TMW exclusive
“De Rossi is predestined. He has ability, great desire and passion. And above all he is consistent, and in football consistency pays. He has his own ideas, he is trying to take on his identity with a great spirit of sacrifice. He has already done important things immediately, but in the future he will be able to have his own trademark, he is building it. The Friedkins made a far-sighted choice, De Rossi will take great satisfaction.” A Rome analyzed thus by Gianluca Petrachiformer sporting director of the Giallorossi and Torino, exclusively to Tuttomercatoweb.com.
Almost ten years as a Granata sporting director, with many players on display. Yet for many, Ventura first and foremost, this is the strongest Toro of the Cairo era.
“I honestly don’t know if Torino is the strongest in recent years… but certainly not everyone has Sanabria and Zapata in front of them, Vlasic beats the man and makes the difference. Ricci is an excellent player, I don’t see the others ready to make the big leap yet. There are interesting young players but from whom confirmation is expected, like Ilic, who still has to give his best. Bellanova has found his dimension and has grown a lot, he thinks more. Behind the absence of Schuurs weighed heavily. I believe that Juric, knowing the environment, has done a lot. He tried to build something, then not everything fits together. But if we think about Torino’s last championships before Juric, honestly, it must also be said that Juric never risked being embroiled in relegation. He has always sailed to the left in the standings, so Toro had taken a certain route. Clearly the investments were made by Cairo, but it remains to be seen whether they paid off.”
So the judgment on Juric’s work, from his point of view, is positive.
“He definitely could do a lot more, there’s no shadow of a doubt. Because I repeat, someone has not yet expressed her potential. Then there were some injuries, and some who performed less well. But ultimately, the group determines. Maybe that step was missing to fit into an important context, to believe in it totally. Honestly, for example, Turin and Bologna compete as a team. Yet Bologna did more important things, but if we analyze player by player the Bologna group is like that of Toro, perhaps they believed in it more mentally. Because no one asked for anything at Bologna, they were more clear-headed. Turin, on the other hand, is a place where the pressure is felt, and they have been waiting for years to return to Europe. In my opinion, this mental situation had an impact.”
One of the benches that should change next year is that of Milan. After so many names, who would see better?
“We need to understand the programs, get to the bottom of it. What does Milan want to do? Do they want to win? So they need a winner, someone who has already won. Do they want to enhance the young people? Create a sustainable group? Then a different profile can also work, one that you combine the growth of young people with important championships. They are two different things. We need to understand what the club wants.”
What season was the Rossoneri’s season?
“Pioli at European level did less than what was expected. But on the strength of the championship, Inter deserved the scudetto. If they didn’t win it two years ago, just when Milan did, it’s because they had demerits. In the last three years Inter have always been the strongest in terms of squad, in the 22-23 players. They are all starters, it is a team that can win any type of competition.”
What about Juventus’ season instead?
“They’ve been saying for three years that Allegri has to leave, and in the end he’s respecting his contract. I think he’ll stay this year too, because he has an important and onerous contract. To leave, one either gives up money or they give him a incentive for exodus. I don’t know what plans Juve has, but there is a coach who earns more than seven million net a year unless Allegri has another international team ready to give him that. salary, I can hardly imagine Juve sending him away, paying another coach who doesn’t earn much in the end, because in the end they don’t hire just anyone. So I don’t think Allegri will go away.”
Some time ago you said that you would gladly leave Naples again. But you don’t have a great moment in the shadow of Vesuvius…
“The first to admit that there was confusion was De Laurentiis, who by his own admission said that something didn’t go well and took responsibility. Now he is trying to fix things, I don’t know what criteria he will use to carry out certain types of interventions. But I hope for the Napoli fans that the light can shine again. Because after so many years of suffering they had deservedly won a championship, spending a season like this in anonymity hurts. Because we have become accustomed to certain types of discourse, one may not even compete for the Scudetto, but Napoli should get there in qualifying for the Champions League, in terms of personnel and caliber. I don’t know what criteria they will act with, but the thing that should not be repeated is what was done this year.”
Director, there have been many rumors about your future. We talked about Como, Sampdoria… what is his fate? Have there been contacts?
“Yes, there were talks. But sometimes certain dynamics don’t fit together. I still have a lot of passion and fire inside, but we need to embrace certain ideas. Today the role of the sporting director is very particular, for me he must influence the technical area and take on responsibilities. But in the end he must have decision-making power, if this isn’t there, it becomes a problem. In some companies I have not found this type of predisposition and I have not agreed, but for work and objective reasons, not economic ones”.