Wolfsburg manager on failed Julian Draxler Juventus transfer: 'Perhaps it was a step too far'

VfL Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking sat down with Gazetta World recently to talk about all things Wolfsburg, Inter Milan and more. Including a couple nuggets about the failed Juventus grab of starlet Julian Draxler.

"I was convinced he was going to join Juventus, all of the newspapers were reporting it. The deal to take him to Italy was dragging out though and so I asked Klaus Allofs to try to arrange a transfer. In the the third round of the Bundesliga, Schalke came to play against us and we took the opportunity to meet Draxler.

"I don’t know why the move to Juventus didn’t materialize but perhaps it was a step too far. The best step was an intermediate club like Wolfsburg, where he can help the club’s reputation grow whilst he develops and matures as a man. We convinced him that Wolfsburg was the best place to be at this stage in his career. At Juve, it is more complicated."

Emphasis is mine. It sounds like that Juve possibly fell asleep at the wheel for a hot minute allowing Wolfsburg to come in and swoop him up? Or was it a case of, Draxler not wanting to make such a big leap?

Then he was asked the obligitory "Coach in Italy" question.

"My contract runs until 2018 and I want to ensure Wolfsburg are regularly finishing in the top three in the Bundesliga by that time. An experience abroad may be something of interest sooner or later."

"In Germany we have taken advantage of the new ideas of foreign coaches such as Giovanni Trapattoni, Pep Guardiola and now Carlo Ancelotti. I think Serie A could do the same with foreign coaches. The Italian game lacks the pace of other leagues, which is why it struggles in European competition. There is no shortage of talent however."

Emphasis again is mine because, ouch.