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Sturaro: "The win over City, a perfect night"

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Sturaro: "The win over City, a perfect night"
Sturaro: "The win over City, a perfect night"
Sturaro: "The win over City, a perfect night"

There aren’t many other ways of putting it: Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City to seal qualification for the Champions League knockout stages was one to behold for supporters and players alike.

Especially for Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro, who would even have added his own personal touch to proceedings had his sliding close-range effort from Alvaro Morata’s chipped cross not rebounded off the post late in the second half.

Discussing yesterday’s win with Bianconeri fans on the club’s official television channel Jtv the day after the match, Sturaro began: “There’s always a great atmosphere in the dressing room after a game like that. It was a perfect evening for us and a victory as pleasing as that is great for morale.”

“It wasn’t easy (qualifying for the first knockout round) by any stretch of the imagination but we’re there now on merit because we’ve played well in the group stages. Playing in the Champions League, with the atmosphere that it generates, you don’t need much more motivation to win than that.”

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And as for the 22-year old’s golden opportunity to double Juve’s lead last night?

“I followed Morata into the box and when I saw that his shot wasn’t going to go in, I gave everything to try and reach the ball in time. Unfortunately, I must have been about half a second out…”

“Giving everything” is an expression often associated with the industrious and honest Sturaro, none more so than after his superb showing in the first leg of last season’s Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid, a performance that still stands out in the midfielder’s mind.

“Every time I cross the white line, regardless of the occasion and who it’s against, I always give my absolute best. The Real Madrid semi-final and Berlin? I will always have fantastic memories of both even if, in the end, I didn’t feature in the final itself.”

Turning the page on European matters, the ex-Genoa enforcer shifted attentions to Sunday’s intriguing trip to Sicily to face Palermo, a game that in his own words “must be played with great intensity from our part, right from the start.”

But that wasn’t all as Stefano concluded his Jtv appointment with a spot of self-reflection on his whirlwind nine months in the Juventus first-team setup. An experience that is allowing the young Italian “to grow both as a man and as a player.”

“I wouldn’t say I have any footballing idols in particular. What I do strive to do however is to learn from the careers of the world’s greats and to grow into the best player I possibly can be.

“I’m developing well here as a man and as a player and I can’t wait to continue down this same path because I feel that I’m getting better and better.”

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