Monday 4 July, 2011 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]
Juve will be back, says Lippi[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Marcello Lippi is confident that former club Juventus will return to winning ways under new boss Antonio Conte.
Conte played for Lippi’s Juventus in the 1990s and replaces Gigi Del Neri on the Juve bench after another problematic campaign in Turin.
“Antonio is the flag-bearer for Juventus-ness,” the former Old Lady tactician told the Corriere dello Sport.
“People remember him as an extraordinary player and they love him. If there is the right person for this mission then it is him. But the club have to build a team for him by showing awareness.
“Everyone will need to believe in the project put forward by President Andrea Agnelli and Beppe Marotta.”
Juve are expected to spend big on one top player this summer, with Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero the No 1 objective.
“Aguero is a player worthy of Juventus, there is no doubt about that,” continued the Viareggino.
“This club needs players who are good enough for Juve. Players like Andrea Pirlo, like Carlos Tevez and Giuseppe Rossi.
“The latter is my only regret when it comes to my picks for the 2010 World Cup – I should have taken him to South Africa.”
Lippi has enjoyed two spells at Juventus and he admits that there could have been a third after he won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.
“A few years ago, as you all know, there was a conversation between myself and Juventus. Then it was said that a few subsequent decisions were taken under my direction. It suited people to say such things.
“I did suggest some players, but they were different names and one was actually Marek Hamsik.
“From then until now the player has gone on to the highest levels. He’s the kind of guy who works hard, goes up and down, and scores goals.”
Napoli ace Hamsik is attracting the attention of Milan this summer.[/FONT]