Soccer-Allegri has no regrets about making return to Juve

(Reuters) - Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said he has no regrets about returning to Turin to coach the club for a second time, despite struggling so far to transform the fortunes of Serie A's most successful side.

Allegri, who won five Serie A titles in a row during his first spell in Turin between 2014 and 2019, succeeded Andrea Pirlo last May, but has had limited success this season - Juve sit fourth in the Italian top flight and are out of Europe.

"Absolutely not," Allegri told a news conference on Friday, when asked if he had any regrets about returning.

"I returned to Juve very happy and I am still very happy. I have my 10-year-old son who lives in Turin, it was a choice made for this reason too.

"I wanted to have four good years to build something important, I have absolutely no regrets. I have taken away some satisfactions and I try to take away others together with the club."

Knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third season in a row, Juve trail Serie A leaders AC Milan by six points ahead of Saturday's clash with Bologna.

But with a top-four spot up for grabs, and a Coppa Italia semi-final to come, Allegri says there is still plenty to play for this term.

"It would have been nice to go forward in the Champions League," he added. "But let's take one step at a time, let's think about Bologna and the league.

"There are six matches left of which the last two are against teams behind us (in the standings). Fiorentina have the best schedule compared to us, so you have to be careful and in my opinion you still need 10 points, minimum, to go to the Champions League.

"We will think about the Italian Cup from the day after tomorrow."

Allegri also revealed veteran defender Leonardo