Palladino ready to make the most of surprise opportunity
Raffaele Palladino is a relatively unknown upstart within Roberto Donadoni's revered squad. The Juventus winger has been rewarded for a series of captivating performances for the Old Lady and while he was surprised by his promotion - relayed to him during a random drug test on Sunday - Palladino is intent on making a name for himself across Europe, if given an opportunity in Glasgow.
Italy's prospects of qualification are in the balance, but the 23-year-old has urged his more senior colleagues to re-emphasise the qualities that took them to World Cup triumph in Germany last summer.
"We do not have anything to fear in going to Glasgow," he said emphatically. "Scotland are a very good team and I understand they always play with a team ethic, but we have the type of strong mentality that will be required in Scotland.
"We are Italy and we are the world champions. For this reason, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. We are totally focused and fully-charged for getting the result we need to aid our qualification."
Palladino attributed his new-found success to the man- management of Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea head coach who has been instrumental in Juve's rejuvenation after they were relegated to Serie B last year when implicated in the Serie A match-fixing scandal. He, along with Vincenzo Iaquinta, represents the new generation at Juve as Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved near the end of their careers. Indeed, Palladino's inclusion in the Italy squad was at the expense of the veteran Del Piero.
"Juventus is slowly changing their set-up match by match and there is a new wave of players," he said. "People like myself and Vincenzo are hoping to come through and be the players like Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved. They are the masters for us at Juventus and we hope that, if we keep getting the chance to play, we can go on and replace them."
"Claudio Ranieri is making a big difference to me and I am learning a lot of things from him. He gives me the freedom to play my game and try to do my own thing. He lets me go all over the pitch and play my game."
Donadoni first encountered Palladino when he signed him on a loan deal while in charge of Livorno. With the coach's job on the line, the new recruit could prove his saviour. "Donadoni knows me well," he said. "He was my coach at Livorno and he is aware of the qualities that I have.
"I didn't expect this call-up to come for me. I was in the doping centre and somebody came in and told me I was in the squad. At first, I thought they were taking the piss out of me. I couldn't imagine this would happen, but, of course, I am really happy about it and I am prepared and ready."
The Herald
-------------------------------------------------
It seems doping will have a great impact on his career.
Raffaele Palladino is a relatively unknown upstart within Roberto Donadoni's revered squad. The Juventus winger has been rewarded for a series of captivating performances for the Old Lady and while he was surprised by his promotion - relayed to him during a random drug test on Sunday - Palladino is intent on making a name for himself across Europe, if given an opportunity in Glasgow.
Italy's prospects of qualification are in the balance, but the 23-year-old has urged his more senior colleagues to re-emphasise the qualities that took them to World Cup triumph in Germany last summer.
"We do not have anything to fear in going to Glasgow," he said emphatically. "Scotland are a very good team and I understand they always play with a team ethic, but we have the type of strong mentality that will be required in Scotland.
"We are Italy and we are the world champions. For this reason, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. We are totally focused and fully-charged for getting the result we need to aid our qualification."
Palladino attributed his new-found success to the man- management of Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea head coach who has been instrumental in Juve's rejuvenation after they were relegated to Serie B last year when implicated in the Serie A match-fixing scandal. He, along with Vincenzo Iaquinta, represents the new generation at Juve as Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved near the end of their careers. Indeed, Palladino's inclusion in the Italy squad was at the expense of the veteran Del Piero.
"Juventus is slowly changing their set-up match by match and there is a new wave of players," he said. "People like myself and Vincenzo are hoping to come through and be the players like Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved. They are the masters for us at Juventus and we hope that, if we keep getting the chance to play, we can go on and replace them."
"Claudio Ranieri is making a big difference to me and I am learning a lot of things from him. He gives me the freedom to play my game and try to do my own thing. He lets me go all over the pitch and play my game."
Donadoni first encountered Palladino when he signed him on a loan deal while in charge of Livorno. With the coach's job on the line, the new recruit could prove his saviour. "Donadoni knows me well," he said. "He was my coach at Livorno and he is aware of the qualities that I have.
"I didn't expect this call-up to come for me. I was in the doping centre and somebody came in and told me I was in the squad. At first, I thought they were taking the piss out of me. I couldn't imagine this would happen, but, of course, I am really happy about it and I am prepared and ready."
The Herald
-------------------------------------------------
It seems doping will have a great impact on his career.
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