Maybe it’s not so amusing to watch Juventus play this season, but off the field, it’s ultra interesting. Coach Massimiliano Allegri is constantly nervous, either for his team’s performance or because of the situation regarding some of his players. This time it was Adrien Rabiot on the field and Paulo Dybala off the field. The French international was getting himself into trouble on the pitch and the Italian tactician was angry and was caught making ’threads’ at his player, while Dybala’s contract dispute has become the number 1 story in Italian football. The Argentinian’s contract runs out in June and the club promised talks in February, but Dybala already has offered, mostly from rivals Inter. After scoring against Udinese, Juve forward didn’t celebrate, but rather shot a stern look to the stand where the Juve hierarchy was sitting, with observers suggesting he was making clear his unhappiness about the delay to the renewal of his contract. #Dybala’s reaction after scoring against #Udinese #JuventusUdinese pic.twitter.com/yX4w74U98j— Luca Momoli (@MomoliLuca) January 15, 2022 And of course, his reaction was a magnet for the press, who asked coach Allegri about his goal ’celebration’. “There was nobody in the stands, who was he looking at?! He was imagining the stands were full. It was a very good goal, a quick passing move with Kean, then when he gets between the lines and moves the ball, that helps the team to breathe. He was extraordinary in those situations” said Allegri, trying to downplay the ’incident’. But Dybala didn’t have the same explanation to Sky Sports after the match. “I invited a friend and couldn’t see him. There are many people up there watching and I couldn’t find him. There have been a lot of stories, and many things happened that I prefer not to talk about” said the Argentinian. Entra Rabiot pic.twitter.com/i0e24SRZaA— sᴜᴀᴍʏ (@norainoflowerr) January 15, 2022 As for Rabiot, he has been a target for some sections of Juve fans, who just think he is no good for the club, so this situation with Allegri brought them much joy on the social media networks. As the latest Covid outbreak forced Serie A to decrease the capacity of the stadiums, there were only 5000 supporters at the Juventus – Udinese match. In such surroundings, it was easy to hear almost all shouts from players and coaches. At one point, Rabiot was pressed from behind by two Udinese players and pinned to the touchline right near Allegri’s position. It was extremely clear when Allegri saw Rabiot in this situation and was heard to say: “Don’t take a risk… If you lose that ball, I will kill you!”Dybala helps Juve to Udinese win as contract spat bubbles underAfter the match, Allegri talked about the lack of focus from his team and the reason he gets angry so often. “We held out mentally and technically for 120 minutes on Wednesday, but there was a moment tonight when we just left the game. That’s not right, we always have to be fully focused, especially when there aren’t enough fans to keep us on our toes, because for 10 minutes we ran some big risks. We need patience. I did get very angry at that moment, but I talked to them afterward and tried to make them understand. The important thing is they understand quickly and it has to be done on an individual level, whether they are at Juventus or elsewhere” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia after the match.
