After venting his frustrations in training yesterday, Didier Deschamps opened this afternoon’s pre-match press conference with a word on the team’s reaction to Saturday’s defeat away to Mantova. “Was I angry yesterday? No. I don’t like losing though, in fact I hate it. We have to accept this defeat but the players aren’t happy either and they’re intelligent enough to understand what went wrong on Saturday. It’s always nice to have a game right after a defeat, tomorrow night we have a chance to get things right straight away”.
There have been suggestions the players were lacking focus against Mantova. “There’s been a lot of talk recently about the transfer market and the club’s future and that can often create a distraction. I’m not saying that’s why we lost, but all the talk surrounding the team doesn’t aid maximum concentration”. Deschamps played down claims the team has lost its way. “Beginning this season with a points deduction meant we had to get off to a great start at all costs. We’ve had some difficult away trips and although we obviously set out to win every game, 100 points isn’t a realistic target. What’s important is getting back to Serie A and, with the physical demands of Serie B, we’ve spent a lot of energy over this first part of the season trying to do that. Juventus have to continually be at their peak but in professional sport, that’s not always easy. The problems we’ve had with injuries and suspensions have only added these difficulties”.
The Frenchman was quick to dismiss suggestions of a crisis. “When you win, people tend to remember the result and not the performance. We might not have played well on Saturday but we could have easily come away with a point. There’s a long way to go yet in this championship and I’m not at all worried. I hope to have all my players back soon; if everyone had been available against Mantova and we’d played like that I might have cause for concern, but I’m not making excuses, we need to learn from this defeat”. Deschamps sees Saturday’s defeat as a reality check for the team. “A slap in the face isn’t always a bad thing. We needed this to wake us up and sort our heads out. We might have gone undefeated this season but that’s no longer the case and the defeat has to hurt. I’m a positive person and I see the loss as an exception. We just need to get back on track tomorrow”. With so many players unavailable, the Bianconeri coach was asked once more whether he intends to bring in any new faces in January. “My primary concern is getting all my players back from injury. We have a quality group here and having started this together, my aim is that we finish this together. Serie B is our reality and until we are mathematical certainties for promotion, it’s better not to talk about transfers. There’ll be plenty of time for that later, what happens between now and the 10th June is what really counts”.
The coach gave an overview of the players (un)available for tomorrow’s clash. “Palladino trained yesterday, so we’ll see how he does today. Unfortunately Zanetti, Giannichedda and Marchionni are still not ready. Gigi was feeling better yesterday but time is running out; if he’s up to it he’ll play. Camoranesi will certainly be involved, albeit not for the full ninety minutes”. Then a word on possible formations. “With everyone available I prefer a 4-4-2 as it gives us balance across the park. That becomes rather more complicated with injuries and suspensions, and on Saturday I switched things around as I just didn’t have any natural wingers fit to play”.
The Frenchman then ended the conference with an overview of the opposition. “Like all teams in Serie B, Cesena are a physical outfit. They have tall players, they defend well and with Papa Waigo and Lazzari on the flanks, they cause problems on the counter-attack. Pellé is a good target man, and although they’ve lost Pestrin, they have quality in midfield in the shape of Salvetti. I don’t expect them to defend high up the pitch so we’ll have to be wary of them on the break”.
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Cool, all Juventini do, Didier, all of us hate losing. Time to kick ass, seriously.
Forza Juve !!!
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