10 June 2020
Back on the field. Three months later.
How has Juventus been experiencing these past few weeks during this unique period? Mister Sarri tells it how it is.
ARE WE READY?
“None of the staff at this moment knows where the preparation is because we come off an abnormal interruption, longer than normal. Usually the players remain active even on vacation, while this time, for sixty days, apart from small activities carried out at home, they have stopped. This is a unique situation, which does not give us any certainty, also because we have obviously not played friendlies. I am satisfied with what I have seen during these days in training, but the response of the game is different.”
HOW WE WORK
"The risk of injury is very high, since there has been muscle decline for everyone. We have opted for a system of increasing loads, but lower than what we usually do in the summer. The next unknown will be next season, given that we could not make big preparatory calls."
AN OPEN CHALLENGE
“We are lucky to be playing towards three objectives, which will be played separately: it can be advantageous in order to help us concentrate better. The Italian Cup? AC Milan has always created problems for us this year, the result of the first leg does not guarantee us anything, so it will be a very open game.”
THIS UNIQUE PERIOD
“Each player has experienced this period in a different way, however they have not been days of rest but rather of stress, given what has happened. Now the point will be to understand what motivations everyone has within themselves.”
CLOSED DOORS
“Playing behind closed doors is not a wonderful feeling, but the strength of a team lies in knowing how to get away from environmental conditions. Even at the rhythmic level something could change, the absence of the public can change things.”
CRISTIANO & PAULO
“Physically, Ronaldo is fine, he logically lacks the sensations of the pitch, but his responses in training are good, and it's a nice thing, because our goals for the next three months pass by with him. Dybala? He’s a phenomenal player. The point is to make him, and Cristiano coexist on the field, because it is not easy to make them play together. But when two players have such qualities, and they can make a difference at any moment, the rest of the team has to adapt. It's nice to have this type of difficulty.”
A LOOK AT THE MIDFIELD
“I found Pjanic much better than I left him. He must be convinced that he is a great player, that he can make a mistake in a game or two, but then he raises his head and does not lose confidence and conviction. He has made a good journey and in these training sessions I have seen him in form. Khedira is a footballer of extraordinary reliability and intelligence, both as a human and in football. Obviously, he cannot be at the top, although he has grown a lot, but a coach cannot do without him. The five substitutions, for me, is the a right decision at the moment – and it will help us to grow.”
THE SCUDETTO?
“In this situation we cannot speak of favourites for the Scudetto, losing points is a risk for everyone. As for plan B or plan C: the important thing is to end the season, and if the health situation permits, we will have to review the protocols, avoiding quarantines, to get to the end of the championship.”
AND AGAINST LYON...
“Is it better to play a game after five months of inactivity or at the end of a long close cycle? From experience, I say that playing after a long period of inactivity does not have any immediate consequences.”
