Angelo Ogbonna credits his improved form to Max Allegri’s faith and ponders a difficult week of matches for Juventus” data-scaytid=”3″>Juventus.
The Italian defender arrived from Torino last season for €13m, but found playing time hard to come by under Antonio Conte.
Angelo Ogbonna credits his improved form to Max Allegri’s faith and ponders a difficult week of matches for Juventus.
The Italian defender arrived from Torino last season for €13m, but found playing time hard to come by under Antonio Conte.
Since the change on the bench, however, the 26-year-old has found himself a regular contributor to Juve’s strong start to the season.
“It’s a different season with zero goals conceded. Last year I received too much criticism, even some very biased,” Ogbonna has considered to Tuttosport.
“Now I’m playing regularly and I know that from myself, as from all my teammates, the best is always expected.
“Certainly, we have had a great start to the season.
Andrea Barzagli’s injury in particular has seen Ogbonna start four of the first five League games.
“Has much changed playing on the right side of the defence? Yes. much has changed.
“With Allegri we exchanged a few words and I have to admit he has spurred me on to improve myself.
“I had a great desire for redemption. It is not a question of psychology. Last year maybe I suffered a bit in preparation.
“With Conte we worked a lot and I have a different psychical size and I felt the fatigue. Playing less I struggled to get into the mechanics of a game. But the club has always had faith in me and now I’m playing.”
Wednesday evening sees Juventus face a tricky Champions League away trip to the Vicente Calderon to take on Spanish Champions and last year’s Champions League runners up Atletico Madrid.
“We will face Atletico as all the other teams. It will take great concentration, we will try to prepare for the game in the best way.”
A big week concludes on Sunday evening with the visit of Roma to Turin.
“We are not thinking about them yet, first there is the Champions League. The expectations on Juventus are always very high, we can’t afford to think about the day after tomorrow in front of us.”