Del Piero: ‘Give Kenan Yildiz the Juventus 10’

Legend Alessandro Del Piero identifies what might make this season less painful for Juventus and names Kenan Yildiz his heir. ‘I would give him the Number 10 shirt.’

It is a remarkable moment for the Turkish talent, who admires childhood idol Del Piero so much that he even copies the goal celebration by sticking his tongue out.

“Yildiz is certainly among the young players I like the most, he has already shown some of what he can do,” Del Piero told Radio Serie A.

“I would give him the Number 10 shirt. Last season, Nicolò Fagioli and Fabio Miretti already did great things, and seeing as they are Italian, it is good for both Juve and the Nazionale.

“There are lots of promising young players, but we mustn’t rush to judge, so we can give them time to express themselves without undue pressure.”

Focus on youth is also part of the new strategy at Juventus after they were docked points for financial irregularities, which also saw them excluded from Europe.

It was thought that would give them an extra advantage in the Scudetto race, but they crumbled in the head-to-head with Inter and dropped down to third behind Milan.

“Juve had a lot of problems in recent years, both on and off the field,” continued Del Piero. “Last season I praised the work of Max Allegri and the players, as they performed a miracle to stay concentrated and end the season well when so much was going on behind the scenes.”

Allegri has come under fire for both his negative style of football and his continuing insistence that fans should be more than happy with simply a top four finish in Serie A.

“If the club decided to continue working with the coach, it’s because they believe in him. You cannot limit yourself by only evaluating or considering part of it, you have to analyse the entire season, including when Juventus were challenging for the Scudetto.

“Since that match with Inter and the negative period, I think there was a total re-evaluation of the objectives that Allegri had always talked about: getting into the Champions League, launching young players and hopefully challenge to win the Coppa Italia.”

The Bianconeri are in the semi-final of that tournament, having beaten Lazio 2-0 in the first leg on home turf.

“If we look only at the last month and a half, then it’s disconcerting, but if Juve do manage to win the Coppa Italia, we could talk about this season with less disappointment.”