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Capello demands Juventus focus Tuesday 28 March, 2006
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Fabio Capello insists his Juventus side have the qualities to dismiss the threat of Arsenal in tonight’s Champions League tie.
The Highbury outfit do seem to fancy their chances against the Italian giants even if Capello has great faith in his players.
“It will be a difficult game for us,” said the tactician. “We must stay very alert, but we are strong enough to not only beat Arsenal but also reach the Paris Final.”
The Old Lady travelled to London without the suspended Pavel Nedved and the injured Alessandro Del Piero.
The first is likely to be replaced by former Chelsea player Adrian Mutu, while David Trezeguet with be partnered in attack by an under-fire Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“I think Zlatan will have a good game,” assured the tactician. “He is sometimes wrongly criticised, but he is of vital importance to the team and I am happy with him.”
Tonight’s clash at Highbury is understandably being dominated by Patrick Vieira’s return, but the Coach insists a former Juventus player could be key.
“All home teams in Europe are called to attack in games, especially when a side has a player like Thierry Henry,” noted Don Fabio. “We must stay focused.”
The Premiership outfit will be the fresher team after their weekend game was postponed, while Juve had to play for 45 minutes against Roma with 10 men.
Yet Capello isn’t worried, in fact, Saturday’s Delle Alpi performance has left him in great spirits.
“The team is in good shape and I think that was evident against Roma,” he argued, even if many commentators were not that impressed with their display.
“It was an important test for us ahead of the Arsenal match, but we must now go and prove ourselves on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Del Piero has been ruled out of action for the next 10 days which means he will also miss the second leg of the match against Arsenal.
This is getting sad.....