Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio has shared his thoughts on the team's form and young players in an interview.
He believes Juventus' mental strength was key to recovering from a 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and has picked Dusan Vlahovic as the club's strongest striker, comparing Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz to Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
Juventus' Form and Mentality
Marchisio commented on the dramatic draw with Dortmund:
"If you're not a mentally strong group, you don't recover in certain matches, especially in the Champions League. Some court decisions also didn't help us."
He added:
"It's in the club's DNA not to concede goals, but also to score a lot of goals, you need to have a lot of quality in attack. The club has invested in attack with David, Openda and Zhegrova."
Kenan Yildiz – Symbol of Juventus Values
Marchisio is impressed by the 20-year-old Turkish:
"Kenan is not just a playmaker, he creates opportunities for himself. Such a young guy with so much quality, who gives his heart and soul and that affects everyone, starting with his teammates."
He added:
"Bremer is right when he says that Kenan's influence makes him like Juventus' Lamine Yamal. Yildiz would have played for the Juventus of my time."
On a contract renewal for Yildiz, Marchisio said:
"Yes, because despite being a foreigner, he perfectly symbolizes the values of Juventus. It is not easy to find a player so strong and sought after in Europe, but who dreams of staying with the club to win."
Vlahovic – Juventus' real striker
Marchisio also commented on the form of Dusan Vlahovic, who was expected to leave in the summer:
"Dusan has always scored goals. Just look at his goals-minutes ratio this season. If he keeps this composure, he will score every Sunday."
Asked about his favorite Juventus striker, Marchisio chose:
"Of the three, Dusan is the real number '9'. David and Openda have other characteristics. Last season, Dusan carried the entire burden of the attack on his shoulders, but not now. I would be happy to have three strikers instead of Tudor compared to Thiago Motta who had only Vlahovic for six months."