Deschamps hails Juve heroes
Tuesday 10 April, 2007
Didier Deschamps has praised his Juventus ‘champions’ for a confident victory over promotion rivals Napoli.
“I never said that a draw would suit me,” said the Coach who had hinted at a defensive approach before the 2-0 win.
“I always set out the side to go for all three points. You could see that in our attitude from the start, as we created plenty of chances and kept the pressure up all over the pitch.”
Juve are now seven points clear of Genoa and looking more and more like Serie A material thanks to goals from World Cup winners Alessandro Del Piero and Mauro Camoranesi.
“In the big games, the champions always make the difference,” admitted Deschamps. “I did not need to motivate my men, if anything I had to maintain calm and sharpness. We really wanted to prove ourselves in front of a quality opponent and did far more than Napoli today.”
Marchisio was sent off for a foul on Fabio Gatti, but the Bianconeri still kept a clean sheet in the 2-0 win. Although he did not score, Pavel Nedved was man of the match with a sublime performance.
“If I could clone Nedved, then I would do so immediately. It is difficult to find players with this kind of mentality.
“As for Del Piero, he played a great game, especially towards the end. He held up the ball and allowed the team to take a breather when they were in 10 men. I didn’t have many options at that stage, as they passed to the 4-4-2 and I could only leave Del Piero alone upfront.”
David Trezeguet was the only real negative note on the day, as he wasted several fine chances and seemed irritated at his substitution.
“I have been a player and understand what that feels like,” said the Coach. “As he had missed a few goals, he was certainly angry at himself, but I have absolutely no problem with him.”
Napoli had held Juventus to a 1-1 draw when they met at the San Paolo, but there was no way through in Turin, even if they hit the woodwork twice.
“For me, the team performed well and a few incidents did not go our way, especially in the second half,” said tactician Edy Reja.
“We dominated the first 10 minutes, but when Nedved started turning up the tempo, it all became more difficult. Juventus certainly don’t belong in Serie B.”