The LAFC star spoke to AS USA about his trophy-laden career with Juventus, coaching changes and his ambition to retain the MLS Cup.
Rodrigo SerranoRodASerranoWilliam GittinsWillGittUpdate: Nov 4th, 2023 18:26 EDT
LAFC return to MLS Cup action on Sunday and Giorgio Chiellini believes that his side have what it takes to retain the championship.
Chiellini was a key part of the all-conquering Juventus side that won nine consecutive Serie A titles, becoming the first team to achieve that streak in Europe’s five major leagues.
The Italian defender has picked up an incredible array of medals during his glittering career, most recently the MLS Cup with LAFC last year. After impressing in the regular season once again the Black and Gold are among the favourites to go all the way in 2023.
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LAFC won the 2022 MLS Cup in extraordinary circumstances.Javier RojasEFE
Ahead of the trip to Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, Chiellini spoke to AS USA about the prospect of winning it once again.
Chiellini: LAFC aiming to retain MLS Cup
After an 18-year career with the club, Chiellini is best associated with Italian giants Juventus. He made more than 500 appearances for the ‘Old Lady’ and kept his place in the starting XI through a succession of highly demanding managers. Speaking to AS USA, Chiellini revealed that those changes can make it difficult to remain successful.
“Each coach has his ideas and each one chooses the player that best fits his system. It is not easy to change a coach and maintain the same system with the same players,” he said.
“I think we were able to achieve it at Juventus when they changed [Antonio] Conte for [Massimiliano] Allegri because after a few months we understood the system,” Chiellini added.
Great way to start our journey in the Playoffs! ⚫️🟡#LAFC pic.twitter.com/43H4OxrB0Z
— Giorgio Chiellini (@chiellini) October 29, 2023
But despite the similarities in their style of play, the demands of elite level sport ensured that the team had to keep evolving to remain number one.
“At the end of each season there were many changes of players. If we think about the Juventus cycle in those nine seasons, they had two or three different coaches.”
Chiellini went on to compare that hugely successful evolution to LAFC’s attempt to retain MLS Cup. In a league built on equity it is almost impossible for a single team to dominate for a decade, as does happen in some top European leagues, but Chiellini insisted that LAFC are looking to build on last year’s success.
