Secco: «Trezeguet is staying»
«Trezeguet will be with us even this year, I am practically sure». Alessio Secco swept away any doubts. The sports director met with journalists this morning to speak about the transfer market.
«Juventus are very happy to keep Trezeguet. If he had to come to us to be transferred and came along with an interesting offer for all parties, we might take it into consideration. This is the agreement we have with him and his agent. At the end of the last championship he had made us understand that if the right offer came he would have considered a possible transfer. It must also be said that, see the situation of the transfer market and his salary, it is not that easy to find a team of his level. We have not received any offers up to now. There was only some interest shown by foreign clubs but they did not present interesting proposals. Clearly, if he had to leave, we would have to buy another attacker but one with his characteristics would be hard to find. This is why we are not looking for buyers: we think that he can still give much to Juventus and we do not have the necessity to sell him. If the situation had to change David would not be transferred to any Italian teams. Anyway my feeling is that Trezeguet will stay with us».
On the other hand, the Frenchman is training with great professionalism and has already scored two goals in the pre-season matches against Cisco Roma and Vicenza: : «He is working well and giving all on the field. – went on Secco – On Friday he did not play against Seville because he suffered a light blow to the knee during training in the morning and therefore his absence was agreed on with the coach».
From one attacker to the next, from Trezeguet to Amauri. The Brazilian, sent-off against Vicenza, immediately made-up by scoring against Seville: «Amauri immediately apologized to the coach and his mates after the mat6ch against Vicenza. The day after I called him to my office and he also apologized to the club. This year we made important investments and we must make sure they bear fruit and therefore we must be careful when it comes to behaviour and regulations and recreate that style that was a winning one for so many years. Amauri understood, that even though he was provoked, he made a mistake and made-up in the match against Seville with an excellent performance».
Going back to outgoing transfers, the other name which was recently always spoken of is that of Christian Poulsen who, like Almiron, was not called-up for the match in Spain:
«I spoke to Poulsen’s agent last week and he asked me for a few days to consider the situation. If he were to decide to stay, we would not bandage our heads but we spoke to him clearly and the fact that he was not called-up for the tournament in Spain was a clear signal. The player has many requests especially from English teams».
The transfer of Poulsen is linked to the possible arrival of Caceres from Barcellons: «We like Caceres and we are not trying to hide that but the deal has not yet been concluded. We feel the team is already complete even though his eventual arrival would be the cherry on the cake. For this to happen other situation with regards to other players must be solves, Poulsen in particular. However, if we sign Caceres it would be on loan».
Juve therefore, is not stopping. It is a sign of a healthy club, and this especially significant in a time when other realities are forcing teams to limit themselves on the transfer market: «The events of 2006 allowed us to anticipate the crisis which others are currently going through and this allowed for the spending of approximately 50 million. A shift in balance? The field will say. Many spent just enough to fix their balance. We, on the other hand, even though we spent a lot, will break even , even if we do not sell anyone».
Another merit of the club management is the speed with which they acted on the transfer market, bringing home three great players like Cannavaro, Diego and Felipe Melo: «When the opportunity to bring back Cannavaro to Turin came up, we thought it was an opportunity we should take because besides what he is capable of doing on the field he will also bring a winning mentality. Fabio is a healthy carrier. Apart from him however, I would not take back any of the players who left in the summer of 2006. With regards to Diego, we moved in time and it is a good thing we did, otherwise we would have probably paid much more for him seeing the vicious circle which was created in price terms. Melo was expensive? It is true, but at the end of the day the price of a player is relative when compared to the input on the field. Seeing for example, the price of Xabi Alonso, I would say that Melo did not cost much. On the other hand, having a release clause , Fiorentina would have never sold him to Juventus for a lower price».
The Brazilian joined Juventus after that for some time it seemed like the midfielder Juventus were about to buy was D’Agostino: «We did not allude him. We were interested in him and we think his evaluation was in line with our offer. When we understood we should spend more money we turned on to Melo, a different but more functional player for our project. I think he has a better presence and physique on the field. D’Agostino is perhaps more technically talented but we believe that Melo can give more. With him we added kilos and centimetres but also quality to our midfield».
The signings were made. Now it is up to Ferrara to make them render as much as possible: «I am very happy with Ferarra. A lot of work is being done but in the right spirits: there is happiness and serenity. A good group is being formed and the merit also goes to his collaborator. Juve must get back to thinking big: they must have to want to win even the friendlies and the trophies with no official value. We must bring back the winning mentality and get angry even when we lose a friendly. In these last few years this spirit had dwindled and now is the time to revive it».
*juventus.com
