Juve back to full strenght

July 9, 1999
Juventus Official Site

There were encouraging signs for coach Carlo Ancelotti in the 5-0 win over the Valle d'Aosta XI, in which Amoruso claimed a hat-trick and Birindelli and Pessotto hit one apiece. Ancelotti was pleased with the tactical formation, the three-man defence and the players' physical condition a week into training.

At the end of a relatively uneventful match Ancelotti merely said that it had gone better than he had expected. Where in the past this match has been little more than a pre-season showpiece, this time it was a dress rehearsal for the Intertoto Cup.

This should be the team to play in the first round of the Intertoto Cup, give or take some minor tinkering, probably with the forward line.

After the match the players went off to enjoy their first 24 hours of freedom since the pre-season began. Some chose to stay locally, including Ferrara, Rampulla, Pessotto, Ametrano and the young overseas players Isaksson and O'Brien. Others decided to head back to nearby Turin.

The "Ecole Hoteliere" in Chatillon was an empty wilderness today but the bulk of the squad are due back on Friday evening with the late arrivals making it to Chatillon at lunchtime on Saturday. There will be a light work-out in the gym on the first day.

There are thirteen players, who, for one reason or another, have had extended holidays. Conte, Inzaghi and the new signing Zambrotta were called up by Zoff to play in Italy's EURO 2000 qualifiers. Davids, Henry, Mirkovic, Montero and Fonseca were also called up by their national squads.

Zinedine Zidane is back after the injury which curtailed his season. He has been on a sailing cruise around Greece and Turkey.

Del Piero is back after his contract was renewed. He has had a short holiday in Sardinia and will start training alongside his team-mates. Alex is close to making a comeback and has said he might even be ready to play in the first league match of the season.

Then there are the new signings. Edwin Van der Sar, the former Ajax goalkeeper and Dutch international who was bought to replace Peruzzi, and Darko Kovacevic, the Yugoslav forward signed from Real Sociedad, have both been in Turin for their official presentations. Sunday Oliseh, on the other hand, is a totally new face. The Nigerian midfielder from Ajax is Juventus' most recent signing.
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