LICHTSTEINER TALKS ABOUT HIS TIME AT JUVENTUS, PIRLO'S JUVE, AND MORE

The editorial staff of TuttoJuve.com has contacted Lichtteiner by phone, by Mirko di Natale. This is what he had to say.

So Juventus, to date, is a clock that is not working?

More than not working, it is a clock in difficulty. Juve is in a phase in which it is building a new winning cycle, I think that sooner or later the year in which you were in difficulty had to come. Unfortunately in football, you can't win forever. In my opinion, you have to look at the glass half full, we've already won a Super Cup and there's a chance to win the Coppa Italia. It's not like you're going home with nothing. It's clear that the environment has become accustomed to winning the championship in recent years, but it's never a foregone conclusion to repeat it.

A new cycle that, your Juve had started in 2015 with the purchase of youngsters like Paulo Dybala.

It has to be said that Juve has always changed a bit over the years. That season we got off to a bad start in the league, we thought the cycle was over and then we managed to win again. When you make changes, you have to accept the idea that you don't repeat yourself immediately. Honestly, I'm seeing too much criticism, unfair criticism, but the truth is that it's always too easy to talk. We need facts, the management has always achieved great results.

Thank Juve for these years of victories

Yes, but you shouldn't just thank them for that. I think Juve should always be supported by their supporters, even in difficult moments like this. Unfortunately it's not possible to do it at the stadium, the absence of the public has taken away the boost that the "Stadium" was able to guarantee. I think you would have got through the round against Porto because the players would have been pumped up by the atmosphere at 2-1.

Perhaps some fans no longer have confidence in this management

For me, it's right to put your trust in a management that has been winning for so many years. There is the strength to open a new cycle, maybe to reach the Champions League, which is the only goal still missing. The only thing I haven't understood is why Juve have lost in the last three years against inferior teams within their reach. Excluding the year in which we went out in the group, I remember that the teams that eliminated us were the biggest in Europe like Bayern and Real. And in a very surprising way.

Allegri said that in the match against Malmoe in 2014 he saw a fearful group at half-time

You need it a little bit because it's the fear of failure that pushes you to never give up. It's always a disaster to go out of the Champions League so early, but it's one thing to do it with a top club and another with a team within your reach. My Juve wasn't intimidated, maybe they weren't convinced they could do great things in the Champions League. And then we succeeded, the results speak for us.

How are you judging the work of Pirlo?

It's difficult to judge, in all honesty, I haven't had the chance to follow and watch many games. Last year Juve was in danger of losing the Scudetto, so it's normal to meet again teams that can steal the scepter from you. I think we have to congratulate Inter because they understood that to win they had to buy Juventus. Let's remember that after the storm, the sun always comes out.

Would you reconfirm Pirlo at the helm of Juventus?

Yes, Andrea deserves another chance. The management knew what the risks were when they chose him as a coach, so they surely planned for the fact that he would not win the championship again. If he were to achieve Champions League qualification, I think it would be fair to allow him to work for another year.