Sarri: 'Goal of rare beauty'

By Football Italia staff

Maurizio Sarri said the Gonzalo Higuain duet with Paulo Dybala was “worth the ticket price, a goal of rare beauty” for Juventus, but won’t call it Sarriball.

The Bianconeri swept Udinese aside 4-0 this evening to set up a Coppa Italia Quarter-Final against either Roma or Parma.

“It’s always a bit unsure going into one-off knockout games, but we played very well for long periods of the match,” the coach told Rai Sport.

Cristiano Ronaldo was not even at the stadium after suffering from sinusitis, so Douglas Costa acted as trequartista behind Dybala and Higuain, who combined beautifully for the opening goal.

“Ronaldo had sinusitis for two days, he felt a bit better this morning, but then following the afternoon rest he started to get shivers and a temperature. On such a cold night in Turin, the doctors said it was not worth the risk, so we sent him to bed.

“That was a goal of rare beauty, to see three or four exchanges like that at high speed. It was worth the price of the ticket,” smiled Sarri.

He was asked if this was a sign of Sarriball, or in the Italian version Sarrismo, at Juventus.

“You invented Sarrismo, it’s not a term I created. This Juve is not and should not be Sarri’s Juve. It is the team of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dybala, Higuain, all important players who have brought success to every coach they worked with. I am trying to give some small contribution, but we must respect the characteristics of world class players.

“I love to see goals like that with fast passing, but they can only work with players of great technical quality. This team has that. I am happy with how we are working, but this squad has such potential that it could do more. Let’s just say we are getting results now with performances that bode well for an even better future.

“I would like to help Ronaldo win a sixth Ballon d’Or, as seeing someone out there with one more than him is a little annoying… In future, Dybala can challenge for the same objective, as he can make his mark on world football for years to come.”

Even in the Coppa Italia, Emre Can still didn’t get playing time, so is he on the market?

“I don’t know about the transfer market and I am not interested. I had only one substitution left and wanted to introduce Marko Pjaca, as he’d been waiting a long time to make his comeback and needed the confidence boost.”

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