Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said Paulo Dybala is available for the ‘important’ match against Napoli. ‘Having him available means a lot’.
The Bianconeri prepare for the rescheduled match against the Partenopei tomorrow and Pirlo said he ‘expects an open and great game’.
“It will be an important match for the table,” Pirlo said at a press conference. “Napoli are experiencing a positive period.
Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said Paulo Dybala is available for the ‘important’ match against Napoli. ‘Having him available means a lot’.
The Bianconeri prepare for the rescheduled match against the Partenopei tomorrow and Pirlo said he ‘expects an open and great game’.
“It will be an important match for the table,” Pirlo said at a press conference. “Napoli are experiencing a positive period.
“We want to play the game and try to score points. I expect an open match and I hope it will be a great game.”
Pirlo said Wojciech Szczesny will be in goal and said Juan Cuadrado could also play higher up the pitch.
“Szczesny is confirmed because after a bad performance, there’s always the desire for redemption,” Pirlo continued. “As for Cuadrado, we are trying some solutions, he could play high or low.”
The match has already been postponed once and this time Juventus are without Merih Demiral, Leonardo Bonucci and Federico Bernardeschi due to COVID-19.
“We respect the protocol as always and we are in tune with what the ASL says,” he added. “We will present ourselves as we have always done.”
Pirlo added that he’s confident the team is behind him.
“I’m always in contact with them,” he contined. “I like to talk before and after training, I feel great confidence.
“The players follow me, they want revenge and they are the first to be sad about the situation.”
Paulo Dybala, Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo have returned to training, and Pirlo hopes to have the Argentine available against the Partenopei.
“Paulo is fine, he has trained with the group and has resumed kicking the ball,” he said. “He is back at my disposal and I hope to have him ready to play tomorrow.
“It’s normal that he doesn’t have 90 minutes in his legs, but having him available for us already means a lot.
“I also spoke with [Dejan] Kulusevski yesterday, I reassured him because he happens to make mistakes. He needs to keep his head up; everyone has faith in him.
“[Alvaro] Morata has not scored for a few games, but we aren’t worried, he’s important for us also in the build-up.”
Pirlo confirmed he was aware of the meeting between patron Andrea Agnelli and Max Allegri.
“I have daily contact with the President, we always tell each other all the things that happen,” Pirlo said. “I was aware of this meeting and his confidence, then it’s normal that it’s up to me to prove that I can be the coach next season.”
Pirlo said he didn’t expect ‘such a diffult year’ but believes it will help his development as a coach.
“I didn’t expect such a difficult year between matches and injuries,” he continued. “With this international calendar there has been an accumulation of commitments that have led to this being such a special year that we shouldn’t repeat.
“This year, a lot has happened that will help me grow and from here we will start again."