Claudio Ranieri

Ranieri: Juve won't give up
Sunday 9 December, 2007

Claudio Ranieri assures Juventus will keep fighting for the Scudetto and explains why Alessandro Del Piero was back on the bench.

Pavel Nedved’s late goal defeated Atalanta 1-0 and maintained the eight-point gap from leaders Inter.

“We know that Inter and Roma are stronger than we are, but we will try to fight alongside them. That is what being part of Juventus means.”

Tinker man left captain Del Piero on the bench for the third game on the trot and the tactic does not seem to be paying off.

“I made this decision because Vincenzo Iaquinta is in great shape. The team is united and we played a difficult match against a good Atalanta side. Our opponents know how to really hurt you on the break.”

The 2-1 Coppa Italia loss at Empoli midweek prompted Ranieri to warn some players – above all Tiago Mendes and Sergio Almiron – would not be given another chance to shine.

“Neither of them have failed. Right now Antonio Nocerino and Cristiano Zanetti are playing very well and doing better than expected.”

Atalanta boss Luigi Del Neri has a dreadful track record against Juventus, but took a philosophical approach.

“I try to see the glass half full. If I have lost a lot with Juventus, it means I have faced them many times and therefore I’m a top Serie A Coach. Besides, we’ll pick up points elsewhere.

“We played them on level terms with a good performance, but the class of one individual made the difference. There was a foul on Moris Carrozzieri before Nedved’s goal, but that doesn’t matter now. We can say it was a positive performance.”

(channel4)