Juve, Allegri-Bonucci, championship pact: Juve, take the great comeback

The first day after the long absence was mainly dedicated to technique, with a focus on the defensive phase. It would seem that Leonardo Bonucci returned to Continassa at the right time, refreshed by the double Azzurri victory in the Nations League and by two convincing performances, to plunge back into his Juventus, which at this moment needs a driver more than ever. He and Massimiliano Allegri just met inside the Juventus sports center, a greeting and nothing more before training. Among field men there is no need for too many words. Despite the Monza bench, Bonucci never stopped rowing on the same side of the group and the coach, because he knows only one way to win: to be compact. And Allegri, who over the years has learned to appreciate the value and warrior spirit of LB19 beyond the differences in character, knows how important it is on the pitch and in the locker room, especially when things go wrong. Leo and Max were there in 2015-16, when Juventus started from an even more unfortunate ranking situation (8 points after 7 days, 2 less than today) but then won the Scudetto with an incredible comeback, and both are convinced that this team can still fight for the title.

Operation comeback

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Bonucci and Allegri know Juventus well and know that the only thing that matters are the results. In common they have the desire to win, an incentive that helps to put aside grudges and misunderstandings. On the other hand, it was Max who gave Leo the captain’s crown, after having made him go through a year of purgatory (with a vice sash delivered to Dybala) during which the defender showed maximum availability and reliability, coming to play half-broken for lack of alternatives. Allegri deprived himself of him in Monza, a technical choice that did not pay, very unlikely that he will still leave him out on Sunday, when Juventus will be forced to win in order not to lose the tricolor train. Bonucci is very keen on the band, which is a reason for pride but also for other responsibilities.

Winning captain

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On Sunday with Bologna he will wear it on the occasion of his 482nd time with Juventus, hooking Bettega to sixth place in the ranking of the most present Juventus players ever. Ahead of him now there are only Del Piero, Buffon, Chiellini, Scirea and Furino, all former captains and all winners. Leo hates to lose, he has lived glorious years with the Lady, he has seen Ale, Gigi and Giorgio lift trophies and does not want to be the first captain to run out of steam. He knows he has an important task, to act as a glue between the old and the new and pass on to young people that Juventus DNA that has been lost in recent years, but transition for him is not synonymous with resignation. From the difficulties we come out stronger, he and Allegri know something about it, passed through the whistles of the fans at the dawn of the Turin adventure.

Ductility and coldness

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The numbers and the past speak for him: Bonucci between Juventus, Milan, Bari and Italy (not counting Serie B), was deployed 544 times as a starter, plus another 110 with the national team. In total 654, of which 409 times he played with the back four and 245 with the three. Moral: the three-man defense is his natural habitat, with Chiellini and Barzagli there was a feeling that was difficult to reproduce, but this does not mean that he is less at ease in the four-man line-up. Indeed, the statistics show that the form for Leo is indifferent, the mental and physical condition count, as well as the desire to do well. Another interesting fact: Chiellini has always been an important presence alongside Bonucci, but of the 481 games with Juve, only 253 have played with Giorgio alongside from the start. Leo knows how to adapt and especially in this team lacking in ideas he can be very useful in the setting phase, creating an axis with Paredes. In the last match played at the Allianz Stadium in Serie A, against Salernitana, Bonucci scored the very heavy goal of 2-2, before the Var mess on the (regular) goal canceled in Milik. That evening it was Allegri who pushed him to the spot instead of Vlahovic. “It was a heavy ball,” explained the coach after the game. When the temperature rises Leo gets excited, Allegri knows him well and counts a lot on him for the championship comeback.