Ranieri: Juve are the Real deal Tuesday 4 November, 2008
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Claudio Ranieri feels the win over Real Madrid was the turning point in Juventus’ season and they are far stronger now flying to Spain.
The Bianconeri were under a great deal of pressure ahead of the first leg of their Champions League clash, beating the Merengues 2-1 in Turin.
“The first leg gave us the confidence in our abilities in a difficult moment,” said Ranieri.
“It was a powerful shake-up that allowed us to continue our march with more belief in our potential and our strength.”
Since then Juve have progressed in leaps and bounds, beating Torino, Bologna and Roma in confident fashion despite an injury crisis.
The tables have turned somewhat, as now it is Real who come into this game looking for a morale-boosting result.
“Every team has to go through a moment like that in the course of a campaign, but I shall reply more or less the same way Bernd Schuster did in Turin: I don’t believe Real are in crisis, but a team that wants to do well in front of their own fans.
“In any case, we are ready. There is no need to motivate the squad, as this is one of the most prestigious arenas in football and it is always exciting to play here.
“There are players, like Alessandro Del Piero, who have already experienced it. Others must not let it get to them, instead focused on playing the way they know how.”
Ruud Van Nistelrooy is in doubt for Madrid, while Juve are still without Gigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Cristiano Zanetti, Christian Poulsen, Hasan Salihamidzic, Zdenek Grygera and Dario Knezevic.
“It’s a shame so many stars are missing, because a game like this deserves to have everyone at full strength,” added Ranieri.
“If Van Nistelrooy doesn’t play, I’m sure another world class figure will step in. As for our side, we are trying to get Mauro Camoranesi back to full fitness so he can handle 90 minutes.
“It is damaging to always change the line-up because of injuries, because players create a unity by working together and that is difficult to recreate when chopping and changing.”
Channel 4