“When the team isn’t compact, it lends its side to the opponents and this can be fatal.” It is a passage from the letter that Andrea Agnelli, the outgoing president of Juventus, sent to the employees of the Juventus club on the day of his farewell to office. The entire board of directors of the company has resigned. “Dear all, playing for Juventus, working for Juventus; one goal: to win. Anyone who has the privilege of wearing the black and white shirt knows this. Anyone who works as a team knows that hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard “, the words of Agnelli.
“Juventus – writes Agnelli – is one of the biggest clubs in the world and those who work or play there know that the result is the result of the work of the whole team. We are used to winning by history and DNA. Since 2010 we have honored our history achieving extraordinary results: the Stadium, nine consecutive men’s championships, the first in Italy to have a Netflix and Amazon Prime series, the J|Medical, five consecutive women’s championships starting from day zero.And again, the deal with Volkswagen (few know), the finals in Berlin and Cardiff (our great regrets), the agreement with Adidas, the Next Gen Italian Cup, the first company to represent the clubs within the UEFA Executive Committee, the J|Museum and much more. Hours, days, nights, months and seasons with the aim of always improving in view of some decisive moments”.
“Each of us can recall the moment before taking the field: come out of the locker room and turn right, about twenty steps down with a grate in the middle, another ten steps up and there you are: ‘ el miedo escénico’ and in that moment when you know you have the whole team with you the impossible becomes feasible. Bernabeu, Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, Westfallen Stadium, San Siro, Georgios Karaiskaks, Celtic Park, Camp Nou: everywhere we’ve been when the team was compact we didn’t fear anyone. When the team isn’t compact, it lends its side to the opponents and this can be fatal. At that moment you need to be lucid and contain the damage. Our awareness will be their challenge: to be on the height of Juventus history. I will continue to imagine and work for a better football, comforted by a phrase by Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music’ (or ‘those who couldn’t hear the music thought those who danced were crazy”). Remember, we will recognize each other at a glance: We are the people of Juve! Until the end…”.
