31 January 2018
Just one goal allowed in the last 14 games.
Even for the high standards of Juventus it’s been a special run for the Bianconeri defense and, of course, Giorgio Chiellini has been at the heart of the success. On Wednesday, Chiello spoke about his satisfaction at the recent run of results and his excitement for the challenges facing the Bianconeri over the next three months as we enter the business end of the season.
“It was an important match yesterday. Bergamo has been a pitch where we have struggled in the past and we’ve seen Atalanta as a revelation in Italy and Europe this season,” said Chiellini. “We approached the match well and while Gigi saved the first half penalty, we deserved more. We’re happy with the result even if we did drop off a bit in the second half but that will happen against a team of Atalanta’s quality.”
RISING TO THE OCCASION
“How have we improved? We have been pragmatic to start well after losing against Sampdoria getting back to sacrificing ourselves to fight for each other. This, combined with the quality of our players, has allowed us to find our defensive identity once again because we know, in Italy, 99% of the time the one with the best defense wins,” said Chiellini.
“The Napoli win was important yes, and we showed it against yesterday. Perhaps our biggest skill is that we always rise to the occasion in big challenges getting that extra something out of it.”
A LONG CHALLENGE
"The difference between the other European leagues and ours is that both us and Napoli are doing extraordinary things. In other leagues, the champion seems to be a nearly foregone conclusion but here it’s going to be a good battle.
There is respect and we know it’s going to go down to the end. The speeches on the quality of our matches is talk for the pubs. The reality is that we and Napoli are simply different.
We are a more physical side while they are more technical. It’s not a “better” or “worse” as you can see by the results and the fact that we are separated by just a point. The battle is going to be just that much better with a showdown looming in Turin near the end of the season.”
LOOKING AT EUROPE
“The Champions League is more open this year and at the same time that much more exciting because all the strongest teams are in with a shot. It will be difficult but right now we need to deal with a strong, young, technical and fast Tottenham team. We will play them with enthusiasm.”
GIGI: STRONG IN SERENITY
“Buffon’s strength has always been in his calmness in all the choices he makes. He had the ability at 30 to do everything with hard work and has lengthened his career above all thanks to his dedication. Now he just has to stay on his path and take all his decisions with the same serenity.”
Finally, a last word on his contract situation:
“We’ll renew soon, there won’t be any surprises.”
