24 October 2017
From a legendary past six seasons to the prospect of further success to come, Tuesday’s Shareholders’ Meeting at Allianz Stadium once again provided a comprehensive overview of a club in better health than ever before.
Having discussed the financial condition of the Old Lady earlier in the morning, the details of which can be found here, president Andrea Agnelli then moved on to address the media, gathered at the Stadium’s press conference suite in the afternoon to summarise the day’s activities.
Joined by vice-president Pavel Nedved and club CEOs Giuseppe Marotta and Aldo Mazzia, the key quotes from the directors’ meeting with the nation’s journalists are as follows:
ANDREA AGNELLI
DETERMINED AS EVER TO KEEP WINNING
“The question everyone asks is ‘When will Juventus start losing?’ That’s why it’s always more difficult to meet expectations.
“The challenges we face are always harder than before, but the players, the manager and everyone at the club are ready for them.
“This group of directors sat beside me have the same hunger and desire to keep winning on the pitch and to maintain economic and financial stability off it.
“The feeling is very good and we’ve set a realistic aim, which is that of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals each year and winning the league in Italy.
“Meanwhile, we will continue to grow our brand overseas. Recent sponsorships with Cygames and Allianz are very important from this point of view.”
ALLEGRI AND BUFFON
“Entering a group that had already won three consecutive league titles is no simple feat. The fact that we’ve since won three more Scudetti with the chance of extending our winning streak is testament to the work done by the manager, Nedved, Marotta and Paratici.
“Buffon? Gigi know that, whenever he wants, he can come into my office and he will be the one to decide his future.”
TRANSFER WINDOW REVIEW
“The length of transfer windows are the subject of much discussion. 20-25% of transfers take place between 20 and 30 August.
“It’s clear that managers would like to have a settled squad by the end of July and the English Premier League has already brought forward their transfer deadline day to before the first fixture of the season.
“However, the aim is to ensure that all of the top five leagues – Italy, Spain, England, France and Germany – are aligned on this matter. A united decision is required and the European Club Association (ECA) will support UEFA leaders in this decision.”
TV RIGHTS
“On the one hand, there has been an important increase – from 40 to 50% – in the percentage relating to the distribution of the proceeds in equal parts, but on the other hand we expect 20% to be split by taking account of user bases, rewarding companies who aim to play internationally.
“We can only be confident of the intentions we have shown to date. As far as national law is concerned, it will be important to understand how the Italian broadcasters will be positioned and what the scope for OTT operators will be. To continue the increase witnessed in recent years will be a challenge."
VAR
“We all wanted Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to be introduced. I have spoken to Gianni Infantino, Aleksander Ceferin and Zvonimir Boban about it and there are two issues: 1) giving Federations the opportunity to introduce it on a voluntary basis, when no experiments of this kind should be carried out in top leagues such as Serie A or the German Bundesliga. 2) The protocol regarding the application of VAR is not so clear.
“In addition, there must be homogenization between the various competitions, because at the moment in the league we play with three referees, the fourth official and VAR; while in Europe we play with five-man refereeing team.
“I very much appreciate the introduction of VAR, but it needs to be fine-tuned. Then again, VAR won't decide the destination of Scudetto titles, but the hard work and dedication of the players, staying focused and respecting the opponents, will.”
FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY
“Initially, Financial Fair Play had three objectives and all of them have been achieved: reducing the cumulative losses of the system, reducing the companies involved at market level and attracting international investors.
“Now we’re at a point where we’re trying to understand how the Financial Fair Play should be standardized. One step might be shifting the attention from the income statement to the balance sheet of the clubs, but this would entail the creation of an extremely complex control system by UEFA.
“One might even think that initially the main leagues have more restrictive rules. In any case, it is important to set up discussions with UEFA.”
UNITED AGAINST RACISM
“We are all united against racism. The stadium is a place where certain minorities can express improper opinions and there must be a constant commitment from everyone to eliminate this phenomenon from the game.
“Juventus is doing its part and two years ago, the club financed a study on the topic of racism conducted by UNESCO called “Colour what Colour?”.
GIUSEPPE MAROTTA
IN LINE WITH LAST SEASON
“It was a positive summer in terms of signings. We’ve one more point than we did at the same stage last season and we’ve also scored the most goals so far in the league, which is not something Juventus have always managed.
“Typically, it’s the team with the best or second-best defensive record that ends up winning the Scudetto and we know that’s an area we need to improve on, but we are nonetheless on course to achieve what we did last season, in which we ended up lifting the league title.”
STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE
“At present, we have 10 players out on loan in Serie A, another 15 abroad, and a total of 49 across all of the divisions, but it’s our job and, thanks to the work of Fabio Paratici, to keep monitoring emerging talents.
“We’ve introduced talented young players like Rodrigo Bentancur and Federico Bernardeschi into the side, but it’s crucial to get the average age of the team just right. The facts prove that usually you don’t win things only with youngsters.”
