16 April 2019
"It was a good game, Ajax deserved to qualify and you saw that on the pitch.” The President, Andrea Agnelli recognises the merits of tonight’s opponents, whilst also remembering that with merited pride, that despite the disappointment of elimination, Juventus, besides being a leader of Italian football, is now a consolidated presence on the European scene: “For our part, we are aware of having been in the Champions League quarter-finals for five or six years and are proud to continue this path. We have to make an overall assessment and remember that on Saturday we have the chance to win our eighth-consecutive Scudetto, to which we have already won a Super Cup. We played a great return match against Atletico, and just a few years ago Juventus were 43rd in the European rankings, whilst today we are fifth and this is the sign of the progress that continues. A few years ago, the Champions League was a dream, this summer it was a goal and it will be next year too - this means having given the team solidity. The eleven on the field today was relatively young and can grow and will have to grow, with Allegri on the bench. Juventus continues to grow on and off the field, we renewed the company's leadership in October and there is great confidence in the work of Marco Re, Giorgio Ricci and Fabio Paratici and there is the awareness of having a great coach with us, with whom we will meet in June to take forward the technical project.”
Returning to the double header against Ajax, Agnelli underlines the hard work of the Dutch club and the excellent season that Erik ten Hag's team are having so far: “Ajax started a cycle a few years ago that has grown over time and it is not just a single game that confirms it. The Champions League is a competition in which half an hour, played well or not, determines who goes through. This year Ajax have put Real, Bayern and Juventus, the first, third and fifth-place teams in the European rankings in a lot of difficulty, and they are playing splendid football. So, forgetting who would be the favourites, today they are a serious candidate to win the competition. This group of extraordinary players can now truly revive the glories of a great past, because, let's not forget, wearing the Ajax shirt means honouring a great football tradition. Of course, there is disappointment, but we must have the sporting culture to complement our opponents and recognise the great merits of my ECA colleague, Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars who built this team, growing step by step after the final of the Europa League two years ago.”
