24 February 2020
It was a long chat, the one that saw Juventus President Andrea Agnelli as a protagonist on Radio24, for an episode of "Tutti Convocato" entirely dedicated to him.
It was an interview that lasted for almost an hour, during which Andrea Agnelli took stock of Juventus’ season, the coach Maurizio Sarri, the league, before also touching on the future of Juventus and on his vision of the world of football.
JUVE-INTER: WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
“Right now, the priority for the country is the protection of public’s health: this is what must prevail and which we will always support. Closed doors? The debate can be open: it is difficult to interrupt the calendar, since it is very clogged, due to decisions made previously and catching up a game becomes complicated. Furthermore, organising a match like Juventus-Inter in a place other than the Allianz Stadium is extremely complicated. Clearly, if you play behind closed doors, the show is affected, as well as product that is sold abroad. I repeat, however: what matters most is public health. It being understood that the ordinance, at least in Piedmont, is valid until Saturday; therefore, in the current state of affairs, the game would take place with the public.”
JUVE'S SEASON SO FAR
“This is the moment when our season comes alive. Our vote, so far? Excellent: apart from a small blip in the Super Cup we are first in the league, in the running for the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. However, it is my habit to evaluate an entire season: the Scudetti are won in May and it is foolish to think of bringing them home in February. We are first, and that's what counts. "
THIS SEASON’S COACHING CHANGE: “WE ARE HAPPY WITH SARRI”
"Despite the friendship and rapport with Allegri, which has remained intact, the technical evaluations led to a change: it happened collegially, as always at Juventus, and the name was that of Sarri; I find the criticism of him out of place.”
“The sponsors? They are not aesthetes, but they are from Juventus, that is, they marry the philosophy that winning is not important, but the only thing that matters. They are interested in the exposure, and this goes through the result. In our opinion, the application of a technical model such as that of Sarri, in this particular phase, was the one that could best guarantee the results. With Sarri, we are very happy at the moment and we have no intention of changing the situation: the setting of the work with him is two to three years, because the strength of an idea lies in its continuation over time.
“The dogma of victory is not "cheerful", but it is Juventus: we have won eight straight Scudetti, we are in the running for the ninth and we would like to win the tenth, but the goodness of ideas is not certified only with statistics.”
THE CHALLENGE WITH CONTE AND INZAGHI, AND A WORD ON THE LEAGUE
"What effect do I see Conte having at Inter? He is a Juventus legend, Conte is Juventus, and the relationship is as cordial and relaxed as it should be. We are in a professional context and he has accepted an ambitious challenge: that of bringing Inter back to victory. Personally, the idea of living a head-to-head with him and Steve (Zhang), who I respect very much, is something that fascinates me.
“What should be feared by Lazio, however, is lightheartedness. They have no obligation to win and this can help but be careful: this light-heartedness becomes a disadvantage if, in the moment in which they have two or three negative results, they still feel satisfied with a probable placement in the Champions League. Just to understand, Inter does not have this lightheartedness. I have known Inzaghi for 30 years, he has done a great job with Lazio: you have to see how he will react with the obligation to win.
“We missed Giorgio Chiellini because he is a true leader. But we have a big squad that has been able to go on even in his absence. The VAR? I like it, I was one of the supporters of its use also in the Champions League, because it is useful. We have to reduce the margin of error as much as possible, of what is ultimately a service.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
"The more the teams advance, the better it is for the ranking. As far as we are concerned, saying that the Champions League is an objective does not mean that "you have to" win it. The fact that the Trophy is not a dream, but an objective certifies a real change in our status.
"Juventus' model has always been that our ambition is victory as well as to increase our sporting dimension. Participating in certain competitions, such as the Champions League brings the possibility of being very visible to audiences, while being able to monetise in a different way, while still impacting our turnover.
"How do we approach the Round of 16? With great respect but also with an awareness of our means: the games that arrive now are the ones that the great players want to play in."
CR7 EFFECT
"Ronaldo was the first player for whom we made a joint purpose on linking the sports area and the revenue area. Juve is one step away from being the fourth club in the world on digital platforms, and this has had a great impact on us in terms of revenues and sponsors. In this case, we've evaluated that these various business areas coincide.
"If all the main Italian companies had a champion like Ronaldo or Messi, the positive effects would be for everyone. However; our problem is the attractiveness of the Serie A outside of Italy."
JUVENTUS' GROWTH
"The path of the Club off the pitch today relates to our recent history. The difference between us and the European Top Clubs is the same as it was 10 years ago: the growth has been homogeneous for those of us who have had international ambition. However, we discount the issue of revenue from the domestic league: in recent years this growth has been zero, even though we have invested around 450 million between Allianz Stadium and JVillage, as well as ion the Vinovo facilities. What really makes the difference is meritocracy: in Italy, there is no reward mechanism.
"Stadium capacity? It is correct: our interest is to have a system that is always full, and the average saturation in these years has been 90/95%. It was not 100% because only from this year, with less restrictive measures related to the away fan sector, can we let our fans enter the second ring whenever possible.”
TRANSFER MARKET
“My goal is to give those who work on the transfer market what I call the "ability to focus" in order to operate. Then, the decisions are of those who deal with them; I obviously participate in them, but it is right to say that the responsibility, in this sense, belongs to Paratici. Is he under pressure? No: he is a great manager/director, he has shown it in the past and continues to prove it. The only difference is that he wasn’t under the spotlight before, while now he is. It is important to evaluate the journey of a manager/director like Fabio, and to remember that we think in terms of three-year cycles: he started in this role in 2018 and this cycle will end in 2021.
“The players who are linked with Juventus? It’s a good sign, it means we’re a coveted club. We don’t look at the players who aren’t here, but at the ones who are, we can’t buy all of them; the team is built with a specific logic in mind, also respecting the will of the players. To have a strong core of Italian players is important, as it is for any team, because it strengthens identity. In any case, our ambition is to continue to grow.”
AGNELLI AND ECA: FOOTBALL FROM HERE & THE NEXT 10 YEARS
“I don’t agree with the fact that Italy is a limit for Clubs like Juve and Inter. If on the one hand we evaluate the immobility of the last years in Serie A compared/with respect to foreign leagues, we must also consider that, thinking in terms of future growth, the real value if we were to switch gears is precisely in Italy, given that other leagues are now saturating. Our nation, with a collective strategy, has enormous value which can be released.
“The discussion with regards to the European football landscape is more delicate: the model presented last year was told only from the tip of the pyramid, and not the base. We are all trying to understand together what football we want for the future, not for a single club, but for the entire movement. We must ensure that in 10-15 years football remains attractive, and what captivates are the great challenges.
And finally, going back to the… Bianconeri: “For the Agnelli Family, Juve is pride and also a ritual. When we won the fifth title, my aunt Maria Sole received the players of the “Quinquennium”, telling them that she had been waiting a long time for them: the hope is that we too can say that, in many years.
“As for the near future, the plan we have presented to our investors is the way forward. We knew this would have been a year of transformation, but we are aware that this is the right way to keep Juventus competitive, on and off the pitch, in Italy and abroad.
“I am convinced that Giorgio Ricci, Marco Re, Fabio Paratici, and Maurizio Sarri are the right people to do it.”
