JUST READ THIS MOST EVER IDIOT INTERVIEW:
Ranieri: This is not a crisis Saturday 18 October, 2008
Claudio Ranieri assures Juventus “are not in crisis” and he feels “secure” despite two consecutive defeats.
“I feel secure and we are going through a tough time, but this is not a crisis,” said the Coach in the wake of a 2-1 loss at Napoli.
“I don't know what the club will say. I do know we are a compact unit and will discuss the situation calmly.
“It is a heavy defeat, naturally, but we must continue to work and believe in what we are doing. The lads played well and made a few silly mistakes, but it was a battle in midfield and a fairly tactical game with few real shots on goal.
“We had taken the lead and should have controlled the tempo, but we did not manage it.”
Amauri had given Juve the advantage at the San Paolo, but terrible defensive errors allowed Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi to turn it around.
“There was a misunderstanding and two players remained static. Hamsik had already slotted in that way twice before and I had warned my players to be wary, but we didn't react properly.
“We were meant to be in position and it should have been dealt with easily. Unfortunately, at this moment nothing seems to be going our way.”
Ranieri was already under fire for his supposed split with the 'old guard' and will no doubt draw more criticism after substituting Alessandro Del Piero for defender Paolo De Ceglie.
“I was already thinking ahead to Real Madrid, so I thought I'd replace the captain and introduce Marco Marchionni for Hasan Salihamidzic to keep the crosses coming in. However, Christian Poulsen got injured and I had to change my plans,” explained the TinkerMan.
“I don't think it weighed on the team, though, as if anything it should have made the wings more solid, as Napoli were pushing mainly wide.
“When you know there are players in midfield under pressure, you need to help them. You cannot think of what the positive or negative message is from a substitution.
“De Ceglie is a full-back, but an attacking one, and moving Pavel Nedved to the centre improved that line-up to protect the defence. I wanted to tell the team that we should hang on tight and take home the point.”
It is that negative approach - and the average of a goal per game - that has infuriated the Juventus fans this term.
“We are lacking consistency at the moment and cannot seem to pass the ball around the way we did last season. These two defeats have added to it, but the performances beforehand also showed this problem.”
The Bianconeri had an injury crisis going into this game and it just got worse, as Poulsen limped off with the eighth muscular problem of the season.
“It is not bad luck and we are analysing why last season everything went well, whereas this term one after another are suffering from these strains, whether muscular or tendon.”
