Friday, February 20, 2009
Ranieri: "We Are In The Crucial Moment Of The Season"
The match schedule is becoming busier, the clinic is being emptied and Ranieri can smile. This is the theme of the press conference held by the Juventus coach in Vinovo a few minutes before the departure to Palermo.
In Sicily, Juventus will see the beginning of true tour de force made up of 8 matches (all in the evening) valid for three different competitions: the championship, Champions League and Coppa Italia :
"We are in the crucial moment of the season – said the coach – we have 18 sure matches in 100 days and it’s up to us to increase them. Getting to this point and seeing the clinic being emptied gives me hope for the rest of the season, The team is well. We must now achieve that further boost which can only be obtained through victory".
An empty clinic means a wider choice with regards to players available. While awaiting to have everybody (particularly Salihamidzic, Zebina and Knezevic who are on the right track), the coach can afford to announce part of the starting line-up at the Barbera:
"Trezeguet, Chiellini and Camoranesi will definitely be on the starting line-up. I am happy to have all the attackers at my disposal. They are not all on the same level of condition but I expect important goals from them. David is well and seeing him during training I noticed he has not forgotten how to score. His team-mates who played with him for many years and know him well know how to pass to him".
Three elements mentioned are of sure reliability, in view of a fundamental match which is the last before the return to European football. London is still far but not only geographically. At the moment Palermo is on everybody’s mind.
"For us it will be an important test and nobody will be thinking of Chelsea – concluded Ranieri -, even though it will be a sort of general rehearsal for us. We know what to expect, a team that is doing well and which beat us in the last two matches. Last year they managed to do so thanks to a great goal by Cassani at the end of a match which we deserved to win and in the first round we paid the price for the excessive will to win".
Juventus.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment