Gioanni Galeone has defended Juventus coach Max Allegri amid talk of his immediate sacking.

Galeone has long acted as a mentor to Allegri.

He told Il Giornale: “I sometimes found the criticisms directed at him to be ungenerous, considering that Max found himself managing really difficult situations alone. I believe that the gesture towards Giuntoli should be interpreted with the desire to rejoice only with the team. And then we know Max’s passionate character…

“I would see him well in the Premier League. Even if in Italy De Laurentiis would do anything to bring him to Naples. I was born in Naples and I love it. I accepted the job after Carletto Mazzone left out of desperation: the situation was out of control. Today, Napoli is a great club.

Galeone then focused on the Coppa final: “Max set up the match perfectly. The team followed him and Juve deservedly won. Gasperini for his part paid for the absence of Scamacca and the fact of having taken Vlahovic’s goal at the start.”