Credit: Twitter
Massimiliano Allegri, the coach of Juventus, had an unusual criticism for his young striker Kenan Yildiz, who made his Serie A debut in the 3-0 win over Udinese on Sunday. Allegri jokingly said that he was not impressed by the 18-year-old's hairstyle, which he said was distracting him from playing well.
Yildiz, who joined Juventus from Bayern Munich last year, came on as a substitute for Dusan Vlahovic in the 85th minute of the match. He showed some promising touches and movements but also caught the eye of his coach for a different reason. Allegri said in the post-match press conference that Yildiz needed to cut his hair, which he kept touching during the game.
"Tomorrow he'll cut his hair because he's touched it 100 times, tomorrow he'll cut it, and let's do things properly," declared the Juventus coach. Allegri then added, "He has quality, I was putting him in for Chiesa, then Cambiaso had cramps, and I changed to Iling. I'm happy with what the team has done.”
Allegri is known for being a pragmatic and detail-oriented coach, who pays attention to every aspect that can influence the performance of his players. Yildiz is not the only Juventus youngster who has been asked to change his look by Allegri. Matias Soule, a 19-year-old Argentine winger, had to get rid of his blond fringe after Allegri saw him at the pre-season training camp. Soule had posted a picture of himself with his new hairdo on Instagram but received a comment from his former teammate Angel Di Maria, who warned him that Allegri would not like it.
Yildiz and Soule are among the talented prospects that Juventus are hoping to develop under Allegri. Juventus started their Serie A campaign with an empathic 3-0 win over Udinese. Federico Chiesa broke the deadlock in the second minute, and Dusan Vlahovic doubled the score from the spot. Adrien Rabiot nodded home the third before the interval, allowing Massimiliano Allegri’s men to comfortably sail toward victory.
After Allegri's comments, Kenan Yildiz appeared to get a haircut as his picture went viral on social media.
