Mino Taveri: "Juve, keep Vlahovic and try to find yourself"

At Milano AutoClassica, which opened its doors on Friday, Mino Taveri was also there to admire the four- and two-wheel jewels at the fair. Sportal.it exclusively interviewed the journalist on another subject: soccer and in particular the situation of Juventus.

Does this Juventus convince you?
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A team that changes coaches cannot work right away. It is hard, because the cycle of a few years ago is over and the reconstruction has not been ideal. There were also corporate problems. The group is not bad either, however, Tudor failed to give it a clear identity. Now Spalletti is trying. Basically, we need to find some of Juve again, the one that has been lost in recent years. This also weighs on market choices. This is not a title team, but neither is it a seventh-place team.

The main knot is the defense?
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The defense is not what it used to be. Some might say the offense of yesteryear is also missing, and midfield no longer has Pirlo, Vidal or the early Marchisio. The hardest blow, though, was Bremer’s injury between last year and this year. Not only because of his technical value, but because he gave identity to the whole department. Juve paid a lot for it. It is inevitable to resign ourselves to the end of the era of Bonucci, Chiellini, Barzagli, Pirlo, Vidal and Del Piero.

And Vlahovic?
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An expiring player taking 12 million in salary creates a problem. Clubs have to protect themselves. If you want to target Vlahovic, you target him. If you want to sell him, you sell him. This year this uncertainty has weighed: Tudor wanted to deploy him all the time, but the situation did not allow him to do so. Spalletti probably asked for clarity and said he wants to play with Vlahovic, because he is one of the few top players left. And I fully agree with the coach.

Spalletti also wants a director. Locatelli seems not to convince him completely.
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The point is another: where do you find a real director today? It is difficult to rebuild. Italian clubs struggle to get players of the highest level. Either you raise them at home or you make the surprise hit, like Napoli did with Kvara or like Juve did years ago with Zidane. But that is rare. That’s why you need to find the hidden talent, and then be good at keeping it. If it grows too much, they risk taking it away.

We risk less and less in the marketplace…
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To risk it, however, you have to really know the players. Spotting the hit is not easy. And if one is really strong, he often ends up playing elsewhere. This is the biggest limitation of today.

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