Barbs, jokes, & chasing handshakes: The eventful history between Allegri & Spalletti

“Who would I remove from Juventus? Only Allegri. He’s the best at interpreting matches. I’d spend an evening in Livorno eating cacciucco with him.”

“Max is one of the best, very good at making his team change formation and attitude in the same match.”

A year later, Allegri offered a light-hearted response when asked about his colleague.

“Differences between Spalletti and me? My hair. But not for long, he doesn’t have any left, and I almost do. But at Inter, he’s doing great things.”

This arguably marked the highest point of a relationship that was destined to deteriorate.

Allegri complains about Spalletti

In September 2021, Spalletti had just begun his adventure with Napoli, while Allegri had returned to Juventus for a second spell.

The Partenopei won at the Stadio Maradona thanks to Kalidou Koulibaly’s winner, but the contest had its fair share of controversy, and Allegri accused his rival of trying to influence the refereeing, which prompted a calm response from the Certaldo native.

“It’s a real mess. Me messing with the referee? It’s something that can’t be tolerated. I wasn’t expecting it. I went after him at the start and at the end to say hello, but he just walked away.

“There was no friction on the pitch. And besides, I’ve always lost, and once I win, he comes to lecture me.”

The beatdown at the Maradona

In January 2023, Napoli demolished Juventus by five goals to one, throwing the Old Lady out of the race once and for all.

True to his habit, Allegri tried to escape the scene as swiftly as possible, but this time, Spalletti decided to give chase, forcing his rival into an awkward handshake.

“Anyone who knows me well knows that it bothered me that he could leave without saying goodbye. At that moment, there was no stadium, and there were no cameras with millions of people in front of the TV.

“For me, it was just me and him who had to say goodbye, as I always have, even when I lost.”

This episode was preceded by an interesting pre-match comment from Allegri: “Luciano and I are not friends but acquaintances, but we have great respect.”