Platini issues Juve warning Wednesday 15 March, 2006
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Juventus legend Michel Platini has warned his former club to expect a tough Champions League battle against Arsenal.
Although the match is being billed as Patrick Vieira’s return to Highbury, Platini thinks a Delle Alpi flop could come back to haunt his former side.
“Everyone thinks that this match could be easier than one against Lyon or Barcelona, but Arsenal can give Juve a lot of problems,” the Frenchman stated.
“The Gunners have a certain Thierry Henry, who saw Real Madrid off with his goal at the Bernabeu.”
Nevertheless, Platini has conceded that it will take some performance by the London club to knock Fabio Capello’s men out of Europe.
“Capello has charisma and knows when to play his best players and when to rest them,” added the former No 10.
“The strength of this club is that their squad is full of match winners, from David Trezeguet to Alex Del Piero, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Adrian Mutu, from Pavel Nedved to Patrick Vieira.
“Juventus are very strong physically, yet they still have a lot of talent. The club and their Coach is what makes them so good.”
While Platini may have some doubts over who will actually triumph in this season’s European Cup, he is sure the Old Lady have done enough to net themselves yet another Scudetto.
“The 0-0 draw with Milan on Sunday was a good result due to the fact that it left Juventus with a 10-point cushion,” he added.
“Knowing Juventus’ spirit as I do, I would say that the job is as good as done when it comes to the Italian Championship.”
(from Football Italia)