Goal.com
Alberto Zaccheroni has said the Juventus squad had the quality to finish first in Serie A this season, but only a series of injuries and misfortune prevented them from doing so.
The coach saw hopes of a Champions League spot end on Sunday following the 1-1 draw with Catania. They are mathematically qualified for the Europa League and, at best, can finish in sixth place.
"From what has happened to us, this squad is worth first place," Zaccheroni told Il Corriere dello Sport.
"But everything happened to us, and now we can only hope to avoid the Europa League preliminaries.
"Week after week it has been hard and we paid for difficulties in relation to a chain of injuries.
"One player would return from injury, and two would be out. We were never able to prepare or train as we would have liked to."
The aim now is to avoid finishing seventh.
"Ending the season there would not be a great thing... but I think this Juventus has a team worthy of first place," he concluded.