13 November 2008

Ranieri : "The strong character of the team is vital"

A visually satisfied Ranieri spoke of the team’s character and the will of the players to react to the dark patch which already seems like a part of a very remote past.

Following the 7th consecutive win which also meant the top of the table, at least temporarily, Claudio Ranieri had words of praise for the whole team, even though he did not miss out on the opportunity to compliment Genoa who were far from passive. <<A well done to Genoa who are a great team and who played a very good match, however we were determined to win the three points and we did.>>

Juventus’ bad patch seems to be part of the remote past and Ranieri attempts an explanation : <<The team is much more united but what is crucial is the character of these players. A man can fall, it happens, but the important thing is that he gets up again. The boys got up again and reacted to the problems we had. At the moment it is a bit like the opposite of last year when we let the opponents take the initiative and then react in the second half. This time we are imposing ourselves on the match.>>

One of the protagonists of the match against Genoa was surely Giorgio Chiellini who not excelled in defence but who supported the midfield and the attack often moving forward. <<The boys know that I like it when the player who manages to anticipate the opponent moves forward to serve an extra man to the midfield and Giorgio as well as others did just that.>> commented the Juventus coach.

When asked whether the criticism received during the dark period could have served as a motive for the team to react Ranieri joked saying that he doesn’t think the players love him that much to react just because he was criticized, it is simply that the players did not want to lose anymore. <<They were angry and knew they had to react. This team is united and strong and made up of champions who never give up.>>

With regards to the next match against Inter Ranieri said that as always the most important opponent is the next, this time it’s Inter. <<It’s a pity that I will have a number of players missing because of International call-ups. Tiago for instance will have to fly to Brazil and will surely return rather tired.>> concluded the Juventus coach.