Yahoo Sports Thiago Motta to continue Juventus experimentation with new roles
Thiago Motta sees progress from Juventus in their 2-1 win away to Monza, but confirms he will continue experimenting different players in that tricky trequartista role. ‘It depends.’
The Bianconeri badly needed a win in the top flight after four consecutive stalemates and they ended that 43-day wait for success at the U-Power Stadium in Monza.
It was far from pretty, as Weston McKennie turned in a corner and Nico Gonzalez got the winner around a temporary equaliser from Samuele Birindelli, but they remain unbeaten in Serie A this season.
It was the first time in all competition that Juventus had started Teun Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez, Kenan Yildiz, Francisco Conceicao and Dusan Vlahovic together.
“Nico Gonzalez and McKennie are open to taking roles that they don’t always hold, but they do it very well because they have a high level and it is a pleasure for a coach to work with lads who have this attitude,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.
Thiago Motta wants versatile Juventus stars
The experiment only lasted until half-time, when Koopmeiners went off as a precaution with an adductor issue, but it was curious to see Gonzalez in the central ‘trequartista’ role behind the striker.
“We have always struggled against teams that defend and go on the counter. We needed to kill off the game, this is part of the growth process, taking the extra risk against these teams and potentially allowing counter-attacks,” continued Thiago Motta.
“We were in the position to do the transitions with quality in the second half when we took the lead, but we didn’t do it well enough.”
At one stage, McKennie even moved into that trequartista role, while some are calling for Kenan Yildiz to be used there in the centre. Is Thiago Motta getting any closer to his ideal for that position?
“It depends on their form and the kind of match we want to play against the opponent. Nico Gonzalez can do it very well, I see him in training and he already played in many roles in his career. When someone can have many different roles, it means he pays attention to what his teammates do, he is special and wants to improve himself all the time.
“Nico Gonzalez can play on the right or left, as a centre-forward, but I also see him doing well there. As I said, I only ever use players in a role if they are convinced that they can do it.”
The victory boosts their position, but Juventus remain nine points off leaders Atalanta, who today registered their 11th consecutive win.
“We only look at the table at the end of the season. Before that, we take it one game at a time and try to aim for the maximum result against every opponent,” insisted Thiago Motta.
