Juventus director Fabio Paratici defends the Super League and insists they ‘acted with the utmost clarity’ about the project, insisting ‘some things were said that are simply not true.’
The game with Fiorentina kicks off at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
Juventus director Fabio Paratici defends the Super League and insists they ‘acted with the utmost clarity’ about the project, insisting ‘some things were said that are simply not true.’
The game with Fiorentina kicks off at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
“Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo have often played together over the last few years, so it’s hardly a novelty. We have missed Dybala purely due to fitness issues, but there’s no doubting their quality,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.
“We had Gonzalo Higuain last year, Mario Mandzukic the year before. We’ve had various different combinations of forwards, it’s natural when you have about 50 games per season.”
Juventus lost 3-0 at home to Fiorentina back in December, with Juan Cuadrado sent off early on.
“We mustn’t forget that an hour before kick-off, we received news the sentence regarding Napoli was inverted. We also as a consequence couldn’t field Adrien Rabiot.
“There have been some good games, some less good, and we’re all analysing the reasons behind them.”
The focus inevitably was on the European Super League, which was announced and collapsed within 48 hours. Now UEFA and the Lega Serie A are threatening sanctions to penalise the rebels, especially one of the leading forces behind it like Juve.
“We are very calm, because we know that we acted with the utmost clarity, so none of all this concerns us. I see the President every day, he is working and planning for the future. I know how much he cares about the good of football and of Juventus,” assured Paratici.
“The rather violent reactions after the announcement of the Super League distracted attention from the causes and the reasons why these proposals were made.
“Some things were said and simply not true, such as that it was a closed league, or that anyone considered leaving their domestic leagues.”
One of the things that most infuriated the clubs was the fact it was announced with zero warning.
“These are dynamics that should not be discussed in a pre-match interview, there’s not really the time to cover it.”
Finally, Paratici was asked about the situation for coach Andrea Pirlo, who it’s reported could be fired if Juventus don’t finish in the top four.
“Yes, we are not even considering the option of not qualifying for the Champions League. We are only focused on what we are doing to achieve our objectives.”
So if Juve are in the Champions League, Pirlo will certainly remain as coach?
“Yes, certainly.”