Ventura on Torino’s last derby: With VAR, I’d have won more | OneFootball

The former national team coach reflects on his years at Torino and contemplates his experience with the Azzurri: “I should have thought three times before accepting”

Ventura and the last derby won by Toro: “With VAR, I would have won more, we suffered many injustices”

A decade has passed since that last victory for the Granata in the Mole derby. It was April 26, 2015, a day that Torino fans have not forgotten: 2-1 against Juventus, with a comeback by Darmian and Quagliarella after Pirlo's initial free-kick. Leading the team was Gian Piero Ventura, the last coach to defeat the Bianconeri in an official city derby.

“Pirlo scored from a free-kick, then we came back with Darmian and Quagliarella. But we played even better matches,” Ventura recalls in an interview with Corriere dello Sport.

“With VAR, we would have won more derbies”

Ventura does not hide a certain regret for the many missed opportunities also due to refereeing incidents:

“With VAR, we would have won many more. We suffered a lot of injustices, according to everyone. Without going into details, there were penalties not given, missed expulsions, and good goals disallowed. I can assure you there would have been more than one.”

An analysis that brings back memories of a period when Ventura's Torino established itself as one of the most organized and recognizable teams in the league, capable of enhancing young talents and proposing modern and proactive football.

The experience with the National Team: “I should have thought three times”

The Ligurian coach also revisited the most discussed period of his career: leading the Italian National Team, which culminated in failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

“I should have thought three times before accepting,” Ventura admits. “For the National Team, I gave up a three-year contract with a team that plays in Europe every year, Lazio. But after just twenty days, I realized there were no conditions to play football.”

A passage that highlights the bitterness for a role experienced in a context that, according to the former coach, did not allow him to work as he would have liked.

“Today, playoffs are considered an achievement, back then they were a failure. I should have left earlier, but the bond with Italy and that jersey was too strong. Unfortunately, I didn't have a solid federation behind me. With the current one, it would have been different. After the match with Sweden, I found myself alone in front of the firing squad. Everyone else had already fled.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.