Allegri denies reports of Juventus unrest ahead of derby clash

Massimiliano Allegri has denied reports that several Juventus players were angered by his decision to impose a training retreat ahead of Saturday’s derby against Torino.

Juventus suffered a humiliating 2-0 defeat at Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday, leaving Allegri’s team on the brink of a group-stage exit from the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Juve have taken just 13 points from their first nine matches of the Serie A season, their worst return at this stage of a campaign since 2015-16 (12), and are already 10 points adrift of leaders Napoli.

Bianconeri chairman Andrea Agnelli was forced to reject reports Allegri would be fired following the loss in Israel, after which the Juventus coach revealed the team would hunker down at their Continassa training ground ahead of Saturday’s Derby della Mole.

Subsequent reports suggested that decision irritated several players, but Allegri claimed that is not the case on Friday, saying: “These are unfounded rumours. The team has never asked not to retire.

“We know the moment, we came back on Wednesday, we trained when we arrived and the next morning we were on the pitch.

A double session at Continassa ahead of #ToroJuve

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 13, 2022

“We are focused on trying to get out of this situation which is certainly not beautiful. We know that we cannot come out with just one match, but we must start achieving results.

“I talk to the team every day. Withdrawal is just a moment to be together, it is not a punishment.

“We had yesterday and today to do double workouts, to give a little more order because it is normal that when there are no results, we tend to see things blacker than they are.”

Juventus are winless in their last six away games in Serie A (D2 L4), their longest such run since they failed to win on seven consecutive road trips in 2010, but Allegri says the Bianconeri retain a sense of togetherness.

“It is not my personal challenge, it belongs to everyone,” he added. “It is not that one wins and the others lose, it is done all together.

“The team has worked well for two days, this afternoon we will do the last refinement and then we will arrive tomorrow evening to play against Torino.”