Serie B Tim - 22 Feb 2007 - 2:24 PM/ Juventus.com
Zebina: “I want to stay at Juve”
After a 2006 characterised by bad luck, 2007 has got off to rather a different start for Jonathan Zebina. The Frenchman’s fitness levels are improving all the time, as his performances on the pitch would demonstrate. He was one of the highlights against Crotone, dominating the relatively unfamiliar role of central defender with commanding authority. Could his Bianconeri future lie there in the heart of the back line?
“Deep down, I’ve always considered myself a first-team player – he told the press on Wednesday – Unfortunately I’ve often had to contend with physical problems. But if I manage to train regularly and I don’t get myself sent-off stupidly, I think I’ll be able to play a lot. Fullback or central defender? I have to admit I prefer it in the middle. You need to measure your efforts on the flank while in the middle you just have to concentrate on defending and doing one things is easier”.
Zebina is fully committed to quickly helping the team back into Serie A, and staying there as one of the top teams. So if one thing’s for certain it’s the falsity of recent rumours of a transfer to Milan. “Either Juve sold me without saying anything or… What surprised me was the certainty with which this story was reported. I challenge anyone to find a contract with Milan signed by me. What are my intentions? To stay here as part of a competitive Juventus. My team mates and I have asked for assurances and it looks as though the club is working towards building a squad capable of challenging at the top. We need to bring in a big new name in each department and have strength in depth, but that’s all down to the boss and the directors”.
And then there’s a future beyond football, something Zebina appears to have considered already. On Thursday afternoon, the defender opens his very own art gallery in Milan, JZ Art Trading. “It’s a passion that comes from a meeting with a gallery owner three years ago, and also from my relationship with Capello who would chat to me often about the subject; I suppose curiosity did the rest. It was something wonderful and unexpected, a real case of love at first sight”.