Juventus manager Antonio Conte return to the by-line after serving a 4 month ban for an alleged betting scandal in a Siena game while in Tuscany. Though the manager was allowed to train the players on weekdays, it was assistant manager Angelo Alessio who replaced him during match days. The return of their manager would be a pleasant welcome for both the fans and his players who have not faced much trouble without him, standing at the top of the table 2 points clear of second place Napoli.
Juventus manager Conte to return to the dugout in the next matchConte changed the status of the club from “living in the past” to awakened giant, looking to crush whatever comes in his way. Because of his leadership, Juventus fans can now once again smile and feel the familiar sensation of pride and cockiness that characterized them since the 90′s.
Antonio Conte watched his side beat Ukrainian club Shakhtar last night as the Old lady cleared the group stage topping group E. Talking to the press after the game, assistant manager Alessio said that he was “very satisfying” and gave much praise to his team, and also to Conte.
“It’s very satisfying that we have achieved this mission, as winning here and finishing top was exceptional. We have to thank the squad, as despite Antonio’s absence from the touchline they were entirely at our disposal,” he said.
“We have been growing throughout the competition, culminating in the great performance against Chelsea and tonight’s victory.
“We knew all about Shakhtar and that they are based mainly on individual talents, though they caused us some problems on the counter-attack. Once you block their creative centres, they are not very organised, so we were able to neutralise them.
“It was difficult to do without Antonio, but the team knows what it has to do and how it must move, so they helped the situation immensely. We had to call a few players today who weren’t keeping their positions,” Alessio went on.
“I know what Antonio has been through over the last few months. I want to thank the staff who worked so hard to achieve this fundamental objective of qualification.”
Juve played 21 official games ‘without’ Conte, starting with the August 11 Italian Super Cup Final win against Napoli.
The Old Lady won 14 of those [66.67%], drew five [23.81%] and lost two [9.52%] – the defeats came against Inter and then Milan.
Stats courtesy: football-italia.net