Capello: We're unlucky Saturday 19 February, 2005
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Fabio Capello has put Juve’s latest stutter in Sicily down to pure bad luck and explains his tactical experiments.
“We had two good chances in the first half, although they did push us and I confess we struggled,” he commented after the 0-0 draw at Messina.
“After the break, we had some incredible scoring opportunities and didn’t take them. We’re unlucky at the moment and the ball just isn’t going in.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was their most dangerous player, but twice he failed to find the net with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Alessandro Del Piero was voted Man of the Match after his fine performance.
“Del Piero was great in the first half, dribbling past players and creating a wonderful chance for Emerson,” continued Capello. “He played well and the whole team raised their game in the second period, but clearly Alessandro is improving with each match.”
At this rate, and with David Trezeguet struggling with flu, it’s likely Del Piero will earn a starting place at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening.
“We are in good physical condition, so that is the most important thing. We still have to see how we set ourselves out against Real Madrid.”
Capello staged another tactical revolution for this encounter, playing with a 3-5-2 system that turned to 5-3-2 under pressure.
“We played with three defenders, then Del Piero and Mauro Camoranesi supporting Ibrahimovic. If Pavel Nedved returns then we’ll see how to adjust our tactics, as he has characteristics that give us real depth and pace.”
The result means Juve have earned just four points in their last four games and if Milan beat Cagliari this evening they will catch the Bianconeri at the top of the table.
"If there was a team that deserved to win this, then that was Messina," said Riccardo Zampagna.
"I hit the woodwork and there was a penalty for a push on me. We played very well and should have come away with all three points."
source: channel4.com
O man