BELARUS: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus to field best players against Bate Borisov in the Champions League
Record ID:
593288
BELARUS: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus to field best players against Bate Borisov in the Champions League
- Title: BELARUS: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus to field best players against Bate Borisov in the Champions League
- Date: 1st October 2008
- Summary: WIDE OF JUVENTUS TEAM TRAINING AT HARADZKI STADIUM JUVENTUS PLAYERS ON PITCH PASSING THE BALL WIDE OF PLAYERS ON PITCH JUVENTUS PLAYER RUNNING WITH THE BALL JUVENTUS FITNESS COACH RICCARDO CAPANNA AND ASSISTANT WATCHING TRAINING MORE OF JUVENTUS PLAYERS PASSING THE BALL
- Embargoed: 16th October 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belarus
- Country: Belarus
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA3UN7UVIO5I9ZWAZQ6FVRDHJK9
- Story Text: Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri says he will play his best possible team when they face BATE Borisov in the Champions League.
Former European champions Juventus trained in Belarus on Monday (September 29) ahead of Tuesday's (September 30) Champions League Group H game against BATE Borisov.
The Italian side, last winners of the title in 1996, have won only two of their last nine European away games and have lost five of their last seven away in the Champions League.
Juventus marked their return to the Champions League with a 1-0 win at home to UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg with a stunning free-kick from Alessandro Del Piero.
BATE, seeking their first Champions League points, have lost only one of their last seven European home games. They suffered a 2-0 defeat by nine-times European kings Real Madrid on their debut in the competition.
"We respect Bate, because they're a young team that has done ...
that has won all the preliminaries. It played in Santiago without its two main players. It lost 2-0. So for its first game at home, so to speak, so they'll be really keen to play a great game," Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri told news conference ahead of the second round of Championship League match.
BATE's only previous matches against Italian teams were both defeats - 2-0 at home to AC Milan and 4-0 in Milan in the UEFA Cup in 2001-02.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been left out of the Juventus squad as he is still recovering from a thigh strain, the club said on its website (www.juventus.com).
Juve's Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen will be rested for the match, but defender Nicola Legrottaglie is in the squad after missing Saturday's goalless draw in Serie A at Sampdoria with a muscle problem.
"It has seen that we've tried to compete on several fronts. My first thought is to always field the best possible team. Because the most important game is always the next one. So tomorrow we'll be playing an important and burdensome game because as I said we won the first game but we really didn't do much. It was an extremely important first result, but now we also have to do well here we know that this team is a well organised one that plays fast, which falls back rapidly and then surges forward. We know, if I remember correctly, that it has not scored at home in the last 15 games.
Meanwhile we have taken goals in our last nine international fixtures. We have to make this our game. And for that, I will field the best possible team without worrying about the lineup for Sunday," Ranier siad.
If Juventus lose, it would be their 50th defeat in the European Cup/Champions League in 189 matches. They have won 96.
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