Allegri contemplated resigning after Cardiff loss

Juventus start a new season tomorrow with a SuperCoppa final against Lazio, and manager Massimiliano Allegri spoke to the media before the game.

He started with his decision to come back for another season -

“I am a Coach who tries to do as little damage as possible with the squad at my disposal. I reflected to see if I still wanted to challenge myself and go forward. I thought this squad could start another important season.”

He went on to talk about the crushing Champions League Final loss last season -

“Juventus have won six Serie A titles in a row, reached the Champions League Final twice in three years, won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup. There is bitterness at losing the Final, but we must focus on the satisfaction of reaching the Final twice in three years, as Juve hadn’t been there in quite some time.

“A new season begins, we’re all on a level playing field. After the defeat in the Champions League Final in Cardiff, we must use that anger to start the new campaign. We must be aware of our strengths and aware that it takes hard work day by day.

“The important thing is to be challenging for the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League in March.”

Opponents Lazio looked very good in the warmup to the regular season -

“Lazio had a good pre-season, they scored many goals and didn’t concede. Juventus have always had great respect for their opponents and that will be the case tomorrow.”

Juventus looked disjointed for most of the preseason, and lost to Tottenham at Wembley last weekend -

“At a certain point of that game, I really hoped we wouldn’t score a goal, because I thought it was the ideal situation to get a good kicking ahead of the Super Cup.

“You need that to shake you up sometimes. This is going to be a tough test and we need the real Juventus. There’s a big question mark over this game.

“Playing for a trophy in August means the players aren’t yet in good shape, so the mind becomes even more important.”