Milan: Juventus may be old and ugly but they always end up winning, defender Giorgio Chiellini said after the Turin side clinched a seventh successive Serie A title on Sunday.
The 33-year-old, who has never been afraid to speak his mind, also taunted runners-up Napoli, saying they had celebrated too early after winning 1-0 at Juventus three weeks ago.
Chiellini is one of five players who have been involved in all seven title-winning campaigns alongside goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Andrea Barzagli and midfielder Claudio Marchisio.
Juve have also won the Coppa Italia for the last four seasons but, despite their dominance, have been variously described as dull to watch, past their best and downright lucky.
Those comments clearly rankled Chiellini, who has had to sit out the last three games with injury.
“They say that every year, the most difficult thing is to find the motivation but there is always someone who brings out the best in us,” he said, referring to Juve’s critics.
“They say we are old and ugly but we are always the ones who win. In fact, we have achieved something extraordinary.” Without mentioning them by name, he then took aim at Napoli who were welcomed by around 10,000 people at Naples airport after their win in Turin, which at the time cut Juve’s lead to one point with four games remaining.
“Somebody spoke too much and celebrated too early,” he said. “In life, you want respect. And when do you don’t show respect, you pay the consequences.
“We were silent when we had to be and now we can relish the moment. Never hurt our proud — that always gives us energy.”
