Juventus director Pavel Nedved says his team wants to make a statement for Italian soccer by defeating Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals next month.
Despite winning three successive Scudettos – and being on the verge of a fourth – Juventus will be underdogs when they face off against the defending European and world champions in Champions League semi-finals in May.
This is undoubtedly because the assessment of Serie A is that it is not on the level of Europe’s other top leagues.
In December, legendary AC Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni said Italian football had reverted back to the 1970’s and 1980’s when the league was always a two-horse race.
The former coach pointed to the loss of big money investors, a lack of investment and the ‘win now’ model in Italy’s youth system; and overall mismanagement from the top to the bottom of Italian football.
With that said, Juventus director Paul Nedved disagrees with those who have labeled his team as ‘underdogs’ and wants his side to do something historic for Italian football by defeating Real Madrid.
“We want to do something great and historic for Italian football and we will try our best,” Nedved said.
“We will go and play our own game fairly and do our part, we want to enjoy it. We weren’t expecting to be 15 points clear in the league, in the semi-final of the Champions League and in the Coppa Italia final.
“[But] it’s crazy to talk about the opposition being better. We must play the same way we always have. We have a chance and they will be two fantastic matches.
“The road to the final is still long. Real are amongst the strongest teams in the world, but we will try our best.”
Juventus have been without midfielders Paul Pogba and Kwadwo Asamoah since March and December, respectively.
The hope is that the talented midfielders will return in time for the Champions League semi-final next month.
Regardless of the players’ involvement, Nedved is confident his side has enough quality to get past Real Madrid and punch their ticket to the final in Berlin.
“It would be important to have Pogba and Asamoah back, but we have a strong squad and we can continue as we are,” Nedved concluded.
