Juventus vs Torino - Allegri still hungry for success at Juventus

Posted Thursday, May 02, 2019 by PA

Massimiliano Allegri says he retains the hunger to manage Juventus after delivering an eighth successive Serie A title for the club.

Juventus are an astonishing 18 points clear of second-placed Napoli with four games of the season remaining.

“At the end of the season I will have to sit down with the president (Andrea Agnelli) so that we can plan for the future with a clear picture,” Allegri said ahead of the Derby della Mole with city rivals Torino.

“Every year Juve must be competitive and challenge for everything. I have the right motivation to continue here.”

Juventus have taken four points from games against Fiorentina and Inter since their shock Champions League exit to Ajax last month.

And on Friday they could dent sixth-placed Torino’s impressive charge for a Champions League place.

Torino have lost only once in 14 games to move within three points of Atalanta in fourth.

“This will be a great derby match against Torino, who will be looking to win and get into the Champions League places,” Allegri said.

“Torino are a solid and physical side, so we will have to be technically sound and give it our all.

“We must play as well as we did in the second half at the San Siro.

“The team is training well, so I’m convinced that we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”

Allegri has been reticent about summer arrival Aaron Ramsey since the signing of the Wales midfielder was announced in January.

But Ramsey will not pay for Arsenal again after suffering a hamstring injury and Allegri, when asked about the 28-year-old, said: “Aaron is a fantastic signing.

“He is a complete player with a lot of energy and great timing.”

Sami Khedira (knee), Mario Mandzukic (knee), Douglas Costa (calf), Daniele Rugani (thigh), Rodrigo Bentancur (thigh) and Alex Sandro (thigh) are all on a lengthy Juventus injury list.

But defender Martin Caceres is available again after a month out and Andrea Barzagli, who was on the bench at Inter, is now “feeling better” according to Allegri.

Torino have not won at Juventus for 24 years, but boss Walter Mazzarri was in bullish mood after the 2-0 victory over AC Milan last weekend.

Mazzarri told Sky: “This game has made us understand that we’ve grown a lot.

“Until a few months ago, whenever we played against Milan, Inter or other teams we always thought we were weaker than them. Now we play evenly with them.

“Now we have a big game ahead, the derby is always an important match for us.

“We will give everything we have on the field.”

Torino are without defensive pair Emiliano Moretti (suspension) and Koffi Djidji (knee).