Prandelli: With Juve it's personal
Cesare Prandelli knows that more than points are at stake when Juventus come to the Tardini, as this is a grudge match.
“We need to put in a fantastic performance,” explained the Parma boss, “as the fans consider this to be like a local derby.”
These two clubs duelled throughout the 1990’s for the Scudetto, UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia and Italian Supercup.
Although the Gialloblu have fallen on hard times of late with a well-publicised financial crisis, they are on track to enter the Champions’ League qualifying stage.
“Precisely because we are doing so well at the moment we mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking we can just run wildly at them,” warned Prandelli, who has been heavily linked to the Bianconeri bench.
“Against such a strong team as Juve, you need to be smart and think carefully about the way you attack.”
However, this does not mean that Parma will sit back and soak up pressure on their own turf.
“Another terrible error would be to think of the result, as otherwise we’d end up struggling like in the second half against Lecce,” he said of the 3-1 win.
“Just because we now have that fourth place to lose doesn’t mean we should change our whole approach to football. We must go for the victory.”