Juventus defender Mattia De Sciglio sat down with Serie A ahead of Matchday 31 to speak about his career, Manager Massimiliano Allegri, and Napoli starlet Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Career to Date
Mattia De Sciglio may have the fresh-faced looks of a youngster – but Juventus’ fullback is a Serie A veteran. Last October he turned 30, and, 12 years after his professional debut, it’s time to take stock.
“Having reached the age of 30 and looking back at what I’ve done so far, I hope to be just over halfway. I really hope so! I feel I’ve only just reached my footballing peak and have plenty of years ahead of me. Up to now, I’ve had lots of different experiences, both positive and negative, which have helped me grow a lot. My relationship with my body is better than in the early years. After 12 years of matches your body changes so you have to pay more attention to every detail, like rest and healthy nutrition. They’re things that you pay less attention to as a youngster but at my age, you place more importance on them.”
Massimiliano Allegri
Having crossed paths three times already with Massimiliano Allegri, De Sciglio has witnessed the ways in which the coach too has changed. Allegri’s second tenure at Juventus sounds strikingly similar to that period at Milan.
“Thinking back to the Allegri I had at Milan… In the first year after my debut when all the big names left he ended up with a very young Milan side without much experience. He needed to work on the team’s organization and forge an identity for us. This season was similar in some ways to when I first had him at Milan, although different because a few years have passed. He’s changed in some ways but once again he had to reorganize the team and play with the set-up.”
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Napoli’s sprint for the title seems unstoppable, guided by one of the players of the season – Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
“I think you stop a player like Kvaratskhelia by giving him as little space as possible. He comes into his element when he has space to run into, to pull his dummies and get shots away. You have to be good at closing him down and doubling up on him to limit his space.”