Interview with Gianluca Zambrotta - "I will be supporting Juventus in the Champions League finals"

Gianluca Zambrotta, former Juventus and Barcelona defender, is supporting the Italians in Champions League final

Gianluca Zambrotta has played both in Juventus and Barcelona colours but doesn’t hesitate to express that his support lies with the Italian giants. Speaking to Sportskeeda, he was very clear in his desire for the Italians to win the Champions League.

The former full-back of the Italians (1999-2006) and the Catalans (2006-2008) retired in 2014 and since then he has been working on a career as a coach. Now, he is a free agent and is waiting for a serious club to approach him with an interesting project.

The 38-year-old manager revealed that he received a proposal to work in India and he hasn’t shut the door on a chance to participate in the Indian Super League. Here are the excerpts from the conversation with him:

You have played both for Barcelona and Juventus with success. Which team will you support in the final of the Champions League?

Being Italian and having played for seven years for Juventus, certainly, I will be wearing the Juve colours.

Would you say that Juventus have greater motivation due to the fact that it has been very long since they last won the title?

Juventus I think are the underdogs and definitely have a small advantage. However, both teams have the same motivation to win.

Which team did you enjoy playing for more - Juventus or Barcelona?

I enjoyed playing for both teams, I can’t make any distinction between them.

You had reached the Champions League final in 2003 with Juventus, but you lost against Milan. Would you say that that was among the saddest moments of your career?

It certainly was one of the saddest moments, together, with my first lost championship with Juventus in 1999-2000 and the loss that I suffered in the last minute playing for Italy at Euro 2000.

You were part of one of the most famed defenses in history with the Italy national team. Are there young defenders in the country who can replicate their achievements at a similar age?

Unfortunately, a generation of important Italian defenders (Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro, etc.) came to an end in the last few years. It will take a bit of time to try and find players that strong. We should invest in football nurseries to ensure that we develop similar defenders in the future.

What are the qualities essential for a wing-back? Can you recall the most costly incident of when you were caught out of position?

Today a wing-back must push both in attack and be careful on defense. Surely there have been mistakes in my career - wrong position or carelessness - but that can happen.

Can you pinpoint any particular reason why the standard of Italian national team has fallen - from the highs of the 2006 World Cup triumph to the 2014 group stage exit?

The national team did very well at the last European Championships in 2012. They lost in the quarterfinals in 2008 to Spain, who went on to win the tournament. In 2009 and 2010, we didn’t do well in the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, and then that continued with the finish at the World Cup in Brazil. There, too, I think it is an important cycle that has ended.

You now have a career in coaching. Do you have any specific goals as a manager?

It is important to start getting some experience, then work according to company-specific targets and look for a serious project to work on for a long-term future.

Which manager is your role model and influenced you the most?

Without a doubt, it was Marcello Lippi, both at Juventus and with the national team.

You just left Chiasso, a team that you trained extensively. What are your plans for next year?

I'm waiting for a serious company, which has a nice project, not necessarily in Italy as I have the desire to coach.

This past year in India, many great names in football took part in the ISL. Would you consider playing in the league as a player or a coach if you were made an offer?

I do not exclude absolutely anything. I already had got an offer in 2013 to train and play in India, but I preferred to stay closer to home and so started gaining some experience with Chiasso. If I were to get a concrete proposal as a coach, I would consider it without any problem.