Giorgio Chiellini hails Max Allegri, Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic, insisting their work rate for Juventus is underestimated.

“Higuain surprised me as a man,” Chiellini told La Stampa newspaper. You can read the rest of the interview here.

“You always expect strikers to be a bit egotistical, but instead I met a generous person. As a player he’s even stronger than I expected: a real animal on the pitch with extraordinary qualities.

Giorgio Chiellini hails Max Allegri, Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic, insisting their work rate for Juventus is underestimated.

“Higuain surprised me as a man,” Chiellini told La Stampa newspaper. You can read the rest of the interview here.

“You always expect strikers to be a bit egotistical, but instead I met a generous person. As a player he’s even stronger than I expected: a real animal on the pitch with extraordinary qualities.

“If you had a ‘Higuain Cam’ on him throughout the match, you’d see that in 90 per cent of the attacking moves he is alone in the box and that’s not because the defenders are falling asleep. Before the ball arrives, he makes two or three movements and counter-movements to shake off his marker. Pay attention next time.

“All this talk about his weight is ridiculous. Gonzalo is explosive and has such strength in his legs. If he sees a chance, you can’t keep up with him over 10-15 metres. He’s remarkable.

“He might’ve had a reputation elsewhere, but so far his attitude with us has been perfect. He immediately felt appreciated and also less responsibility on his shoulders here. We are accustomed to being at a certain level, so in difficult moments we share the responsibility between us.”

Nobody has ever doubted the work rate of Mandzukic, who seems to be in all areas of the pitch.

“He can be a striker, a midfielder or a defender. We joke about the fact he always says ‘No good.’ When he scores, he’ll say it’s ‘good.’ Marking Mario is tough and not just in the tackle, but the way he runs constantly. At the end of a game, the full-backs are shattered.

“He needs to be at the centre of a project and Allegri was really smart to find this new system. We needed something to shake us up and the Coach realised that. It’s one of his great gifts, that he reads situations in a way that at that moment might seem a bit over the top. Remember last season in the derby we were drawing? He took off Paulo Dybala and introduced Alex Sandro. There was the same thing against Napoli – in the stadium there was a sense of ‘now we’re going to win this.’

“Allegri has a way of perceiving the situations that others cannot grasp. It’s more than just a technical or tactical issue. We can use the 4-2-3-1 against Inter, Real Madrid or Barcelona, but you have to be in good shape physically to sacrifice yourself.”

Can Juventus win the Champions League?

“It depends on how we’re doing in two weeks, in April and in May. A year ago Barcelona met Atletico Madrid in a month where they lost six games. From then on, they won every time with five or six goals per match.

“It’s not right to think ‘now or never’ for the Champions League. It’s hard enough thinking about June. You just have to give your all, right now.”

Finally, Chiellini was asked about his new beard.

“I don’t have much hair, so I’m trying to grow it elsewhere.”

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