Del Piero: "Title Within Reach"

January 20, 2000
Juventus Official Site

Alessandro Del Piero is admired by Juve fans, his team-mates and the club alike. The Bianconero forward arrived at the Comunale on Thursday looking calm and relaxed. A wry grin spread over his face on reading the headlines in the papers that reflect Alessio Tacchinardi's great faith in him. The player was quick to thank his friend: "I hope that Alessio's hopes become reality," he remarked. "It was good of him to speak so highly of me. We have been friends for a long time now. Alessio arrived at Juve just one year after me, so we have been through a lot together. What he said means a great deal to me especially as he is such an important member of the team."

Del Piero believes that the title is well within Juve's reach: "We know we can win the title because we are on top form at the moment. We are very strong, but to know whether we are stronger than any of the other clubs, we will have to wait until the end of the season."

Despite the confidence, it will not all be plain sailing for the Bianconeri; they still have a few things to work on. Del Piero agrees wholeheartedly: "First of all we need to work on our attack so that we do not repeat our performances against Parma or Bari. If any opportunities come our way, we must grab them at once. We also need to make sure that we do not loose any points against the smaller teams."

Talking of good opportunities, Sunday's fixture against Reggina is exactly that: "Lazio and other sides did not have an easy time of it and I realise we are going to find it tough too," Alex admitted. "But if we overcome this hurdle, morale really will be high. We have to ensure we sustain a high level of performance against all clubs, regardless of their position in the League table. All the contenders for the Scudetto are bunched together near the top of the table so we cannot afford to drop even one point."
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