Whoever is strongest is never the most appreciated; when the strongest is Juventus, it’s easy to assume a feeling of hatred towards the opponent.

This Juve however, does not seem as unpleasant, it’s neither arrogant or scornful and aggressive. It simply goes its own way, looking to be the strongest it can be without disrespecting anyone. De Laurentiis is wrong when he says that the way Juve took Higuain is not elegant. After all, they respected the rules and regulations and handed over at least €90 million so is this not elegant? That the agreement for Higuain was to match the buy-out clause requested by De Laurentiis which is exactly what Juventus has done well, is this not elegant?  

The 2016 transfer campaign of Juventus will go down in history and mirrors that of 15 years ago when the Old Lady sold Zidane and Inzaghi and brought in Buffon, Thuram and Nedved. Today it’s Pogba (and maybe Bonucci) who will leave and in comes Higuain, Pjanic, Dani Alves, Benatia and Pjaca. Back in 2001 Juventus ran the risk after losing two icons of the team whilst replenishing the pockets of both Parma and Lazio.
 

The difference between 2001 and 2016 is attitudes and behaviour. Without even considering what happened in 2006, Juve and Moggi dominated the market with arrogance by controlling a myriad of clubs and players through his son, who was an agent. Today, the alliances are there but in the underground world of football no-one speaks of suspicions anymore, only respect and not fear. This new course proves that to be successful you don’t need to be unpleasant.  

Then there is the difference in style of the two CEO’s; Put Marotta beside Giraudo and compare their words and behaviour and you will understand everything. You can win without being arrogant.


Adapted from an original article by Stefano Agresti. Translation by Steve Mitchell