Chapter 442: Coach Allegri's Considerations

Chapter 442: Coach Allegri’s Considerations

After the substitutions, the game continued. The younger players of Juventus who had just stepped onto the pitch didn’t take long to find their rhythm and sustain a substantial amount of attacking pressure against the opponents.

Over the next few minutes, they played genius counterattacking football to catch the team from Singapore off guard on several occasions. And finally, during the 88th minute, their hard work paid off, and Kingsley Coman, the French forward, completed a successful counter and scored Juventus’ 8th and last goal for the night.

The remaining few minutes flashed by quickly, and the game concluded when the score was still 8:0 in favor of Juventus. The Old Lady had totally owned and demolished the team from Singapore, thus showcasing the power of Italian football.

On the sidelines, Coach Allegri was super excited after the referee blew the whistle. He was all smiles as he was finally starting to get a handle on how to manage his new club. He believed that he would be able to shape a new team identity and instill a winning mentality into his players’ minds before the commencement of the Serie A season on 30th August.

Additionally, he was impressed by his new signing – Zachary Bemba. He was totally in love with the boy prodigy’s free-kick-taking techniques that bordered on the fringes of being almost inhuman in the final third.

Over the past few weeks, he had watched Zachary in training and during matches. He had gradually concluded that the young playmaker could always find the back of the net whenever there was an opportunity to take a set-piece near the opposing team’s box. His free kicks were like a force of nature that would sweep away all opposition with an indomitable impetus. Even the most experienced keepers in the world, like Gianluigi Buffon, wouldn’t be able to stop a set-piece taken by him.

Having considered all that, Coach Allegri figured that he would be able to build a Juventus team that was almost unstoppable by relying on Zachary’s free kicks. As long as he encouraged his other forwards to force fouls out of defenders during matches, everything would be straightforward. He would ask Zachary to try his best to convert the free kicks, and Juventus would be able to score more goals throughout the season.

And if it so happened that the opponents refused to foul due to their fear of Zachary’s free kicks, he would still be able to win the game by taking advantage of their laxity and indecisiveness in defense. There were just that many tactical options for him on the striking line due to Zachary’s presence on the team.

“I can’t wait for the season to begin,” Coach Allegri thought as he tried to contain his bubbly emotions. He took a few steps along the touchline and shook hands with the opposing coach before moving around the pitch and congratulating his players upon winning the game. Then a short while later, after waving to the enthusiastic Singaporean fans in the stands, he walked down the tunnel and returned to the dressing room.

He calmly waited a few minutes in a corner until all his players took their seats around the spacious room. Then, when they all quietened down and focused their eyes on him, he took center stage and started his post-match address in Italian.

“That was an incredible performance from you all,” he said, sweeping his gaze across the room. “You had all the qualities of versatility, aerial dominance, creativity, and an indomitable spirit while on the pitch. You played incredible team football from the first minute and worked hard to decimate the opponents. I’m really proud of you. And I can say with a hundred percent conviction that you all deserve to be in a Juventus shirt after tonight’s game. Please clap for yourselves.”

The players laughed and clapped their hands after hearing the coach’s praise. A few of them even let out a few whistles of jubilation before going silent again.

Coach Allegri smiled. “This game marks the end of our pre-season tour,” he said. “I commend you all for working hard to make our tour of Asia and Australia a success. We managed to win all our games, which is quite an impressive feat. But that doesn’t mean that we should grow complacent. We can’t relax as our pre-season work is far from done.”

“Tomorrow,” he continued, “We’ll return to Turin and start another intensive program to prepare for the new Serie A season. We’ll train intensively at the training center for about three days to improve our in-game tactics before facing off against AC Milan and Sassuolo in the TIM Trophy. That’s quite a busy schedule. But, I still expect you to continue working hard on your individual fitness as that will allow us to be ready as a team when 30th August arrives and the Serie A season commences. Clear?”

“Yes, coach,” the players replied.

“Great,” the coach said, smiling and glancing at his watch. “I don’t want to take up more of your time since it’s almost clocking nine. Let’s clean up quickly and return to the hotel as soon as possible. We should go to bed early and be ready to set off for Turin tomorrow morning at around ten. Is that clear to everyone?”

“Yes, coach,” the players replied.

“Then, let’s move quickly and prepare to head back to the hotel,” Coach Allegri said, clapping his hands. “You only have fifteen minutes to clean up and be at the bus. Don’t be late, or we’ll leave you behind.”

“But coach,” Pogba chimed in with a grin as the other players got up from their seats with the intent to head to the bathrooms. “I don’t think our friends, Zachary, Patrice, Morata, and Coman, understood what we discussed.”

“Don’t worry about them.” Coach Allegri smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “There’s Coach Trombetta to translate for them. Moreover, we shouldn’t babysit them all the time as that will discourage them from learning Italian faster.”

The rest of the players laughed at the coach’s words as they walked off toward the door leading to the washrooms. They were in a rush as they retreated, as the coach had only given them fifteen minutes to wash up and head to the bus.

—–