Juventus Coach Ferrara: Caution Against Lazio; Inter Feeling The Heat

The coach has warned against the potential pitfalls his players face against Lazio...

Sep 11, 2009 

Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara has warned his side of the dangers they face when they clash with Lazio in Rome tomorrow night.

The Bianconeri head to the Olimpico hoping to keep their 100 percent record intact. Ferrara has told his players they will need to stand firm and fight hard for maximum points.

"It will be a very delicate game," Ferrara told the press.

"When I saw the fixture list I said that it would be hard for us and the opposition. Roma didn't want to face us straight away, and now we head back to the Olimpico to face a Lazio side in great form."

Seven Juventus players took part in Italy's whirlwind week of World Cup qualifiers, but despite the hard work, Ferrara is expecting the right response from his men. The coach has also confirmed Alessandro Del Piero will make the trip, despite some concerns over his fitness.

"The national team players all got back ok. Felipe Melo will meet us in Rome, while I have picked Del Piero for tomorrow, even though he is continuing his recovery," added the coach.

Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, claimed he would be supporting Lazio as he stirred up another conflict. Ferrara has responded, claiming the Nerazzurri can feel the heat.

"Moratti? I would have been stunned if he said the contrary. This confirms Juventus are putting pressure on the opposition," concluded Ferrara.

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Grosso has no debut nerves

Fabio Grosso is looking forward to his Juventus debut against Lazio, but Alessandro Del Piero could miss out again.

Although he is yet to make an appearance in the Bianconeri jersey, the left-back has already enchanted Turin by scoring in Italy’s 2-0 victory over Bulgaria at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I am ready to play on Saturday in Rome and to give my best,” assured the 2006 World Cup winner.

“Being at Juve is a source of immense pride and I hope to win, because that is what the club deserves.

“I expect to do well and we have everything we need to aim high. With humility, we will try to achieve those targets.”

Del Piero is yet to make an appearance for Juventus in Serie A this season, as he has been struggling with a back problem.

Now the captain has recovered from that ailment and has another, as he skipped training on Thursday due to an Achilles heel twinge.

There are doubts on whether Del Piero can play against Lazio, so David Trezeguet could well partner Amauri.

Vincenzo Iaquinta should be rested after featuring at club and international level regularly.

The striker also scored in the 2-0 win over Bulgaria, a game that saw seven Juve players in the starting XI.

Juventus Plan Move For Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue - Report

Juventus are looking at Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue as the answer to their right-back questions, according to Tuttosport.

The reports indicates a move is being planned by club directors for the winter transfer market, as Ciro Ferrara has asked for a reliable defender for his right side. Jonathan Zebina has struggled with injury problems, while Zdenek Grygera has found it hard to perform in the coach's new tactical set up.

Ferrara is keen to challenge for the Champions League and the Scudetto and he wants a powerful, pacy and combative right-back who can cope with the demands of top European action. In addition, Eboue can play as a midfielder, allowing Ferrara freedom to work with his players and tactics.

The Ivory Coast international has already been linked with Fiorentina. The Viola had opened up discourse with the Gunners in the summer, but the move didn't happen.
Milan have also had a look at the player, but it is thought that Juventus are in pole position.

Despite the report, though, neither Arsenal nor Juventus have confirmed the claims.

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Gianluigi Buffon: Italy Are Almost There

A much-improved Italy defeated Bulgaria 2-0 in Turin and virtually booked their place in next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Marcello Lippi’s men will only need a point to make sure of top spot in Group Eight when they travel to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland next month.

“Qualification is not mathematical yet, but we have taken an enormous step forward,” Gianluigi Buffon told Rai TV after the encounter.

Italy came under heavy criticism last weekend after a fortunate 2-0 win away to rock-bottom Georgia, a performance that was described in the national press as ‘embarrassing’.

“We wanted to prove we could do better than what we did in the match with Georgia and did well particularly in the first half,” said Buffon who turned in another outstanding display in the win.

Some sections of the press have started referring to the Nazionale as ‘Italjuve’ after Lippi named seven Bianconeri players in his starting XI last evening, but Buffon does not agree.

“No, Italy belongs to everyone,” he concluded.
 
