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Full Episode - The Interview: Romeo Agresti (Ep. 57)
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Transcript
Welcome & Introductions
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another interview episode of the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese. I hope you're all doing well.
Special Feature for Juventus Fans
00:00:33
Speaker
We have a big treat for you today, especially if you're a Juventus fan. But before I introduce today's guest, just a reminder that if you want to get access to all of the episodes of the Italian Football Podcast, you can go to patreon.com slash T-I-F-P and become a member for only $2.99
Podcast Membership Promotion
00:00:51
Speaker
a month.
00:00:51
Speaker
That gets you access to not only our twice weekly podcasts, but all of our written work, features, transfer exclusives and much, much more. So once again, that's patreon.com slash T I F P. OK, so now let's introduce our third guest of the season. We've already interviewed the great Sven Gurren Ericsson and Joe Takopina. And now we have with us
00:01:17
Speaker
Someone who I like to call the goat of Juventus journalists. It's a dear friend of mine and he's the most connected Juventus journalist, I think in the business. And when he says that a Juventus transfer is happening,
00:01:31
Speaker
you know it is happening. So, joining me and Nima today is the one and only Romeo Agresti. Romeo, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing? Thanks, guys, for your time. I'm not good enough like Svengån Eriksson or Jota Kopi. I promise you that I will do my best during this podcast. But your kind words are too much for me.
00:01:54
Speaker
They're not enough, Lameo. You're just as big as Sven and just as big as Joe. You're a celebrity yourself. Whenever anyone thinks of Lameo, they always know you as being in the know when it comes to transfers. I'm sure you're very busy with the transfer market with only a few days left before the window closes. Everybody wants to know what business can we expect from Juventus between now and the end of the window.
Juventus Transfer Talk
00:02:20
Speaker
That's a very difficult question. To be fair, I don't know, because I can say just that Juventus are trying to sell some players like Daniel Rugani, like Matteo di Cilho. They are trying to find an agreement by mutual consent with Sami Khedira. They are following the situation of Federico Chiesa, but it's not easy, guys.
00:02:40
Speaker
Yes, and you mentioned Kiesa there. I mean, he's the hottest topic right now around Juventus. Can you confirm? Do Juventus want to sign him? And if so, if they manage to sell a player, do you think he will come to Juventus? If you want to buy Federico Kiesa, you must sell at least one player among
00:03:01
Speaker
Daniel Elrugani, Mattia de Shilio, Sami Kedira. So I don't know if Juventus will be able to do that, to be honest. But of course, when we speak about Federico Chiesa, we speak about a player that Juventus are trying to sign. That's true, but it's not easy. Where do you think that they will play Chiesa if they sign him? Because Pirlo has been playing a 3-5-2 formation. So where do you see him? Where do Juventus see him if they sign him?
00:03:29
Speaker
Maybe he could replace Quadrado. Of course, he can play an attack because he was born in that position. But if we are speaking about 3-5-2, I think that he could play on the right back.
00:03:44
Speaker
The same position which is Bepi Yakini has been criticized for playing him. Okay, well let's look at the forward because another name that's been mentioned a lot is Moise Kane, obviously was at Juventus, went to Everton. Is it possible that he could return do you think?
00:04:01
Speaker
Juventus have tried to take him on loan, but so far, Everton want to sell him on a permanent deal. And so for this reason, it's not easy to find an agreement between the Bianconerian office, but we have another four or five days of market. Let's see what will happen. It is not a hot, hot name now for Juventus, especially after Morata signing.
00:04:25
Speaker
And what's about the center of midfield, because this is an area that Juventus have been probably quite weak in the last few years, but they have already done a lot of business with Arthur, with Weston Mckenny, and they've been very heavily linked with Husam Awa from Lyon. With Paqueta now moving to Lyon from Milan, is there any chance that we could see him coming to Juventus, or is he too expensive?
00:04:49
Speaker
I don't think so, because it's too expensive, because maybe Hohel are talking with Arsenal, and if you want to play with two players in front of the defence, you are OK, because you have four players, like Mckenzie, Rabiot, Artur, Betancourt, so I don't think that Juventus will try to sign a war, to be honest.
00:05:11
Speaker
Okay, and finally for players possibly coming in, what about the full back position, the left full back position? Because in the last game against Roma, we saw that Pirlo played Quadrado, a left wing back out of position.
Squad Concerns & Potential Signings
00:05:27
Speaker
And many people saw this as maybe Pirlo sending a signal to Fabio Paratici, you know, come on, you've got to buy me another left wing back.
00:05:35
Speaker
There's been a number of names mentioned, Gosens, Emerson Palmieri, Marco Solon. So what do you think? Is there a chance that you they could sign a left wing back?
00:05:43
Speaker
If you want to buy someone, first you must sell, because now on the left side, Pirlo has in his hands, Alexandro de Shilio, Frabotta, maybe Bernadeschi could play in that position, so you have three or four players, it's impossible to buy someone with four players included in this code.
00:06:07
Speaker
Okay, and in terms of players who might leave Juventus, the first question, Sami Kadira, I mean, is there any chance of him leaving Juve? This is what every Juventus fan wants to know. We say that, but he's always here. I think that Juventus will find a solution to try to find an agreement by mutual consent with him.
00:06:32
Speaker
because he's not included in the PROS plans. He knows that very well. But so far, I don't think that Kedira has another team. So let's see what will happen. But I'm positive about that. And I think that Juventus will find an agreement with him. Then let's see what will happen with the shield. It's on the market. But
00:06:54
Speaker
No beats so far. Rugani could live alone. Douglas Costa would like to stay because he wants to show his skills with Andreapirlo. So it's not easy because they hurt a lot. But I think that Juventus, at least Kenira, will sell someone.
00:07:13
Speaker
I wanted to look a little bit at the business, the players that Juve have already signed, starting with Dejan Kulushevsky. There was a deal that Juve agreed for in January with Atalanta, who owned him, and he arrived this summer and everything coming out of Juventus, the players, everyone is saying, Pirlo himself is saying that they're really interested with what they've seen so far. I'm keen to hear what you think, just how good do you think he can become?
00:07:37
Speaker
Kurzewski, I love him because in his first appearance with Juventus, he showed what he's able to do. But, you know, Kurzewski has done a big job last season with Parma, so everybody knows what he's able to do with this guy. I think it's a good signing for Juventus, especially in terms of quality level. Of course, he's younger, but I'm sure 100% that already in this season, he will be a key player for this team.
00:08:07
Speaker
Where do you think that Pirlo will play him this season? I mean, he first played as a striker almost, or a secunda punta in the first game and then he was played as a 13 or a wingback. Where do you think he's going to play?
00:08:20
Speaker
I'm not able to translate a seconda punta, so I repeat what you say, the seconda punta, because he needs to be offensive, to score, to make assists. So I think that Kuzeski was amazing against Andoria, and he played a normal game against against Rome. So I prefer that Kuzeski plays in attack and not like a right back.
00:08:45
Speaker
And I mean, if we go to Alvaro Morata, who has a history of being at the club, he was rather successful last time he was at Juventus. But I don't think he was Juventus' first choice for that striker position this summer. I mean, can you confirm, was it Luis Suarez or was it Edin Jeko? Who was Juventus' first choice?
00:09:03
Speaker
Often, often. I think that Suarez and Jeko were the first choice of Juventus. Then they worked behind Suarez for two weeks. They worked behind Jeko for two months. So I can say just Morata was not the first choice, but everybody knows that. Well, I mean, are you happy with the signing of Alvaro Morata? Or do you think that maybe... I mean, who do you think works better for Juventus? Jeko, Suarez or Morata?
00:09:31
Speaker
Suarez, no doubt, because Suarez is a top player. Of course, when we speak about Jeko and Morata, we speak about good players, but they are not in the same level of Suarez. Morata is a Champions League player, because I know very well that in his first experience at Juventus, in his two years here in Turin, especially in Champions League,
Alvaro Morata's Role at Juventus
00:09:58
Speaker
a show with amazing things, but I have some doubts about him, the pure law idea of football. And I don't understand if you try to buy as well as a jackal, why you change the target in Murata. But without money, hey, you can, as I say, you can do good things. You can't eat at a 100 euro restaurant with 10 euros in your pocket. It's on your face.
00:10:24
Speaker
Well, I'm treated to him now, so I guess you've had him, I've had him now. Let's leave that before I get off on a rant here. Let's talk about Huistan McKinney, the American midfielder from Schalke, who's surprisingly been starting for the past two games. What do you think of him so far? I mean, I was expecting Artur Melo to start ahead of him. Do you think that will happen or do you think they'll play together? What's your thoughts on that?
