Ranieri: “We have to finish the year well”

It seems like only yesterday when Claudio Ranieri's Juventus were taking their first steps in Pinzolo and yet it's already time to wrap up the first part of the season. 2007 comes to a close and, despite there being two more matches in January before the return rounds begin, the Manager can already make a first assessment. “I'm pleased but not satisfied; I think we can do more. Just consider how often I've had to do without Camoranesi. Individually, there's space to grow and when the individuals grow, so will the team. Points? We have as many as we deserved. Sometimes we would've deserved more, other times we got more than we fully earned. And that's ok with me. The squad? I'm happy with how they behaved and therefore we won't be signing anyone new in the January transfer market”.

But there's one more match to go, to wrap the year up on a high. Juventus face Siena at the Olimpico and this could be a good chance to continue the recent string of good results in the best possible way. Indeed, after the National teams break in mid-November, the Bianconeri have won three and drawn one (in Milan, with many regrets) and getting three more points tomorrow would be icing on the cake. The men from Tuscany can be beaten, but on one condition, as Ranieri himself explained: “We have to play better than we did in the Lazio game. You can be lucky once, but not twice in a row. I wasn't happy with that performance, but neither were the lads, and this is a good thing. That's why I'm expecting the highest levels of attention, concentration and quality from them”.

On paper, and looking at the previous encounters between the teams, the match against Siena could be the right one to celebrate Christmas in the best possible way. But the Rome-born Manager knows how dangerous a game like this can be: “First of all, some of my players have the flu, and I'll only be able to decide the line-up tomorrow. I've been telling the lads all week that this will be a match like the one against Atalanta. Siena will play defensively, they'll press us and then go on the counter-attack. We'll face a team that has become a tight unit again with Beretta's return. Already last year they'd won several times away from home, that's why we need to be careful and stay concentrated; but having said that, we must win and end the year on a high note”.

www.juventus.com - 22 December 2007