Criscitiello explains how the Allegri & Giuntoli relationship deteriorated

Italian football journalist Michele Criscitiello reveals how the rapport between Juventus Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli and former coach Max Allegri gradually faltered throughout the campaign.

The former Napoli sporting director joined the club last summer and became the Biancooneri’s head of the sporting department.

As Criscitiello tells it in his column for Sportitalia, the two men started on the right foot, sharing an amicable relationship.

The journalist claims that Giuntoli, upon joining Juventus, had a reunion with Luciano Spalletti in mind. He was willing to bide his time until the end of the campaign before replacing Allegri with the former Napoli coach, but kept this ploy hidden for obvious reasons.

However, this plan collapsed when the Italian national team appointed Spalletti as a replacement for Roberto Mancini.

So after the turn of the new year, Giuntoli started searching for an alternative, and Allegri learned the director was making contacts with other coaches, including Thiago Motta, with the intention of replacing him.

This was a bitter pill that the Livorno native had to swallow for months. While the club was publicly backing him, he was aware that the ploy to replace him was already in motion.

So as Criscitiello puts it, Allegri reached his boiling point during the Coppa Italia final, causing the great fiasco.

His regretful actions only accelerated his departure, but Giuntoli had already set his mind on finding a replacement.