Massimiliano Allegri interview: Juventus coach confident in his methods, despite admitting of his latest formation - 'I don't know what to call it'

Last season's Champions League finalist tells The Independent why Pep Guardiola is the toughest coach he's faced, about his rise through the ranks of coaching and his reaction to praise from Marcello Lippi

Massimiliano Allegri (GETTY IMAGES)

Massimiliano Allegri is confident.

Seated at a large table inside the Juventus training centre, the coach picks at his lunch while flicking through that morning’s newspapers. With his team having recorded a second goalless draw the previous evening, the pages he glances over are filled with criticism of both him and his players, who have endured a difficult start to the 2015/16 campaign.

Italian football’s grand Old Lady has claimed just six points from her opening five games and looked disjointed at both ends of the field, a side clearly seeking an identity following the departure of Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez. Yet Allegri remains outwardly calm, radiating the same relaxed demeanour that undoubtedly played a major role in the success enjoyed by the Bianconeri last term that was capped with an appearance in the Champions League final.

The combination of that rational approach and his career to date ensure that the Livorno native retains a balanced outlook on his current situation. Besieged by injury problems, Mr Allegri searched for a solution, changing his tactical approach until he found one that suited a side that had undergone a complete overhaul this past summer.

“We worked with a number of systems and styles of play,” he told The Independent in an exclusive interview, adding his belief that “in order to take the team forward we knew it was time to change.” With Chelsea loanee Juan Cuadrado, World Cup winning midfielder Sami Khedira and promising Argentinian youngster Paulo Dybala now fully integrated, Juventus have returned to form thanks to a fluid setup that is difficult to label using traditional notations.

“I don’t know what to call it,” Allegri says when asked about the formation which alters between a three or four-man defence depending on who has possession, “but 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 are just numbers on a page, what matters is the way they are applied.” It perhaps is no surprise he cites Pep Guardiola as the toughest coach he has ever faced “because just when you think you have the advantage, he changes everything in the middle of the game and countering that is so difficult.”

Those constant shifts require his team to show the same tactical awareness Allegri did during his own playing days which – aside from a brief stint at Napoli – was spent with various small clubs around the peninsula. “I had an average career, but I was quite skilful” he says as he reflects on a resume which includes a stint at Pescara, partnering current Brazil boss Dunga in midfield and earning moderate success.

Scoring twice for the minnows in a stunning 5-1 win over Juventus – a match he believes was “certainly my most memorable” – he also lists a 5-4 defeat to Fabio Capello’s incredible Milan side back in 1992 as a career highlight. “Games like those are much more enjoyable for a player than a coach!” he jokes now, and after retiring in 2003 he would immediately look to test himself on the opposite side of that equation.

Massimiliano Allegri pictured at the 2015 Champions League final (GETTY IMAGES)

Allegri spent time in the lower leagues before guiding Sassuolo into Serie B for the first time in the club’s history, which prompted Cagliari to hand him his first top flight role. Despite their limited resources, he oversaw two excellent campaigns with the Rossoblu and was named Coach of the Year in 2009.

“That time in the provinces is invaluable,” Allegri tells The Independent, “it gives you the fundamental experience needed to be a successful coach, because while everyone dreams of a big club you first need to learn how to do the job.” Armed with that knowledge, he would be given his chance by Milan the following year, identified by the San Siro giants as the long-term successor to Carlo Ancelotti.

They would not regret that decision, the new boss bringing the best from a squad boasting Zlatan Ibrahimović and Thiago Silva to deliver their first league title in seven years. The Rossoneri would then finish as close runners-up to an undefeated Juventus in 2011/12, adding a third-place finish in the following campaign. But that downward spiral would continue, and Allegri was sacked in January 2014.

Massimiliano Allegri with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during their time together at Milan (GETTY IMAGES)

However, he does not believe the challenges he faced are the same as those Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi and Siniša Mihajlović have since encountered. “When I was there we finished second, third and continually qualified for the Champions League, but now their problems are completely different.”

There could also have been no starker contrast than the one between his Milan exit and being appointed by Juventus just five months later, taking over in pre-season after Antonio Conte – who delivered three consecutive league titles – hastily resigned. While few outside the club believed they could sustain that level of success, Allegri would guide them to the Scudetto once again, while adding the Coppa Italia and a place in the Champions League Final.

“I arrived convinced that, with the group of players here, we could have a great season and we went on to do just that,” he says looking back on a campaign that saw him join Carlo Parola and Marcello Lippi as the only Juve coaches to clinch a domestic double, and the latter man has spoken publicly of his admiration for Allegri.

“I definitely see myself in him,” the 2006 World Cup-winner told Radio RAI earlier this year. “We share a solid approach, we both paid our dues. He soaked up everything he could on a tactical level and has instilled it into his team."

“It’s a very significant compliment from a coach who did some extraordinary things,” Allegri says of Lippi’s comments, and Juve’s campaign also saw him earn a place on the shortlist for the Fifa World Coach of the Year award. However, the 48-year-old is unsurprisingly far more concerned with team success than individual awards.

“Of course it’s important to recognise the coach,” he says, “but the players deserve credit because without them delivering on the pitch we would not have accomplished anything.” Now they must do it all again and with the team looking to shake off that bad start, Allegri’s choices have come under scrutiny, yet he sees the way he rests and rotates players as the reason he sits on the bench.

“That’s what I’m here for, that’s why I started doing this job and that’s what coaches are paid to do,” he says as they aim to climb back into Serie A title contention and secure passage to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

Massimiliano Allegri is confident.