01 November 2015
Simone Padoin says Juventus’ burning desire to clinch all three points in yesterday’s Derby della Mole clash with Torino was a fundamental factor behind their dramatic victory at the death.
With the clock ticking down towards the final minute of stoppage time, one last Juventus attack saw substitute Alex Sandro square the ball for Juan Cuadrado, who gleefully touched the ball over the line to tip the balance in the Bianconeri’s favour.
The scenes of unbridled joy that erupted amongst both players and fans conveyed the significance of the moment, with the Bianconeri gaining their just rewards for never giving in.
Speaking to Jtv the morning after the night before, Padoin began: “We really had to dig deep to grind out a victory that we all wanted. It shows how important it is to keep believing and never give up, honouring our ‘Fino Alla Fine’ motto all the way.
“We were a little bit disheartened after the equaliser, but in the final 15 minutes, when both teams were tired, you could sense that we could win it and that’s precisely what we did.”
Saturday’s result provided the perfect tonic for a team who have had to deal with their fair share of criticism after making a slow introduction to their Serie A title defence.
This scrutiny heightened following the disappointment of last Wednesday’s defeat to Sassuolo, prompting the club to keep the players together during the build-up to the derby, a move that Padoin feels was vindicated by yesterday’s result.
“Last week was tough. We’ve come together as a group and analysed our mistakes, such as what went wrong in Reggio Emilia, and that has paid off with this win. Now we need to find our consistency and follow up on last night’s triumph with further wins. We’ve got an incredible desire to fight back.”
