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De Ligt tells it all: «The challenge of Juve, Bonucci and Chiellini, the Ballon d’Or…». The Dutch defender’s interview with The Athletic
Matthijs by Ligt, defender of Juventus, gave a nice interview to Athletic.
PLAYING IN ITALY – “It is a great challenge for a defender to prove himself in Italy as a non-Italian. Personally, I really like challenges and I thought that Serie A was the best championship for me: I have never regretted my choice and I am happy.
WHAT HAS CHANGED – «Many things have changed for me, I have changed the way I defend. I changed the side I play from right to left. I changed country. I changed teammates».
GAME OF SARRI COMPARED TO GAME OF PIRLO – «In the construction phase I think we are more flexible than last year. Last season we always had 4-3-3. Everything was very clear about what we had to do. But from time to time maybe we lacked flexibility, now we have more. I really like it. It’s a bit more like Ajax. I think now it’s a more individual intuition and I feel like I can do what I want so that’s okay.».
DEFEND AS A SINGLE BLOCK WITH SARRI – «I didn’t do this before. In the beginning I had so many moments when I had doubts I was wondering, “What should I do now?” Of course, when you’re up, milliseconds matter too. Maybe sometimes I came a little late or early».
JUVE AND AJAX DIFFERENCES – «It’s very different because at Ajax I used to look at the attacker. It was my reference. At Juventus I often have to forget everything I have learned at Ajax and try to keep an eye on my teammates».
FUTURES IN ITALY – «I think the biggest difference (between Italy and the Netherlands) is that in every game you play against a good striker, which can complicate your life. In the Netherlands sometimes you play against teams where you’ve always had the ball, so it was easier. Now every day is a great test. In Italy many ask defenders, it is not possible to be wrong. They are strict with them.»
POST INJURY – «It was not easy as he was obviously in a lot of pain (dislocated shoulder). To be honest, I’m not an advocate who uses his arms that much. You have a lot of defenders using their arms and pushing. I’m more explosive in the legs, so I didn’t have much trouble playing.».
MODELS – «At 15 he played in the center of the field, he was number 6 and had two examples: Sergio Busquets and Pirlo».
BONUCCI AND CHIELLINI – “I feel very lucky. Bonucci is good at construction: I often talk to him and watch what he does. Chiellini is very good at scoring and I try to learn from him. In the national team then I play with van Dijk. Although in the end it is important to have your own game and not imitate anyone.
RONALDO – «He gives 100% every day, so you have to give 100% to stop him, I just want to learn from them (CR7, Buffon, Chiellini, Bonucci) and become a better player.».
BUFFON – «He is a great joker, very hungry for his age.».
GOLDEN BALL – «Will I win it? Time will tell».
ITALY AND TURIN – «Before coming to Italy I ate a lot of pizza, I didn’t know anything else. What I like about Turin is that it is quite quiet. There are not too many tourists. There is not too much traffic. You have many beautiful parks, beautiful forests».
READ ALSO: Juve, the best skills of 2020: the best moments of the bianconeri – VIDEO
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