Szczesny on Juventus exit, ‘leader’ Danilo and ‘beautiful’ Atalanta

Wojciech Szczęsny claimed he has ‘zero’ regrets about how his seven-season stint at Juventus came to an end, insisting Bianconeri director Cristiano Giuntoli was ‘very honest’ after telling him he was no longer part of the club’s plans.

The goalkeeper’s status changed after Thiago Motta’s arrival, leading him to terminate his contract with the Old Lady by mutual consent and initially announce his retirement from football, only to change his mind in October, when he joined Barcelona as a free agent.

Speaking about his former club in a lengthy interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 34-year-old admits he enjoys ‘Thiago Motta’s football philosophy’ and believes that it is normal to go through highs and lows ‘when you change everything’ and focus ‘on the future’.

Szczęsny: I ‘didn’t expect’ my and Danilo’s exits, but Juventus respected me

“I like the project, but it’s clear that when you change everything, focusing on the future, you end up sacrificing results in the first season,” Szczęsny told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I really like Thiago Motta’s football philosophy, I like the way the team is playing, although it’s clear there have been a few too many draws. But many of those came at the end, with the team winning.

“It’s part of the growth of the young players who need to learn – to use a term that Max Allegri loves – to manage crucial games. This Juventus have a lot of room for improvement, and I’m sure they’ll get back to being the way they were.

“I think Motta deserves, one, a lot of applause because he had a lot of courage in changing the team’s playing style, and two, the patience I mentioned earlier.”

As a former teammate of Dusan Vlahovic, the Polish goalkeeper didn’t want to comment on his suitability for Motta’s playing style, although he insisted the Serbian is ‘a great striker’.

“I don’t think it’s right for a former teammate to judge this situation; those are things the coach has to assess,” Szczęsny said.

“One can agree or disagree, but if the manager thinks a player fits his style, he plays, otherwise, someone else does.

“Dusan is a great striker, he will be a great striker, and I hope he will prove that at Juventus. He has an extraordinary ability to score goals, and I think he also has the ability to adapt very well to the role Zirkzee had last year at Bologna because he’s technically strong and knows how to hold the ball up.”

Szczęsny’s departure was soon followed by that of another veteran, as former Bianconeri captain Danilo also terminated his contract with the club—something the goalkeeper did not expect.

“I don’t know what happened, but I couldn’t have expected the departure of someone who’s such a great player and a great leader,” he continued.

“Dani is a very strong character and an important man in the locker room. But this is football, I didn’t expect Szczęsny’s departure either… One has to accept that a coach or a sporting director has different ideas and go seek a new adventure.”

However, the player insists he has no regrets about what happened with him.

“No, zero. Surprised at first, yes, but I was treated with great respect,” Szczęsny admitted.

“After communicating his decision to me, Giuntoli was perfect. He sent a coach to Marbella to avoid me having to return to Turin and be left out of the squad.

“He was very honest and available, and we found a solution. The fact that I didn’t agree with the decision is another matter, but I didn’t feel any kind of regret toward him or the coach. I accepted the decision and chose to leave football.”

Szczęsny is now set to face Atalanta in the final game of the Champions League league phase: “One of the most beautiful projects in all of Europe,” he observed.

“Gasperini deserves a lot of credit: the team has very clear ideas, they develop players well, and they have a very aggressive playing style.

“You’re never happy to play against Atalanta. For us, it’s a very important match, we want to win, but we know it won’t be easy at all.”