Allegri wants Juventus to be legends like Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

With the international break drawing to a close, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has been talking to the media. First and foremost, he wants the fans to savor the season that is quickly approaching its midway point.

"This is a year for us in which enthusiasm must remain until the end. When I step on the pitch I must have the number six in my head, not the formation played, but the six consecutive Scudetti we can win.

"The fans at the stadium must have a bursting desire to celebrate a title that would be legendary.

"They must live every moment, every match. It is not a trivial thing to win six titles in a row.

"It was not trivial to win 25 out of 26 games last year. In the summer, I sat down & thought about it, you don't realise it till later on.

"It is also not trivial to win 10 games out of 12, like we have done so far this season.

"It’s these things that football fans should rejoice in from time to time, without taking anything for granted.

"Because all together, we can become legends, in the same way Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls were."

The Bianconeri are top of the league table, but haven’t looked good for long periods so far. Do they need to play like Barcelona?

"Juventus are Juventus, Barcelona are Barcelona and Bayern Munich are Bayern Munich.

"We have to work on our strengths which are tactics and a little bit of craftiness because, without taking anything away from others, we Italians are more aware."

As he usually does, he also took the time to talk about some players that he felt have received undue criticism.

"Hernanes is criticised even in the face of good games. Players are killed because they are expected to do things that are outside of their abilities.

"How can you ask [Patrice] Evra to make the runs of Alex Sandro up and down the flanks? Patrice has other qualities."

The topic of Gonzalo Higuain is never far away when Allegri is being interviewed, and here the manager talks about how the transfer came about.

“At the end of the championship last year we went to the club and we said: 'The player we need this year in order to strengthen the team is Higuain'.”

“Gonzalo is a player that guarantees goals, he’s a solid attacker. The club were really good. Juve are fantastic at forward planning."

Will Juve play in the same 4-3-3 again this coming weekend?

"Right now we're a team that does not have a fixed formation. There just isn’t one.

"We are unpredictable and this is an advantage: being less ordered gives us less points of reference.”

He ended with a surprise choice when asked who would be Juventus’ most decisive player in 2017.

"It will be Pjaca."