SOCCER-JUVENTUS/NEWSER Allegri wants to bring Champions League trophy back to Turin at all costs

Record ID: 149777

  • Title: SOCCER-JUVENTUS/NEWSER Allegri wants to bring Champions League trophy back to Turin at all costs
  • Date: 1st June 2015
  • Summary: TURIN, ITALY (JUNE 1, 2015) (REUTERS) JUVENTUS TEAM TRAINING ON PITCH GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI BUFFON PREPARING TO PUT GLOVES ON VARIOUS OF JUVENTUS PLAYERS WARMING UP MIDFIELDER ANDREA PIRLO RUNNING ON PITCH (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) JUVENTUS COACH, MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI, SAYING: "Let's start with Juventus' greatest asset which is that it is a team with character as well as great
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA80UEN7CNSIEQHMPU7XCAE0TWD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri stressed his team's strengths on Monday (June 1), saying that his team had both character and technique ahead of the Champions League final.
    His team faces Barcelona in Berlin on Saturday (May 6) with both clubs looking to secure a treble, having won the league title and domestic cup in Italy and Spain respectively.
    "Let's start with Juventus' greatest asset which is that it is a team with character, as well as great technique," said Allegri at a pre-match news conference in Turin, adding "I believe that the team has improved a lot in terms of its confidence and this gives me confidence in preparing for this final."
    The Bianconeri Coach acknowledged the difficulty of facing Barcelona and their host of international stars including Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
    "Marking Messi while he moves is a near impossible task. We must be smart in working around him. As well as stopping Messi, Neymar, Suarez, they have many technical players," he said.
    Allegri outlined his approach to the match.
    "We must play with courage, there will be difficult moments and there will be good moments for us. We are not going to Berlin to wait for them to score or to play the sacrificial victim. We know the game is going to be difficult. It is the Champions League final and when you play the Champions League final it is normal that you are playing against the best players in the world," Allegri concluded.
    Italian sides can no longer match the spending power of clubs from Spain, England and Germany and reaching the semi-finals in itself is regarded as a success for Juventus, the first Serie A side to progress to the last four since Inter Milan in 2010.
    Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio spoke about the atmosphere generated from their fans.
    "We can feel the great desire that there is in town but also inside the club to see us going to Berlin and playing this final, our supporters must keep in mind it is the final so the chances are fifty-fifty," said Marchisio.
    "We want to bring the trophy to Turin at all costs," he added.
    Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has already surpassed his predecessor Antonio Conte who won three successive Serie A titles but never managed to get beyond the Champions League quarter-finals where his side were crushed 4-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich two years ago.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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