From the papers

August 9, 2000
Juventus Official Site

The man making the news today is Alessandro del Piero. "Every department has been strengthened," declares the player in the Corriere dello Sport. "Juve have never dropped off the pace and we have made sufficient changes. The youth policy is invaluable if we are to unearth other Del Piero's in the future. One thing for sure is that Roma, Lazio and Milan have made some excellent signings. On my part it won't be easy to save face both on and off the field. If I end up making 20 assists and scoring one goal then so be it."

"The fans always want more from Del Piero," continues the number 10. "For me it's like a stimulus. I am aware of the fact that they respect me and expect a lot in return. I want to do well and hope to do so. How well it goes will depend on circumstances."

Meanwhile Tuttosport spotlights Filippo Inzaghi on the day of his 27th birthday. The paper writes: "He is all fired up and has never been so keen to show his real worth. He is a Juventus player through and through and is looking to reach the target of 100 goals in a Bianconero shirt. This would earn him a place in the club's history. The impression is that Inzaghi, now off the transfer list, will remain at Juventus for a number of years yet."

Tuttosport also reports comments made by Luciano Moggi with regard to Zinedine Zidane, who yesterday admitted that he had been misquoted in the press on Juventus' stance in the transfer market. Moggi says: "Seeing that Zidane is a foreigner, there is always the chance that he could have difficulty expressing himself correctly. In order to avoid any other faux pas his contact with the press will be limited from now on."

But it is Del Piero who is the focus of attention in the Gazzetta dello Sport. The Bianconero also talks about the European Championships: "If I had known beforehand how it would finish, it would have seemed a devastating experience. Instead, having lived through it, day by day, I remained relaxed throughout even when I didn't play. The relationship with Totti was excellent, with no problems whatsoever.

"The chances in the Final? People have said it was wrong for me to take all the blame. I believe that it was the right thing to do: there are many cases of "if only" in matches. I admit that two of those "if onlys" were important chances that fell to me and I missed. But it was a bit much to point the finger of blame at me over those two incidents. When you concede a goal with only 30 seconds left to play you could be mistaken for thinking it just wasn't meant to be..."
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