07 May 2016
Hellas Verona may already be relegated to Serie B, but that should not stop them from providing a positive note at the end of what has been a difficult season for the club.
These were precisely the thoughts of Gialloblu manager Luigi Del Neri speaking ahead of Sunday evening’s meeting with the Bianconeri at the Stadio Bentegodi.
Despite recently receiving confirmation of their drop to Italy’s second tier, Hellas beat Milan 2-1 almost two weeks ago and Del Neri, who managed Juventus during the 2010/11 season, urged his charges to build on that win with another strong performance this weekend against his former club.
“In the game against Milan we wanted to show that we were worthy of this league,” he opened. “We’ve a duty to finish the season strongly, playing as we have done against the Rossoneri and Sassuolo.
“We’ve put in good performances of late even if we need to score more often. Juventus won’t want to stop the winning streak they’re on. From our perspective, however, we’d like to beat a top side like them.”
The 65-year-old coach closed today’s press conference by paying tribute to veteran forward Luca Toni, who decided on Wednesday to hang up his boots following an illustrious 20-year-long career including a short spell with the Bianconeri five years ago.
“I hope that Luca can score tomorrow in what would be a perfect way to round off his career. That said, I’m not one to ever view a side as dependent on just one player.
“Football is a team sport after all and we have shown this term that we’re capable of winning even without the likes of Luca and Juanito Gomez.”
