Di Livio: “Zidane? An alien. Today Juve lacks leaders”

But, ultimately, what do we expect, we who worry, suffer and exalt ourselves for earthly things? Aliens, by definition, do not belong to this world, their appearances are rare, and even less prolonged visits. Even when they appear in human form. So, when you are lucky enough to meet one and even stay close to them, all you have to worry about is enjoying their wisdom, assuming they are beings superior to us. This is what Angelo Di Livio did, who shared 3 of his 6 years at Juve with Zinedine Zidane (“An alien, precisely”), seasoned – those 3 years, from ’96 to ’99 – by 2 championships, the Intercontinental, the UEFA Super Cup and the Italian one.

“An alien, I repeat. I saw him do things that perhaps only Maradona did, and I’m not exaggerating. He was a juggler, a player who enchanted you with his feints, with the movements of his legs, of those ankles that seemed to be articulated. He was a complete footballer because everyone judged him to be a champion for his technical skills, but he was also a wingman because he ran, chased and hit, he hit a lot.”

An anecdote about French?

“The first months at Juve – it was ’96 – he had considerable difficulties. He broke free in October, against Inter, with an extraordinary goal. He was someone who got angry with himself when things didn’t work out for him. We teammates watched him in the dressing room, head down, grumbling: ‘I don’t understand why I don’t make my plays, because I can’t do anything’. This self-criticism surprised me a lot, because it’s unusual behavior in football. It’s easier hearing: ‘Well, I’m the best, I’m always the best’. Instead he flagellated himself because his performance wasn’t up to par”.

“He was a wonderful boy who fit in very well with the group, to the point of even accepting teasing and pranks. For example: he was obsessed with white socks, which he wore over any type of shoe and under any trousers. And Ciro Ferrara promptly cut them off, telling him: ‘Zizou, the white sock doesn’t fit anymore’. He was an angel off the pitch, a gladiator on the inside. He had an incredible fighting spirit.”

Yes, the famous Juventus spirit that seems a little lost today…

“My Juve was a team that found itself in the right place at the right time, led by a great leader like Marcello Lippi. We united, amalgamated, we were a complete team. But, before the one with Zidane, there was Vialli’s Juve. Gianluca was a true captain, the one who more than anyone else made us understand what the winning mentality is and what it means, and he instilled it in us.”

“In training he was a perfectionist. He encouraged you when you missed a pass, he would catch you up, but in a good way. He would explain to you how his teammate should be served depending on the situation and his position on the pitch, and you listened to him because you knew that his advice would be useful to you. He was never about to lose, so he ran, chased, and watching him it was natural to imitate his generosity and attitude. During the week we prepared the match in the best way, and on Sunday the result was the consequence of all that work.”

Is a leader like Vialli what Juventus is missing today?

“I don’t want to pretend: yes, Juve lacks leaders. They lack people who inspire, who encourage, who even get angry, because an angry person, a healthy argument between teammates, which is sometimes very positive, lights the flame. This, however, is a flat team. I hope that Spalletti can bring to light technical and character qualities.”

The best Juventus victory in which you, Di Livio, played, between ’93 and ’99?

“You know what? You can’t choose a victory when you experience such an important cycle. Unfortunately we also left something along the way, a few too many finals. But they were wonderful, sweaty years, lived with sacrifice, with spirit and above all with the awareness of wearing a glorious shirt.”

You defined Lippi as ‘a leader’: what made him special?

“He was a strategist because he had intuitions that others didn’t have. He explained to you what we could expect to happen on the pitch, and he provided us with countermeasures to adapt to every possible context. The good thing is that the situations he predicted actually happened. After a defeat in Foggia, in ’94, he told us: ‘From today we’ll change our mentality, let’s attack with three strikers’. It was the turning point, because from that moment on we went to get the tall opponents, we pressed them, taking advantage the characteristics of our attackers, which Lippi was good at understanding and exploiting.”

From one coach to another: what does Spalletti bring to the current Juve? And is he the right man for the relaunch?

“I believe that Spalletti is a club coach, I’ve always said so. I’m sorry for my friend Tudor, but a shake-up was needed. His is a ‘fair’ dismissal because it comes when there is still time to recover. Spalletti brings experience, play and I hope also character, because this team needs to be reawakened. Some of his players above all, who seem absent today: one above all, Koopmeiners. He has truly lost himself.”

How can you recover from the lawsuit?

“In my opinion, his characteristics are suited to the type of game that Spalletti will want to play. I foresee a 4-2-3-1 with Koop as the striker, a bit like Perrotta played in Spalletti’s Roma, even if in Cremona he even started as a defensive “arm” on the left, demonstrating his flexibility. At his side, but wide, two wingers like Yildiz on the left and Conceiçao on the right. Behind them, two robust midfielders like Locatelli and Thuram”.

And the tip in front of Koop?

“Vlahovic, there’s no escape. David and Openda are still behind.”

At this point of the season, can we already say that the transfer market was wrong, at least in the offensive department?

“The fact is, when you sign a player like David you expect a lot. The same for Koopmeiners or Douglas Luiz last year. But how can you criticize the club, Giuntoli, for having bought, paying them a lot, two players like these? If they haven’t shown what they are capable of, it’s not the fault of whoever signed them. In any case, David will be the deputy Vlahovic and Openda will be the replacement for the two attacking wingers.”

With Bremer, is Juve capable of winning the Scudetto?

“Bremer is very strong, the best defender in Europe, and his absence is very heavy. Even with him, I don’t think Juventus will fight for the scudetto, but they will finish very high in the table.”