Hernanes: “Replacing Spalletti would be a mistake. Juventus have lost their identity; you don’t win on name alone. Nico Paz is a Barolo, Modric the best wine in Serie A”

Hernanes was a major figure in our Serie A and, speaking to us directly from SFS 26, where he featured with Serie A Operazione Nostalgia, he gave us his exclusive view of the Juventus world he experienced at close quarters, along with a frank piece of advice for the Juventus board: do not replace Spalletti.

Did you expect Juventus to be so inconsistent? Do you think the crisis is over, or do you expect a change of manager with Spalletti's departure?

"No, I don't expect a change of manager, because it would be another mistake. You have to accept, in football and in life, that a crisis comes along from time to time, that there are low points, because things go in cycles. You can see that the team have lost some of their identity and have lost the players up front who score goals, so the manager gets the blame. But if they change manager again, I think that would be another mistake."

Where would you start rebuilding?

"First, you have to build the team's identity, get that back and, from there, gradually become competitive. Only then can you think about winning. Just because you're Juventus and already wear an important shirt doesn't mean you'll win regardless..."

You know your wine and produce it yourself. In football, an attacking midfielder can be like a good wine. So, just for fun, what's the best wine in Serie A?

"Nico Paz is proving to be a fine wine, an elegant Barolo that is developing, including in the Champions League, and he's doing very well this year. Then there's still Modric, who is just like those wines that can age for a long time and still retain their structure, their qualities and their identities. So he is the wine par excellence of this Serie A."