Del Piero, convinced Juve can win

April 18, 2001
Juventus Official Site

The championship is becoming ever more exciting and from the one team that seemed likely to walk away with the Scudetto, the list of teams contending for the prize has risen to three; Roma, Juve and Lazio. Alessandro del Piero, the most emblematic player of Juve's renewed competitiveness is convinced that the  Bianconeri can take home the Scudetto: "I believe that Juve's is capable of catching Roma. There are situations that could turn to our favour, as the match against our direct opponents at the Delle Alpi, the Roman derby and the precedent that was set last season.

It is true that Juve is more accustomed to leading the championship than Roma, but I believe that Capello's squad has no intention of letting this opportunity pass them by." On the difference between this year's Roma and last year's Juve, Del Piero explained, "the teams' standing in the championship is similar. The form of the two teams however is quite different, because Roma lost points while still playing well, we on the other hand lost points because we lost form. There is no doubt that at this moment, I envy Roma's position." The team's physical and psychological condition is good: "there is a lot of excitement for having gained points on Roma, but we can only be satisfied if we manage to win the Scudetto. I think that the last games, those against Verona and Inter, proved that our real forte is our grit." Del Piero then went on to speak about the imminent match against Parma: "The way we play this match and that against Lecce will have a lot of influence on how we face the league leaders. It will be a difficult game, last year we managed to dominate for 91 minutes, then Crespo gave us a nasty surprise. In any case, I think that it will be a difficult Sunday, even for Roma in Udine." When asked about the transfer market, Del Piero handed the question over to the club management, except for one fact, "I am staying."
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