Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri yesterday bid farewell to the Maltese fans when addressing a news conference at the Le Meridien St Julians a few hours before the Serie A squad left the islands en route to Catania.
Flanked by Anton Tabone and Amabile Zammit, directors of Renaissance Productions Limited, and Franco Aloisio, Go's marketing director, Ranieri opened his address by thanking the organisers and Bianconeri supporters for their hospitality.
"We have been impressed by the enthusiasm of the fans but it was impossible to satisfy the countless requests for autographs," Ranieri said.
"Being here among the Maltese was a pleasant experience. Now, we know that outside Turin, there is also a community of avid Juve supporters in Malta."
The five-day training stin was aimed at fine-tuning Juve's preparations for the second half of the Serie A season, starting with tonight's game in Catania.
With Juventus currently third in the Serie A standings behind leaders Inter and Roma, Ranieri acknowledged that his team face an uphill struggle to win the title.
"We're hoping to win the league but we know it's going to be difficult because Inter and Roma are ahead of us and there are other teams who are also well-equipped to challenge," Ranieri said.
"However, winning is in Juve's DNA and we always have to aim for the scudetto. I can't promise the fans that Juve will win the title but we will do our best."
Looking back on Juve's friendly with Valletta on Wednesday, which the latter won on penalties, Ranieri said: "Valletta were good sparring partners for us. As a coach, I wouldn't mind losing friendly matches as long we win the important tests."
"Judging by Valletta's performance, the level of Maltese football is quite good," Ranieri added. "Valletta moved well on the pitch and their link-up play between midfield and attack was positive.
"There were a few Valletta players who left a good impression on Wednesday but I'm not going to give out names because you will say that Juve are interested in signing them."
When it was put to Ranieri that Milan's training regime in Malta, which also included sessions on the beach, was noticeably different from Juve's, Ranieri replied: "We did our usual training here. Every coach has his magic book. With regards to training on sand, we did that when I coached Cagliari 15 years ago."
While declaring himself pleased with the progress of two of his younger recruits, Antonio Nocerino and Cristian Molinaro, Ranieri reserved special praise for Cristiano Zanetti.
"Zanetti is having an excellent season," he said. "I think he deserves to be recalled to the national squad."
Reports in the Italian media claim that Juventus are pursuing a host of transfer targets with Mohammed Sissoko, of Liverpool, and Hamburg's Rafael Van Der Vaart, both linked with an imminent move to Turin.
Ranieri issued a terse reply when questioned about the extent of Juve's activity in the January transfer window.
"There will be no transfer activity by Juventus this month because I'm happy with the present squad," Ranieri maintained.
Pressed to comment on reports that Sissoko, who worked with Ranieri at Valencia, fancies a move to Juventus, the former Chelsea mentor said: "Sissoko is a player I know well from my time at Valencia. It has been reported that Sissoko is keen on joining Juve. The same has been said about Van Der Vaart. I'm glad that players say they are willing to join Juventus."
Ranieri is optimistic that promising youngster Sebastian Giovinco, who is impressing during his loan spell with Empoli, has the potential to become a Juve stalwart.
"Giovinco is a champion in the making," Ranieri said after a fan asked whether the U-21 international can be as good as Milan's Brazilian newcomer Pato.
"We are banking on Giovinco but he must be given the opportunity to grow and gain more experience. My hope is that Giovinco will be the new Del Piero."
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