Deschamps: “Enthusiasm will be our point of departure”
“I’m both extremely proud and happy that a club like Juventus should have chosen me and I’m grateful for the faith invested in me”. This was how Didier Deschamps began the press conference that marked the beginning of the new season. It was the first time the coach had met the press since his return to the bianconeri was made official and he was given a whole host of questions to answer.
Inevitably he was asked to comment on the sentence passed by the CAF: “I felt sad and disheartened when I heard the outcome; it hurts, it hurts a lot, but we must react. It is in the most difficult moments that one’s true character shows itself. Of course, if we have to start the season with a 30 point deficit, it will be very difficult to gain promotion to Serie A straight away, but there is still the second phase of sentencing to come. At the moment we’re still not sure what our point of departure will be and it is obvious that our game plan will depend on the outcome, but in any case we will do what we can to get the best possible start”.
Deschamps begins this new adventure with the same determination he showed on the pitch as a player: “Sure, the values I had as a player are still with me and I will ask my players to share in them also. I expect enthusiasm, selflessness and ambition from everyone. We must bring honour to this jersey and bring Juve back to where they belong, in Italy and on an international level”. Deschamps confirmed he has spoken to the players over the last few days, including those involved with the World Cup: “It was important that I heard what they have to say. I congratulated the champions and told all of them that I’m counting on them and that they are very important to us. Who will stay? It depends on our point of departure: some of them are willing to go through a year of “purgatory” in Serie B, but if things remain as they are and we have to start thinking about two years to achieve promotion, it might be more complicated than that. One of those who has already expressed their desire to stay at Juventus is Alex Del Piero: “He is a symbol of this club” – continued Deschamps – “He’s made a life choice and has set has set an example that might encourage some of his other team mates to take part in this adventure. I’ve also spoken to Pavel (Nedved) and he also wants to take part in our project. I would like it if everyone stayed, but the situation and the needs of the club must also be evaluated. I don’t like to single people out, but if I had to choose one name
I would choose Cannavaro: for everything he represents and everything he’s achieved on the pitch, his importance as a player is immeasurable”.
Deschamps’ Juve will also rely heavily on its young player: “I don’t look at dates of birth when I decide who’s going to play. If a player is 19 and is good enough, he will play. Of course Juve needs to be winning all the time, but age for me is not a criterion for who goes on the teamsheet”.
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