Football in the time of interviews under the parasol. Juve against Real Madrid tomorrow

They were small fires, summer flashes, promises or umbrella vendettas that were part of the game. Then it was back to football played and everything went back to the way it was before. Those were other times, with no Var and lots of new puzzle rules. Better times? Uglier? Go and see. In amarcords, rogue nostalgia is just around the corner. And it ends up playing nasty tricks, like making things beautiful that really weren't. But one point was clear to everyone: that the merry-go-round had to stop.

Now, as we see instead with the Club World Cup, a tournament invented to multiply loaves and fishes, all this is gone. Let's look at Juventus, poor thing, which was already coming off a mediocre championship with that Tudor who arrived in the spring to replace Thiago Motta, a professor far too clever for an environment where loyalty to the flag is rewarded. Here, after this moonlight, all Juve's players, starting with Vlahovic, should have run off to Cervia to sandblast. Far be it from them to risk ending up out of the squad.

Instead, everyone went to the American World Cup where it was warmer than in the Po Valley between Voghera and Alessandria under the anticyclone. Result: after two games with the Emiratins and Moroccans, the slaps (5-2 ) of City arrived, bringing the Bianconeri back to their exact dimensions with new accusations of the fragility of the defence and the poor charisma of Tudor who, Yildiz aside, has to make the best of things.

Tomorrow in Miami is the challenge with Real Madrid. The risk of another setback, fingers crossed, is not so remote. Of course, the justifications - fatigue, poor motivation, reduced overall budget - are not lacking. But is it really necessary to hurt oneself?

In the general chorus of jubilation from commentators, only Jurgen Klopp, legendary former Liverpool coach, said that the American World Cup is madness: 'This tournament is simply the worst idea ever put into practice in football. I think it is useless, it doesn't help and it takes away the players' holidays. Whoever wins this tournament, will be the unluckiest winner of all time because they have to play the whole summer and then go straight back to the championship,' concluded Kropp, who is currently the football coordinator of the Red Bull group.

Coaches, from angels to demons. Among football's immutable catchphrases, the most classic one is the sanctification (later to turn into demonisation) of coaches. Especially in the summer, 'coaches' are always looked upon with a generosity that borders on idolatry. In the summer, of course, when everything still has to happen. After two draws are enough and the saint is immediately put on the grill as the tried and tested script dictates.

An example? The first is Cristian Chivu, Inter's new coach after the unsympathetic divorce from Inzaghi. Now Chivu, who actually works miracles in America by holding together a worn-out and demotivated team (yesterday Frattesi was also injured) is described as a maestro who is already acting as a nurturer for young hopefuls like Valentin Carboni and Pio Esposito. 'You can already see his hand,' observes some observers, perhaps exaggeratedly optimistic.

The announcements from Allegri's holiday. "Now I'm changing Milan" thunders Max from Sardinia where (at least he) is on holiday. And then he mercilessly adds: "Wake up early and train twice as much", reminding us with satisfaction that the Rossoneri will be the first to return to work next Monday 7th July. All that's missing is that Allegri, in addition to dominant football, asks the troop to do a hundred push-ups at every wrong stop and to do the bunk a hundred times to those playing play station

Now: Allegri's zeal, even though he has been on holiday for more than a year, is appreciable. What is lacking, however, is an idea of what Milan is becoming, a club in vertical decline that has so far, in the summer market, sold its prized pieces (Reijnders and Leo Hernandez) without yet having taken any real reinforcements other than that Luca Modric. Who certainly has been a great champion, but to think that at 39 years old the Rossoneri revolution will start with him, is really a brave bet.

And Rino Gattuso? Here is another textbook case. That Rino was a faithful, generous midfielder is beyond dispute. It was seen at AC Milan, in the national team, wherever he went, in short.As a coach he did not achieve the same results. It is known, but whatever, Buffon wanted him after Ranieri's forfeit. Putting the pieces of this national team back together, however, is a daunting task, as we saw with Spalletti, who in a year, after being glorified, ended up in the dust with the label of a rigid visionary incapable of communicating to the players. Now with Gattuso, we have started again with the fawning: flagman, formidable motivator, the only one who can send us to the World Cup after the two previous failures. How does that saying go? By enemies I guard myself, by friends God guard me.