Category: <b>General</b><br><br>On the eve of match day three of the Bianconeri’s Serie B adventure Didier Deschamps was in a buoyant mood, beginning the press conference with a word on the players available for the clash with Crotone. “With only three days between the two matches of course there will be changes. Not everyone is at 100% so it’s only right that those who are freshest start the match”. The journalists asked whether Bojinov, Balzaetti and Camoranesi - described as “getting better each day” - might be among that number, to which the coach coyly replied, “it’s a reasonable hypothesis”. Although he is expected back in time for Saturday’s fixture with Modena, Del Piero has an inflamed tendon and is unavailable, along with defenders Legrottaglie and Tudor. Zebina, on the other hand, is back to full fitness after a five month lay-off and will play “either on Tuesday or Saturday”.
Deschamps was then quizzed on the reasons behind his team’s drop in energy levels during the last half hour of Saturday’s victory over Vicenza. “It’s not easy to explain. It might be the fact that not everyone has been able to carry out ‘normal’ preparations. Aside from the players who joined up with the squad late on, and have therefore been unable to train as much as the others, the ones who have been here from the start have played an enormous amount of football over the last few weeks, as many as eight or nine games. Then there’s the fact that we were constantly on the attack for an hour, which tires you out far more than sitting back and defending”.
The Frenchman is interested in results not score lines. “There seems to be a general belief that we need to thrash all our opponents, but one goal is more than enough. Juve is a team that should always be on the attack but if we take risks, we are bound to get caught out in defence from time to time. We need to find a balance but as any coach will tell you, that balance doesn’t always last long. Sometimes mistakes are made or the opposition pulls something expected out of the bag. Quite simply, we need to defend well and not concede, that way we only need one goal to win. So far we’ve given too much away”.
For Deschamps, it’s not so much a matter of adjusting to a Serie B ‘mentality’, but rather the manner in which the game is played at this level. “It’s about the type of game teams play in Serie B. There is less importance attached to maintaining possession and players like to chase down the ball all over the field. In Serie A players have more time on the ball and the game is more tactical, here the game is more direct and the football more ‘total’ as teams go all-out for the win. I don’t want to radically change the way the team play, just adapt it to the reality we’re up against”.
The next episode of this reality takes place tomorrow in deepest Calabria. “We want to build on what we achieved on Saturday. Everyone expects us to win against Crotone but it won’t be easy. It’s another small pitch and they are a hungry, aggressive team, as they showed against Cesena when they went down to ten men. We need to concentrate throughout, match them physically and then put them to the sword with our technical superiority”.
And is he worried about the lack of goals against Vicenza? “We created a number of chances but converted just two. Having said that, their goalkeeper was brilliant on the day and that will happen when teams play Juventus. They are extra-motivated and super-aggressive, and the crowds get behind them more. There were empty seats when Crotone played Bari, but tomorrow the stadium is sold out. Their desire to win will be even greater but I’m not afraid of difficulties.” <br><br>Source: Juventus.com
Deschamps was then quizzed on the reasons behind his team’s drop in energy levels during the last half hour of Saturday’s victory over Vicenza. “It’s not easy to explain. It might be the fact that not everyone has been able to carry out ‘normal’ preparations. Aside from the players who joined up with the squad late on, and have therefore been unable to train as much as the others, the ones who have been here from the start have played an enormous amount of football over the last few weeks, as many as eight or nine games. Then there’s the fact that we were constantly on the attack for an hour, which tires you out far more than sitting back and defending”.
The Frenchman is interested in results not score lines. “There seems to be a general belief that we need to thrash all our opponents, but one goal is more than enough. Juve is a team that should always be on the attack but if we take risks, we are bound to get caught out in defence from time to time. We need to find a balance but as any coach will tell you, that balance doesn’t always last long. Sometimes mistakes are made or the opposition pulls something expected out of the bag. Quite simply, we need to defend well and not concede, that way we only need one goal to win. So far we’ve given too much away”.
For Deschamps, it’s not so much a matter of adjusting to a Serie B ‘mentality’, but rather the manner in which the game is played at this level. “It’s about the type of game teams play in Serie B. There is less importance attached to maintaining possession and players like to chase down the ball all over the field. In Serie A players have more time on the ball and the game is more tactical, here the game is more direct and the football more ‘total’ as teams go all-out for the win. I don’t want to radically change the way the team play, just adapt it to the reality we’re up against”.
The next episode of this reality takes place tomorrow in deepest Calabria. “We want to build on what we achieved on Saturday. Everyone expects us to win against Crotone but it won’t be easy. It’s another small pitch and they are a hungry, aggressive team, as they showed against Cesena when they went down to ten men. We need to concentrate throughout, match them physically and then put them to the sword with our technical superiority”.
And is he worried about the lack of goals against Vicenza? “We created a number of chances but converted just two. Having said that, their goalkeeper was brilliant on the day and that will happen when teams play Juventus. They are extra-motivated and super-aggressive, and the crowds get behind them more. There were empty seats when Crotone played Bari, but tomorrow the stadium is sold out. Their desire to win will be even greater but I’m not afraid of difficulties.” <br><br>Source: Juventus.com
Buy on AliExpress.com
