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The Guadeloupe-born Lilian Thuram is a brilliant defender. His old Parma AC team-mate Fabio Cannavaro said of him: "He is one of those players who simply come from another planet."
Trophy cabinet
A winner with France at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA EURO 2000™, the 31-year-old has picked up two Serie A winner's medals since joining Juventus FC from Parma in 2001 for €35m. A UEFA Cup winner with Parma in 1998/99, maybe this will be the season when he completes his set of domestic and international honours with a UEFA Champions League crown.
'Even stronger'
Starting the season with a win against AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup, the Bianconeri lead Serie A and have won all three of their Champions League games so far. "At least on paper we are even stronger than last year," Thuram told uefa.com. "We have a bigger squad and more quality players. Now we have to wait and see if we can achieve better results than last season."
Altered beast
Marcello Lippi's 2003/04 side is a different beast from the one who won Serie A last season and narrowly lost out in the Champions League final. In 2002/03, defence was the key, but Juventus have conceded seven goals in six Serie A games so far. However, they have been terrific going forward, scoring 16 in domestic competition and eight in the Champions League.
'Attacking mentality'
"The only important thing is to win games," said Thuram. "It doesn't matter how many goals we concede. If we score more goals it means that we are playing with a more attacking mentality and this is always a good thing for our fans."
Achilles heel
Outstanding in Italy in recent seasons, the Champions League is still Juventus's achilles heel. They have lost in three finals since winning the title in 1995/96.
Sensible attitude
"I don't think that we should concentrate only on the Champions League," said Thuram. "We were lucky to reach the final last season but it's not certain that we will do the same this season. We have to do well in every competition and we will see at the end of the season whether we have to concentrate our efforts on just one of them."
International prospects
By next summer, the French international may have other things on his mind. Having cruised into the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™ with eight qualifying wins under coach Jacques Santini, Thuram's France could win their second UEFA European Championship in Portugal.
No complacency
"Our qualifying group was quite easy," he said. "But after failing to reach the second stage in the 2002 World Cup, we will not underestimate any of our opponents in the finals. We are determined to put the bad result achieved in the last World Cup behind us."
Italian tip
As he considered France's main rivals for the finals, Thuram could not help but look towards his adopted home. "Italy are a balanced team with good players in every position," he said. "As usual they will go a long way in the competition."
Unforgettable win
Playing in Serie A, Thuram will have been reminded more than once that Italy would love to gain revenge for their 2-1 extra-time defeat in the EURO 2000™ final in Rotterdam. "No, actually I don't remember what happened that day," smiled the defender.
Exciting season
Should he help Juventus lift the Champions League trophy and help take France to another European title, this could be another season Thuram will struggle to forget.
++ [ originally posted by juvetrainer
] ++
i think this guy is not an optimistic person
I don't think that quote shows him to be pessimistic, he's more of a realist. Of course it's not certain that we'll reach the CL final, nothing's certain in football. His quote that we were lucky to reach the final last season is absolutely true, we had some very close calls in the previous matches.
It's sad to see Thuram not being as much of a rock in defence as he was last season, and i get the :down: feeling that last season was the best football he'll play in his career. Prove me wrong, Lilian... prove me wrong
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