00:10:50
Speaker
in the second half against Roma, Artur showed that he will be a fundamental key player for this team.
00:10:59
Speaker
We know that very well because in his true season at Barcelona, you show what he's able to do. Makeni is a good player in terms of balance in the midfielder, but he's not a quality player. If you want to play in a quality way, I think that our tool is even better than Makeni. But Makeni, in the first game against Andoria, did very well.
00:11:28
Speaker
I'm sure that Artur and Betancourt will be the two key players in the midfield during this season. If we talk about Sandro Tonali, that's been the bane of my existence, because for me, having watched him, I forced myself to watch 25 games of Brescia last season, just to watch him play.
00:11:52
Speaker
because I think he's that good. And I'm really excited. I'm really keen to hear what you can tell me about this deal because it felt like in January, Juve were in pole position as you say in Italy. But then they dropped their interest. Can you confirm? I mean, how serious was Juventus' interest and why did they drop their interest in signing him?
00:12:12
Speaker
I can confirm that Juventus in January were so, so, so interested. They spoke with Brescia, but they wanted to keep their best play until the end of the season. I think that Juventus have changed objectives when they decided to do the swap between Arthur and
00:12:33
Speaker
Of course Tonali is a very good player, but he went to decide to bet on our tour.
00:12:43
Speaker
Well, let's talk about Andrea Pirlo now. I mean, Juve played a great game against Sampdoria in his debut match, but then they struggled quite badly against Roma. So, Romeo, what do you make of Pirlo's starts as Juve coach, and do you think he will be a success? I don't know, mate. I don't know. Of course.
00:13:06
Speaker
I think so, because I feel that Pierlo could become a top coach in the future. But so far, I don't know. I don't know, because he started two months ago to do this job, this business. Of course, when we speak about Pierlo, we speak about an Italian legend, like a player, but like a coach, it's completely a new story.
00:13:35
Speaker
I'm sure that he has clear ideas and he wants to play so quality good football, but the pressure at Juventus is so high, he knows very well that because he played at Juventus, he won a lot at Milan, but I don't know. To be honest, I don't know. Let's see what will happen.
Pirlo's Tactics & Formation Analysis
00:13:59
Speaker
What did you make of his formation against Roma? A number of players out of position, like Quadrado, like we said, and even Kuduszewski, and it looked very, very unbalanced, the formation, and almost two attacking. I know against Sampdoria, it worked really, really well. But against Roma, it looked almost suicidal, really. What did you make of that formation? Do you think he made mistakes in that game?
00:14:26
Speaker
Three days later, I have not yet understood. It was impossible to understand how he wants to play this game. Maybe he did some mistakes, but it's normal because he's a very, very young coach and he needs time to understand how to put the right players in the right system on the field.
00:14:55
Speaker
Of course, as I said, Juventus expectations are so high, the pressure is so high, so strong, so Juventus have to win in every match, no competition, we know that very well. But of course, if I think the next match against Napoli, maybe
00:15:15
Speaker
a peer-law should decide to come back, an ideal football that he showed against Sandora. I mean, he's played 3-5-2 formation in these first two games. Well, 3-5-2 when they attack, Juve, but then kind of 4-4-2 when they in defensive phase.
00:15:33
Speaker
Do you think that Pirlo will stick with this 3-5-2 formation this season? Do you think it will be his main formation? Or do you think that he will change it once Di Bala and Dilict, for example, when those two players come back? Do you think maybe he will change it to another formation?
00:15:49
Speaker
I don't know, to be honest, I don't know, but it's possible. Absolutely. I just understand that he wants to play with so many quality players altogether. I understand just that. But he must find the right balance because, especially in the first half against Roma, Juventus made a lot of mistakes. Roma had a lot of changes. They couldn't score it.
00:16:16
Speaker
more goals. So I think that Pierlo needs to find the right balance. Was Pierlo's appointment, it was a big shot for most people, not many people saw it coming. Was he Andrea Agnelli's first choice as coach this summer or did they have another target first?
00:16:33
Speaker
I think that it was the first choice. Yes, because Andre Agnelli has appointed him in one day after Saris' departure, so it was impossible for Juve to speak with Guardiola, to speak with maybe Klopp, to speak with Zidane, so they decided to bet on Andrea. I don't know if it will be a long-term appointment, because he will achieve this goal if he will win.
