Juventus vice-president Pavel Nedved admits he considers it ‘a defeat’ that he needs to drill heart and soul into the squad for the Derby della Mole with Torino, but reiterates it’s ‘a long road ahead’ for Max Allegri whatever happens today.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).
The Derby della Mole is usually a rather one-sided affair historically, but in this case a victory would allow Toro to leapfrog their more prestigious neighbours in the Serie A table.
As a response to the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Maccabi Haifa, Juve were thrown into a training retreat to prepare for this showdown.
“They know that nobody likes to be in a training retreat. We are in a complicated situation, but we want to all react together, we are all united with the players and the coach. We want to begin again from this evening,” Nedved told DAZN.
President Andrea Agnelli said after that loss in Israel that they were ‘ashamed’ of Juventus, and he was standing on the touchline watching the warm-up today with Nedved, CEO Maurizio Arrivabene and director Federico Cherubini.
“We do feel the weight of the jersey and the words that our President expressed. It was the truth. We have to react, we know what it means to be here.
“We lost the last two games and that is not something Juve can accept. We need to react together to a difficult situation.”
Considering Juventus fought back from a tough start in 2015, does the current squad lack leaders who can spark that comeback?
“It was a very strong Italian core and that made it easier. Now there are two or three Italians in every team, which I think is very worrying in general for our football.
“However, we nee to react as a team and not as individuals. If we today have to talk about the need to put heart and soul in for the battle, I consider that a defeat, because it should be the foundation of everything and the rest goes on top.
“Keeping your nerve makes the difference. The players have received a lot of very negative energy from the outside, so we are trying to protect them and reassure them as much as possible.
“In a derby, you win with cool heads and fire in your hearts.”
President Agnelli stated that Allegri is and will remain the Juventus coach throughout this season, so nobody should expect a dismissal even if the derby goes badly.
“I think the President was very clear. We know there’s a long road ahead of us, not just this game, and it will take a while to get out of this situation. It’s a long road ahead, whether today goes well or badly.”