- Title: Juventus's Allegri says it's simple, they must win Champions League final
- Date: 2nd June 2017
- Summary: CARDIFF, WALES, UK (JUNE 2, 2017) (REUTERS) JUVENTUS COACH MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI LISTENING TO QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) JUVENTUS COACH MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI SAYS: (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION) "Well I think it is an important challenge, an important test for all of us. Firstly playing at a Champions League final is not something that happens to everybody and in the last three years we have had this chance twice so we are proud of that. Proud to be here but that is not enough. "Tomorrow we must win. Tomorrow we must be tough, technically and tactically. We didn't come here to visit Cardiff. We came here to try to win the trophy and take it home." MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI LISTENING TO QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) JUVENTUS COACH MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI SAYS: (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION) "I've heard people say Juventus have lost six finals etcetera, but history does not really count. We must not think of the past. Tomorrow is the final. There is no point thinking of what happened 15 years ago or 20 or 50. We just need to do what we need to do in order to win the cup and bring it home. It is very simple." JUVENTUS GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI BUFFON AND DEFENDER DANI ALVES AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) JUVENTUS GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI BUFFON, ASKED WHAT HE WOULD FEEL IF HE WON THE TROPHY, SAYS: (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION) "It wouldn't make me feel anything special except joy. Huge joy. Because when you get to this stage you know perfectly well how you arrived here and all the effort you have had to put into your work and there is nothing better in life than to get a reward for working so hard. Sweating and working hard to get it. And there is nothing better than sharing this prize with your team mates. A group of people who you have worked with for months and months - with team mates who have perhaps worked even more than I have." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JUVENTUS DEFENDER DANI ALVES SAYS: (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION) "It would be part of football history again to be able to win a title with Buffon before he retires from football that would be really something for me as well. So I don't know, I hope we are up to par, that we can face the situation and be there, because it is a very, very beautiful situation and since I already had an opportunity of winning one, well football once again gives you the opportunity of living something this big again with my new team mates, and I will do everything that is in my power to win this." WIDE VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 16th June 2017 18:07
- Keywords: Massimiliano allegri Gianluigi Buffon Dani Alves
- Location: CARDIFF, WALES, UK
- City: CARDIFF, WALES, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016JL691B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was definite during his news conference in Cardiff on Friday (June 2) ahead of the Champions League final.
"Tomorrow we must win. Tomorrow we must be tough, technically and tactically. We didn't come here to visit Cardiff. We came here to try to win the trophy and take it home," he said.
Serie A champions Juventus play La Liga champions Real Madrid at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday (June 3) evening. Juventus have won the European champions title twice in their history. Most recently in 2015 they were runners-up, but coach Allegri is not interested in the history books.
"Tomorrow is the final. There is no point thinking of what happened 15 years ago or 20 or 50," he said. "We just need to do what we need to do in order to win the cup and bring it home. It is very simple."
Veteran Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is 39 years old. Reporters kept reminding him of the fact, and that this will be his last opportunity to win the Champions League trophy before he retires.
Asked to speculate what he would feel if he lifted the trophy at the last opportunity, he was the consummate team player, saying he would feel "huge joy" at being part of such a hard-working team.
Defender Dani Alves, who has already won the trophy twice with Barcelona, is looking to win it again for Juve, and for Buffon.
"It would be part of football history again to be able to win a title with Buffon before he retires from football, that would be really something for me as well," he said with a smile. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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