Juventus manager Antonio Conte admits he wanted to sign Arjen Robben – Football News
Antonio Conte has insisted that he had advised his board to sign the Dutch international, Arjen Robben, in 2009 but the club went for Diego instead.
Juventus manager claims that he had advised Alessio Secco, who was the club’s sporting director in 2009, to sign Robben from Real Madrid. The manager insisted that the club went for Diego, who was in brilliant
form playing for Werder Bremen at that time, instead of his suggested player.
The tactician stated that he had told the club officials that Diego is a player with an attacking mindset and he may not suit the style he plays. He added that he was in search of a high-profile winger and the
side has options to go for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 in 2009.
“I told Secco that I wasn't sure about Diego when they asked me about him. A player like him isn't essential in my style of play. Juventus already had plenty of options in attack. He did not really react and
I understood that he felt different. I insisted that I preferred a high-profile winger, someone like Robben or Walcott. I was after that type of player,” he was quoted as saying in an interview.
Robben went on to join Bayern Munich and was a huge success at the German club. The Dutchman won two league titles, two DFB-Supercups, a German Cup and a UEFA Champions League title. On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-c11058
was not successful in his one season with the Italian giants as he scored seven times throughout the course of the season.
Conte admitted that Diego was an expensive buy and the club could have invested the money somewhere else. The side could have bought Robben or Walcott in the same price.
“I asked him if he'd spent €25 million on him and he confirmed that Diego had been expensive, but insisted that everybody said he was a good player,” he concluded.
Arjen Robben scored the winner in this year’s UEFA Champions League final this year against Borussia Dortmund. The player found the net in the dying moments of the game and led Bayern to their fifth UEFA Champions
League title.
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