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The squad is nearly complete

Ciro Ferrara will have a practically full squad for the training session scheduled this afternoon at 18:00hrs, two days before the away match against Lazio in Rome on Saturday night at 20:45hrs. Nearly all the internationals will be back, excluding Felipe Melo and Caceres who are on their way back from South America.

Tomorrow morning will see the last training session before the departure for Rome.

Juventus Boss Ciro Ferrara: Alessandro Del Piero? No One Is Untouchable

Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero has yet to make a Serie A appearance this season, being left out of the team to recover from an injury.

Reports had indicated Del Piero would be available to play against Roma this past weekend, a match Juventus won 3-1, but coach Ciro Ferrara opted to give the talisman some extra time to recover.

"There are no pacts, only a common goal, that Juventus be competitive on all fronts," the coach told Radio Kiss Kiss on Wednesday.

"Alex is the captain, the symbol of the club and may not be too happy with my technical choices, but I have four strikers of the highest level and I cannot guarantee a place for everyone."

The forward extended his contract with the Bianconeri this summer until 2011 and scored 20 goals in all competitions last season.

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Roma - Juve 1 - 3 HL

Fabio Grosso is a Juventus player

Juventus reached an agreement with Olympique Lyonnais for the definite transfer of Fabio Grosso for a total of €2 million payable in three annual instalments. The value of the agreement can be increased up to a further €1 million upon reaching certain sport objectives during the length of the contract.

The agreement is under the condition that the international transfer in favour of Juventus reaches the club by Tuesday 1st September 2009. Juventus signed a three year contract with the player.

«The signing of Fabio Brosso – declared general manager Blanc – adds quality to an already very competitive squad. The international experience and the qualities of a world champion will certainly be useful to a team competing on three fronts. Ferrara, will therefore have at his disposal other technical solutions and will have a player who he got to know during his experience with the national team. With this signing Juventus have ended a very busy transfer market, which hand has now all the best conditions to concentrate on its sports objectives».

Fabio Grosso is to all a symbol of the world cup in Germany. He was the one to score the goal against Germany which opened the way to the final for Italy and his was the decisive penalty which drove an entire country into ecstasy on that night in Berlin. Fabio Grosso’s career in the summer of 2006 reached its climax but did not burn out with the victory in Germany. To get to the top of the world, Grosso started from the very bottom from his debut in Serie C2 with Chieti in 1988, to Palermo in 2004 and the call-up to the national team.

After the world cup which he lived as a hero, he moved to Inter for one season before joining Lyon with whom in two years he made 52 appearances and scored 2 goals. Now, on the last day of the transfer market, he joins Juventus and return to the Italian championship where he wants to be a protagonist.

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Diego: «The capability of sacrificing ourselves is our strength»

I am happy with the two goals and the victory. We played a great match». Diego Ribas da Cunha is gleaming: two fantastic goals, a constant presence in the game and a fundamental victory. After the assist for Iaquinta in the match against Chievo, at the Rome Olimpico the Brazilian was the absolute protagonist of the match. His approach with the Italian championship could not be better: «It is thanks to the Juventus environment, to Ferrara, to my team mates, to the affection of the fans. It is thanks to all this that I managed to fit in well. The strength of Juve is this: the capability of players of great class to adapt to a scheme and to sacrifice themselves if necessary».

Ferrara: «We played with great personality»

He took over in the last two matches of last season and won all four matches. He changed the formation and the players fit perfectly. Ciro Ferrara brought a new mentality to Juventus and the results followed just like today’s against Roma.

«It was a nice victory especially for the three points and the show of strength which is always important here in Rome. We wanted to understand what our potential was and I think we did so here. Tonight I must be happy and satisfied even though there are certain things which we must work on. We played with great personality and this is something really important. Those who played did really well».

The coach chose to field Marchisio instead of Camoranesi from the start: «Our intention was to win the match and since I knew that Camoranesi had certain problems with his knee and gave him half an hour of play».

The condition surely improved and yet a bit of anger about the goal was inevitable: «We must be angry when things don’t work out and in moments of difficulty. I got angry today when it came to the goal because we knew how they would have taken the free-kick immediately. The boys were angry too. In comparison to last week I think our condition improved quite a bit and we must improve it further. I am a bit worried about the break because I will only be able to work with a few players and will have only two days to work on the match against Lazio».

Finally the coach sent his best wishes to Pavel Nedved on his birthday: «Hey happy birthday Pavel! You’re getting old too!»