Ciro Ferrara admits “my dream has come true” after becoming the permanent Juventus Coach, describing his tactics, management style and a little “fear.”
Appointed caretaker manager for the last two games of the season following Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal, this evening he signed a two-year contract.
“My dream has come true. This is a wonderful a very tough test, but I feel ready and as I told the club three weeks ago, I can do this.
“There have to be risks and dangers, as these help you grow and win, so yes among the many sensations right now there is a little fear.”
This is Ferrara’s first Coaching job after working as co-ordinator of the Juventus youth sector as well as Marcello Lippi’s assistant manager in the Italy squad.
“My football is made of constant movement from everyone, a high level of quality with the physical condition that allows us to survive until the end of the season. This is an aspect that I want to take great care of, as I want players who can guarantee consistency.
“If the team has fun with its football, then keeping possession for as long as possible is the right road to take. It is not easy to do that in Italy, but I would like a team who can play with different systems, is hungry without the ball and nasty with it.”
The young tactician has been likened to Pep Guardiola, who just won the Champions League and Liga with Barcelona in his debut season.
“I don’t want to be like Guardiola, nor Lippi, although admittedly I come from Lippi’s school of thought. I would like to be Ferrara – consistent in what he says and that means the players respect you. [Fabio] Capello had one way of achieving that, [Carlo] Ancelotti had another. I will have my own way.”
It remains to be seen how Ferrara will fit new signing Diego into his line-up, but he is not intimidated.
“Diego will be accommodated with a different system to the one used in the last two years, but it would be wrong to build a team around him. He is a great champion, but the individual must be at Juve’s disposal. After all, if Diego is missing then we cannot be without a Plan B.
“It will be a 4-3-1-2 system, but that can be changed to 4-3-2-1 or 4-2-3-1 depending on the circumstances. With the characteristics of the players we have right now, I’d say 4-3-1-2 is the best solution.”
Ferrara drove up to Turin this afternoon from the Italy get-together at Coverciano, where he had been working as Lippi’s assistant manager, but will no longer travel to South Africa for the Confederations Cup.
“[Director of sport Alessio] Secco and [general manager Jean-Claude] Blanc called me and explained the newspaper theory I was a second choice. They took this time and consulted other Coaches, but that just shows how much thought went into this decision. I would have done the same.
“They picked me and I am very happy to sit on the bench of one of the six or seven most important clubs in the world.
“In my five days with the Nazionale this week I kept in contact with the club and was anxiously awaiting the call. When it came I rushed from Florence to Turin.”
Lippi has confirmed nobody will be brought in to replace Ferrara in the Azzurri staff.
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