Pepe: 'Heart, soul and leg for Juve'

By Football Italia staff

Simone Pepe “gave my heart, soul and a leg” for Juventus, so salutes Carlos Tevez, Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala and teaches Alvaro Morata to swear.

The winger suffered from a series of extremely serious injuries that effectively ruled him out of action for two years.

He managed to make his comeback over the last few weeks of the season and will be a free agent when his contract expires on Wednesday.

“Emptying out my locker at Vinovo gave me a huge sense of sadness,” the 31-year-old told Tuttosport newspaper.

“Aside from the injury, I had five fantastic years at an incredible club. I gave my heart, soul and a leg for Juventus.

“The Bianconeri fans realised that and always hailed me, showering me with affection. I will always maintain that incredible rapport with the supporters.”

Pepe is now considering his options and has been linked with a return to his old club Udinese.

“I would like to remain in Italy and am looking around at my options. I have three football ‘homes’ – Teramo, Udinese and Juve.”

Even through the injuries, he still managed to win four Scudetti, two Italian Super Cups and the Coppa Italia.

“Nothing can ever make up for losing the Champions League Final. In Berlin after the game I told my teammates that the day after we’d feel even worse and I was not wrong.

“I couldn’t sleep that night and I wasn’t the only one. I logged on to the Whatsapp chat we have between us players at 6.45am and everyone else was on there too. The bitterness of coming so close to the Champions League trophy was too much to bear.

“We formed such a solid bond between us, but I am sure another will be created with the new players. That is the true strength of Juventus: players and Coaches come and go, but the jersey and the club’s winning mentality remain.”

Tevez has officially agreed to quit Juve for Boca Juniors, making way for Dybala and Mandzukic.

“I did expect it, as Carlos had this immense desire to go back to Boca and Juventus did well to respect his decision,” continued Pepe.

“I will always remember him as a fantastic player and a very humble man. I’d happily go to Boca with him!

“I think Dybala will inherit my Number 7 shirt. He’s a fantastic lad and Juve is a different world to Palermo, but I’ve already seen him do some incredible moves. He reminds me of Vincenzo Montella.

“Tevez has different characteristics to Mandzukic, but they share the same warrior spirit. Look at how many clashes he had with Giorgio Chiellini over the years. He’s someone who can crack his head open and two seconds later get back on the field.

“Morata has the DNA of a phenomenon, as he combines technique with strength and pace. Alvaro can become one of the five or six best players in the world.

“When Morata arrived, I immediately taught him a few Italian swearwords to get used to the games. I did the same with Pogba, but Paul already knew some because he’d learned from Federico Macheda at Manchester United.”

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