This Saturday, Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus will host Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari at the Allianz Stadium.
Curiously, the two managers had previously crossed paths in the same fixture back in January 2009, but were sitting in the opposite dugouts.
In that famous meeting, it was the young Max who stunned the Tinkerman by leaving Turin with three points in the bag following a back-and-forth battle.
The Sardinians won the encounter 3-2, much to the dismay of the Black-and-White crowd.
Former Cagliari striker Jeda was one of the names on the scoresheet. The Brazilian recalls how Allegri told his men to attack Juventus.
Thus, the 44-year-old insists that the current Bianconeri boss isn’t a defensive-minded tactician.
“Every time the two teams meet, my thoughts immediately turn to that day,” said Jeda in an interview via JuventusNews24.
“It was a spectacular match, played openly and perfectly on our part. We didn’t have a stratospheric Juve in front of us, but they still had legends like Nedved and Del Piero.
“The match had highlighted the qualities of that Cagliari team. We played a lot and well with the ball at our feet.”
“Before the match, Allegri explained that the only way to limit Juventus was to attack them, without fear of the shirt or the names written on the back. He encouraged us to be carefree.
“Allegri is absolutely not a defensive coach, but rather one who knows how to adapt very well to the qualities of the squad he has at his disposal.
“Today, Juventus has strong players in its workforce, but they do not have the characteristics to command the game. The rest is a consequence.
“On the contrary, his Cagliari side always knew and wanted to play the ball. He really likes the beautiful game, he gets excited when faced with technical profiles who know how to manage the ball well.
“In two seasons, I don’t remember a single time in which he asked us to wait and adopt a reactive approach.”
Jeda feels that Allegri has further improved as a man-manager, but currently facing comprehensively higher pressure compared to his earlier managerial days at Cagliari.
“He was exceptional in managing the dressing room and I think he has remained so. In fact, over time, he has improved.
“The level of pressure has certainly changed for him. Now, he is always under fire, in the last season he remained essentially alone at Juventus, and this explains some episodes of nervousness.
“Having won many matches in the meantime, at least, he seems even more aware of his qualities today.”
