Ranieri: “We aim for the top”
Manager Ranieri is getting ready to face Palermo with his team in good shape. All midfielders and forwards are available and the only players unavailable are in defence where, apart from Andrade and Boumsong, who have been out for a while, Chiellini and Grygera will both be missing the game; the former is suspended and the latter isn't fit after playing with the Czech national team: “The important thing is that whoever plays does the best they can - the Manager remarked – Criscito is fit, he came back well motivated from the Under 21 games and he'd done well in the second half at Parma, when he was shifted to central defence. Everybody is fit and apart from the defence I have a wide choice and this is a good thing for a Manager”.
The recent international games have made some of his players particularly confident, Iaquinta and Palladino above all: “They did well in a match that at the end of the day was pretty easy and Donadoni did well trying different solutions. We're happy for them and I'm even happier that Camo played a great game in Scotland and didn't play on Wednesday, because he 's not really fit enough to play that often yet”.
Apart from a top form Camoranesi, Ranieri can employ Nedved again, back from suspension, and he knows he can count on Tiago, who is clearly on the up, after his good performance at Parma: “Tiago is reacting and in the last month or so I've noticed he's started doing what he's capable of. Obviously there are players that don't want to give up their place on the team and this healthy rivalry is good for the Manager. I have to make choices for the good of the team and precisely for this reason the ones who stay out aren't necessarily less valid than the ones who play; everyone has different characteristics, and I always try to make the team balanced. Then sometimes during the match you have to make some swift changes, because the match dynamics have changed, and at that point it's important that the players on the bench keep themselves ready and that they consider themselves to all effects and purposes first-team regulars”.
Everybody's support is needed for the match against Palermo, also because the opponents are strong: “Palermo are a dangerous team, they've earned a lot of points away from home, they scored 10 goals and conceded 10, so they have to be kept in high regard. They played two great matches against Genoa and Napoli and they haven't lost in five games. We'll try to win, fighting until the 90th minute and beyond, because they're used to scoring in injury time, like us. Is this an important match for the League standings too? I don't think about that; we have teams like Udinese, Atalanta, Palermo that are in high positions, but we said it from the start: the League this year will be more exciting and it will be ever more exciting until we keep Inter Milan within reach. We must look more to first place rather than fourth, because we always aim for the top”.
Finally, asked about the ban on away fans, Ranieri said: “The rotten apples aren't in football. Football is a vehicle and those who keep accusing it just wish to ignore the real problems”.
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