23 March 2016
When the Bianconeri only had 12 points to show for their first ten outings of this season, many might have imagined that the club would reconcile itself to a season without winning a Serie A title they had celebrated in the previous four campaigns.
A phenomenal 19 victories in their subsequent 20 fixtures has, of course, completed altered their position in the standings, as they have shot up to the Serie A zenith, but, according to Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta, there was never any doubt that the club was capable of triggering such a turnaround in events and that the priority now lay in staying ahead of the chasing pack.
“The Scudetto has been our aim since the start of the season. The way we started the campaign obviously did not help matters, but we all knew that we had it in us to overcome our early setbacks and claw our way back into the title race.
“Now that we’re on top of the pile, we want to make sure that we stay there until the very end. While that won’t be easy, we have a very strong squad and a club that fully supports its manager.”
This reciprocal respect on show between Juventus’ hierarchy and Massimiliano Allegri is, unsurprisingly, one of the main factors identified by Marotta as crucial to the club’s continued growth, as well as the quality of the playing staff at Allegri’s disposal.
“What makes our relationship work so well is that we’re both equally satisfied with what’s already been achieved and we’re also in agreement with regards to our future objectives, which for this season are winning the league and Coppa Italia.
“We’ve a competitive squad and we’re constantly in talks with Allegri as to how to take it to an even higher level. We’re a great club with players who are happy to be here and who have really bought into what we stand for and they’re keen to make this relationship continue to flourish.”
Finally, the 58-year-old touched upon the Bianconeri’s recent exit from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, a night in which the most miniscule details were required to define the destinies of the two sides.
He concluded: “The big difference between the Champions League and Serie A is that the former is a cup competition meaning that any given moment can potentially cost you dearly, as happened in Munich. Meanwhile, over the course of a league season, a team’s true value always comes out on top, regardless of any human error on behalf of the referees. We’re in first place right now because we deserve to be there.”