00:17:02
Speaker
All depends on the results. You mentioned Guardiola there. There's been a lot of rumours for a long time about Pep Guardiola and Juventus and obviously his Manchester City contract is expiring at the end of this year. Just how much truth is there in Juventus' interest in Guardiola and do you see him as a future Juventus coach?
Future of Pep Guardiola at Juventus
00:17:25
Speaker
Never say never in the future because I think that Pep wants to try to win in Italy as well. But in the past maybe there were some contacts bottom.
00:17:36
Speaker
Last season Juventus' first choice was Sarri and Sarri was the last Juventus coach. It's very difficult to speak with this type of coaches because they want a lot from the market. At Juventus it's impossible to work in this way.
Suarez Passport Scandal
00:18:01
Speaker
Let's talk about the Luis Suarez passport scandal, which has been the rest of the world are looking on and wondering what the hell is going on. That's what I wanted to ask you. I mean, what is your understanding of that passport scandal issue and what is Juventus position on it?
00:18:16
Speaker
Guys, I still don't understand why you went to work behind Suarez without the opportunity to take another non-European player. Of course, they tried to buy him. I can confirm that and maybe I think that I was one of the first to write that.
00:18:38
Speaker
But it's a very difficult question because I don't understand why Juventus have tried to send him without having the opportunity to do that. If we look at it from what can happen now, I mean, if we look at how are Juventus, what risk do Juventus run them and their staff? What can happen to them, do you think? And also what do you think will happen?
00:19:05
Speaker
To be fair, I don't think that Juventus risk anything about that, because we are not talking about a Juventus player, but of course now it's important for everybody to understand and clear the situation.
00:19:23
Speaker
Speaking of Antonio Conte, as we were talking about 10 euro in your pocket and 100 euro restaurant, I mean, when you look back now, I mean, as a player, he was the captain of that Juventus team of Lipis, the first Lipi Juventus, and then became Juventus coach. And he was kind of the person who was the architect behind this second, this glory.
00:19:44
Speaker
a period that Juventus are going through. I mean, if you look at his entire time at Juventus, it was very extreme because he won three Scudetti, he was really successful, but he also failed in Europe and he didn't exactly leave Juventus in the best terms. How do you look at his entire period at Juventus? What are your feelings on that?
00:20:06
Speaker
They say just that Antonio Conte is Juventus because he was the captain of this team. He won the Champions League in Rome, the last Champions League with the squad at Juventus. He was the coach of this team. He won Frisco Detti like a coach. So Conte is history. He's a big part of Juventus history.
00:20:31
Speaker
Just huge respect for him, for what he did for this clan. So now he's a professional and that's normal that he works for another team. But content is Juventus. I mean, he was close to leaving Inter this summer. They had a Villa Bellini Tavolo di Pache to patch everything up, as you'll remember, which was very weird to cover, I can tell you that. But he did leave Juve in a very
00:21:01
Speaker
weird way. And can you tell us what really happened? Why did he leave the way he did? I remember very well that day because it was a funeral in Milan. My boss texted me, look, that Conte is going to leave. And I answered, don't joke in this moment. That was true. But Antonio is so strong, also in terms of character, of attitude.
00:21:29
Speaker
I don't know guys what really happened but I think that he was not happy with the market. In that season he had a bad relationship with someone of the board at Juventus and then after three days during the pre-season he decided to leave.
00:21:51
Speaker
I think that it's not easy to work with him. Was it Juan Iturbe, the player? Because it didn't be Juan Iturbe and he was angry. He wanted Juan Iturbe, he wanted Juan Cuadrado, he wanted Alvaro Morata and Patricia Vra, and they signed the contract with Juventus. But Antonio, Antonio, push, push, push, push, push. It's not easy to work with him, but really, really tough coach, one of the best in the world. No doubt about him.
00:22:19
Speaker
Yeah, there's definitely no doubts about that. To finish off on the transfer, let's look at some potential future... Finally, finally, finally. Let's look at some potential future transfer targets for Juve. So first, Zagnolo. He's a player Juventus have long been linked with. According to your information, is he someone that Juventus were interested in signing before? And is he somebody that you think could have signed for Juve?
00:22:45
Speaker
maybe at the end of this season if it wasn't for his unfortunate injury that he's just had again.
00:22:53
Speaker
I can tell you that Juventus two months ago had tried to buy Daniel with a swap deal. I don't know the players included, potentially included, but for Roma, no way, because they wanted to keep him and Lorenzo Pellegrini to develop a new project with a new owner. But I think that if Daniel will recover well, next summer Juventus will try seriously again to buy him.
