Football Italia has an exclusive interview with calcio expert Paolo Bandini on the Juventus resurgence, why Gigi Buffon shouldn't win the Ballon d’Or and how Max Allegri revamped Antonio Conte’s team.

Football Italia has an exclusive interview with calcio expert Paolo Bandini on the Juventus resurgence, why Gigi Buffon shouldn't win the Ballon d’Or and how Max Allegri revamped Antonio Conte’s team.

You can read Part Two of the interview here and see Paolo in person along with James Richardson and James Horncastle at the one-off Gazzetta Football Italia – Live, Londra Edizione at Union Chapel in Islington on June 19.

The Bianconeri take on Real Madrid in Cardiff tonight in their bid to complete the Treble.

We sat down with Serie A pundit Paolo Bandini to discuss how the Turin giants reached this moment in their history. Part Two will be on the site tomorrow.

How did Juventus go from seventh-place post-Calciopoli flop to dominant force?

“There are so many layers to Juve’s rise back to the top of European football, but I suppose the most fundamental one is simply that the club has been run very well.

“The building of the new stadium gave them an immediate advantage over all of their rivals commercially, and they have exploited that fully with successful recruitment both of players and – perhaps even more vitally – of managers.

“Antonio Conte was the right man at the right time – the 'martello' that Juventus needed to hammer them back into shape and make sure that the great players who were already there (Buffon, Chiellini etc) fulfilled their potential.

“Allegri, after him, was then the right man to get something more from this group, to apply that tactical nuance and find another level from a group of players who might otherwise have got too comfortable resting on their laurels.”

Does Gianluigi Buffon deserve the Ballon d’Or?

“I think I'm with Giorgio Chiellini on this one. Emotionally, I would love to see Gigi win the Ballon d'Or – it feels like a travesty that he has never won one. But, whilst he is still playing at an extremely high level, I don't think I could honestly say this has been the best year of his career.

“So if the Ballon d'Or is supposed to reward a single season's endeavour, maybe he still needs to do a tiny bit more. A couple of great saves in a victorious Champions League Final may be enough to tip him over the edge.”

Are Juventus considered joint-favourites in the Champions League Final?

“I've tipped Juventus to win the Final, but it seems logical to me that Madrid – who have won this tournament twice in the last three years – should still be viewed as the favourites.”

Is it fair to say that while Conte transformed Juve (and Italy, maybe even Chelsea) on an emotional level, Max Allegri has focused more on improving the Bianconeri’s football?

“Yes, I think that's fair. Conte restored Juventus's belief and also their focus – embodying that old Giampiero Boniperti line: 'Winning is not important, it's the only thing that matters'.

“But he did also become too rigid (something which I think he has since shed) at a certain point, always insistent on that 3-5-2.

“Allegri's strength is his flexibility, he has adapted constantly to the players at his disposal. Now, he's not responsible for player recruitment, so to an extent it is his pragmatism that has led to a more attractive style of play: a desire to work in whatever way suits the squad best.

“But obviously the club has not been signing players without consulting him, either.”

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