Champions League final, Allegri spoke of the need for his team to approach the showdown with cool heads.
He concluded: “We must be calm in our build-up and go into the final with plenty of enthusiasm. Our team has had an extraordinary season. It’s just the last epilogue missing now, but we’ll have to wait another seven days.”
