Ranieri : The same Juve we saw against Inter

Ranieri: «The same Juve we saw against Inter»
juventus.com

Juve are facing “habitual” opponents lately. After Empoli and Inter Milan, Juventus immediately play the third team they also faced in the Italian Cup. Parma are expected at the Olimpico after the two other games played this season, both at the Tardini.

The best-remembered match was the League one, when Juve struggled in the first half and went down 2-0 before recovering and almost winning deservedly when a Iaquinta goal was wrongly disallowed. Ranieri began commenting tomorrow's game starting from there: «We didn't play in the first half at all. We recovered only thanks to a great second half; we'll have to restart like that this time. I'm not afraid of running the same risk because a lot of games have gone by, we’ve matured. The lads will play a great match. I'd like to see that determination and focus we saw last Saturday against Inter Milan».

The Rome-born coach faces the team he saved last year, in what was viewed by many as a miracle. Today Parma are in a not entirely different position, as they still have to fight to avoid relegation. To do this, Club owner Ghirardi called Hector Cuper, hoping the Argentinean manager can repeat what the current Juventus manager achieved: «I hope he does – Ranieri continued – but starting from Monday… Cuper took my place at Valencia too, I've known him for years, we've played against each other several times; he has experience and charisma. Parma today don't deserve their position in the table, so we better be careful, they have a good squad».

After the memorable game at the Meazza, Juventus want to keep up the chase. On the day when all the fans at the Olimpico will celebrate Alessandro Del Piero, the new record-holder for games played at the Club, the Bianconeri have one extra reason to get the three points. The manager concluded: «I have Zanetti back, and he's shown on the pitch that he's our reference point in the middle. His return is important in this last part of the season, when we'll have to always give our best, in each of the last eight games remaining. We're on the home stretch? We'll only be there after facing AC Milan».