00:23:22
Speaker
Okay, very interesting. Just for you, just for your podcast. That's our exclusive. We're here for you every week. How close were you, Bey, to sign in Haaland this year? This year? I think there were some contacts in January, but Haaland wanted to get the right group up step by step. So, no way.
00:23:50
Speaker
that Juventus were able to sign him this summer from Borussia Dortmund. Let's see what will happen during the next summer. But to be fair, Daniello was a hot name and Harland, no.
00:24:05
Speaker
Harland not, but because his agent is Mino Riola, we know that Riola has a good relationship with Juventus, bringing players there. Also, Harland has a release clause in his contract, which is
00:24:21
Speaker
I'm not sure if it's valid this till next year or the year after, but it's not that high. When we consider what a player Haaland is, I mean, he's an alien. Do you think that the Raiola connection gives Juve a chance of him being the next club after he leaves Dortmund? You mean that if you have a good relationship with me or Raiola, you have a huge chance to sign him in the future? For sure, yeah. What do you think?
00:24:49
Speaker
Maybe that's possible, that's possible, but I think that Raya wants just to do his best business possible. So I remember that when Holland played
00:25:02
Speaker
at Mold, Mold in English, I don't know if it's Mold, and Juventus had the opportunity to buy him for 3-4 million euros. But the players decided to stay in Norway. Then they decided to move
00:25:19
Speaker
to Salis Burgo, then Borussia Dortmund, step by step.
Felix Correia as a Rising Star
00:25:23
Speaker
Of course, Juventus have tried to sign him, especially when he was at MOL, but now I don't think it is a true and a huge name for Juventus, rather.
00:25:35
Speaker
Final transfer question. Is there any other players? I mean, you've mentioned Zagnolo already, but are there any other players that we should keep an eye on for the future that Juventus maybe could be looking to sign long term? I don't know, to be fair. I can tell you that Felix Correa
00:25:53
Speaker
the player that is doing his best at under Venti 3 and scored the boot goal in the American assets last season is a player that quickly he can start to work with the first team.
00:26:09
Speaker
He did this swap with Manchester City in the last month with Pablo Moreno. And I know that Juventus want to push on this guy. Yeah, he scored a fantastic goal. I saw that goal. It was against the process. Atel Piero goal, wasn't it? Atel Piero. Fly down, mate. Fly down.
00:26:36
Speaker
Okay, Romeo, we have a question for you now from one of our dear
Insights from Romeo Agresti
00:26:41
Speaker
patrons. His name's John Cascarano, who's actually, he's a big Juventus fan from New Jersey in the United States. So John, please ask Romeo your question. John Romeo, thanks for having me on, guys. Been following your work for a while.
00:26:56
Speaker
I'm sure you're inundated with transfer questions this time of year. I'm on Twitter too, so I've seen it. I'm not going to bother you anymore with that, but kind of wanted to know over the past, I don't know, maybe five years or so, you seem to have emerged as one of the most reliable sources for transfer news, especially as it relates to Juventus. How did you build your network exactly? If you don't mind telling all of us, and how did you get yourself in this position to be so successful?
00:27:23
Speaker
Ciao, Gianni. Thanks for your kind words. To be honest, I don't know if I'm one of the most available. I don't know if I'm working the right way. I just do my best every day. So I have a huge passion for my job. I try to do really my best every day. I try to improve every day.
00:27:44
Speaker
Then, as I said in another podcast, I think that if you do your, if you put your best effort, you can do good things. Just that, but I'm not special. I think that we have just two kings of the market in Italy. There are Gianluca Di Marcio and Fabrizio Romano. I work behind just one team, you went also.
00:28:27
Speaker
listening. You can follow Romeo on Twitter, on at Romeo Agresti. He also has his own YouTube channel, very active on Instagram. And finally, once again, if you want to get access to all the episodes and content of the Italian football podcast, go to patreon.com slash T I F P. So thank you everyone for listening. Romeo, thank you very much for being with us today.
00:28:37
Speaker
But I try to do my best. Simple death, guys.
00:28:53
Speaker
was an honor, it was so fun, so all the best for this amazing project. I will support you and I will subscribe. Romeo, we will definitely have you on back again for later in the season, definitely. Okay, well that's it. Thank you everyone again for listening and we will catch you again on Monday for the review episode. Ciao ciao.