Allegri au Figaro: "Football is a stupid game for intelligent people"

Interview by Alice Bosio

Massimiliano Allegri, without club since last summer, releases a book by Marabout editions. The opportunity for a rewarding meeting.

LE FIGARO. - You publish a book with your 32 coaching rules. If you had to retain only one?

Massimiliano ALLEGRI. - The title, “Winning is so simple! ". Football is a stupid game for smart people. This book was born like a game, these are notes that I took during my meetings with the team, thoughts. There is no question of technique or tactics. It is a book that can also be used by companies and their managers because it deals with human resources. I tell about my team management experiences.

Is Cristiano Ronaldo an easy player to train with his ego?

Absolutely. His greatest quality, the one that makes the difference, is that on a mental level, he continues to set goals. Otherwise a player like him who won five Champions League and five Golden Balls would have already stopped. And that sets an example for young people and teammates. In football, and in life in general, the difference comes from the head, the mentality, the desire not to be satisfied with what we have. Technique is not enough: some players with technical qualities get lost on the way.

"I have no contact with Leonardo, or with anyone else"

Has this break since leaving Juventus last summer given you a different perspective on your coaching profession?

To stop me for a year does me a lot of good. I found outings with friends, time to enjoy my children 8 and 24, my partner ... But I must not stay like this for too long, otherwise I will get used to it! I have to start working again in June.

Your name is whispered in Paris, Milan, Rome, Manchester… What country do you want to discover?

For the moment I am in Livorno, with my family. I don't care about my future. I'm waiting to see if teams will want me in June ... And I hope that then I will make the right choice.

Do you know Leonardo, the sports director of PSG well?

I succeeded him in Milan as coach in 2010. But at the moment I have no contact with him or anyone else. I'm still quietly enjoying my sabbatical year. I am very fatalistic. Maybe in June something will happen that I didn't even imagine. So I prefer not to think about it!

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Didier Deschamps and other coaches often say that football is a washing machine that wears out quickly…

Football, like today's society, lives a thousand an hour. It burns people. To stay at a certain level, you need balance. We need it to stay clear, a quality that is paramount for a coach. After our generation of coaches, another will come. It is normal for him to do so.

Who are the greatest coaches on the football planet?

A great coach is judged on his results. For those he obtained, but also his progress, Klopp stands out. Like Zidane with Real, Guardiola in Barcelona, ​​Pochettino in Tottenham, Simeone at Atletico ... As for Deschamps, his group management allowed him to win a World Cup with simplicity. It is concrete, which goes directly to the objective, by making the best use of its players.

"Blaise Matuidi is an extraordinary person, a very great professional"

What is your opinion on the two French people of Juve?

I did not train Adrien Rabiot. But Blaise Matuidi is an extraordinary person, a very great professional. Training and getting to know him was a great opportunity and a great pleasure.

You've known AC Milan, Juventus, and six Serie A titles. At 52, what are you dreaming of?

Training is my passion. But when I understand that I no longer have the necessary inner fire, I would like to become a leader. Today in a large team, in addition to managing its champions, the coach must also feel part of a business. The clubs are no longer sports companies but real companies with turnover ranging from several hundred million euros to one billion. The coach must bring results and advance the players, to increase their value, and that of the club. He is almost a managing director ...

"Now players are companies that must be managed at 360 degrees"

Have social networks changed football?

Our society has nothing to do with that of twenty years ago. We are like extraterrestrials for young people who have grown up with technology. Human relationships have completely changed in the locker room. At the time when I was playing, cell phones did not exist: you had to communicate in order not to be isolated. Today, when I enter the locker room, each player has at least two laptops in hand. I get angry but I understand that for them it is normal. It is up to us, coaches, to adapt. In addition to organizing the team, we must be able more than ever to manage their psychology. Now players are companies that must be managed at 360 degrees ...

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• Allegri on PSG: "I have no contact with Leonardo"