Current Verona boss Gigi Del Neri faces Juventus for the first time since he was sacked, but insists “I didn’t fail.”
Serie A resumes for 2016 and on Wednesday Hellas visit Turin at 14.00 GMT. Click here for a match preview.
This will be his first encounter with the Bianconeri since the ill-fated 2010-11 campaign, when Juve finished seventh, failed to qualify for Europe and were knocked out of the Europa League and Coppa Italia relatively early.
Current Verona boss Gigi Del Neri faces Juventus for the first time since he was sacked, but insists “I didn’t fail.”
Serie A resumes for 2016 and on Wednesday Hellas visit Turin at 14.00 GMT. Click here for a match preview.
This will be his first encounter with the Bianconeri since the ill-fated 2010-11 campaign, when Juve finished seventh, failed to qualify for Europe and were knocked out of the Europa League and Coppa Italia relatively early.
“And yet, in the autumn we had beaten Max Allegri’s Milan at San Siro, who went on to win the Scudetto, and were second in mid-December,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“What ruined us was the 4-1 defeat to Parma after Christmas. Felipe Melo was sent off and got a three-match ban, plus Leonardo Bonucci and Fabio Quagliarella were injured. Quagliarella was particularly crucial for my style of football. With a bit more luck we could’ve finished at least fourth.”
That was also a turning point in Del Neri’s career, as he left Sampdoria ahead of the Champions League preliminary round to take the Juve job. Does he regret that?
“In hindsight I wouldn’t do it again, but at the time absolutely, because it’s impossible to turn Juve down. No, I have no regrets. I did what I had to do.
“I don’t think that I failed at Juve and still have an excellent rapport with Andrea Agnelli, Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici. Every now and then we talk on the phone and I’ll be happy to see them at the Juventus Stadium.
“I left Turin with sadness and disappointment, but time has changed certain memories and today I feel neither anger nor absurd desire for revenge. It was an honour to be Coach of Juventus.
“As for my rapport with the fans, it was so brief that we never really got to know each other. You can say the work I did laid the groundwork for Antonio Conte, but of course he also had new players like Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner.”
Back to the present day, how can bottom of the table Verona hope to get a result in Turin?
“With aggression and temperament, but ultimately we can only do what Juve allow us to. If we are often defending, it won’t be our choice, but because we are forced to. It is not in my nature to field remissive teams.
“Will Luca Toni and Giampaolo Pazzini start together? Perhaps, perhaps… They are a great battle pairing who could potentially score 40 goals between them, but I’d be happy with half that. They remind me of the Toni-Matri duo I used at Juventus.”