Inter Milan won't faze Juventus
coach
June 14, 1999
AFP
MILAN, Italy -- Juventus
coach Carlo Ancelotti on Monday played down Inter Milan's $75 million attack
duo of Christian Vieri and Ronaldo, hinting they could be a disappointment.
Inter Milan multi-millionaire
owner Massimo Moratti is stopping at nothing to build a first-rate team
next season for new coach Marcello Lippi, while 1998 champion Juventus
is content holding onto its money.
Ancelotti said big signings
are no guarantee of success and that qualities like grit, determination
and dedication cannot be bought on the transfer market.
Asked about Inter's moves
on the transfer scene, Ancelotti said: "Inter are fairly competitive. But
all this off-season talk in summer counts for little or nothing. It's what
happens on the pitch that counts."
As for Vieri and Ronaldo,
he added: "They are a good combination on paper. But it's how well they
perform in matches, and the kind of support they are able to get from the
rest of the team, that'll decide whether they really are the best."
He went on: "What people
tend to forget, particularly at this time of year, that it's not just having
great players that decides results over the season. You need other qualities
as well.
"And Juventus have clearly
had those in recent years, more than all the other sides -- things that
have grown out of their extraordinary desire to win. And that is something
that you can't just go out and buy."
And after Inter spent 90
billion lira ($48 million) on Vieri, Ancelotti said: "I have never thought
that paying 90 billion or 300 billion lira is any guarantee of success."
Juventus has so far limited
its moves to new goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, who replaces Inter-bound
Angelo Peruzzi, and Yugoslav striker Darko Kovacevic, from Real Sociedad.
Although the club is still
being linked with Ancelotti's former protege at Parma, Argentine striker
Hernan Crespo, its main challenge is to keep and to improve the performance
of its existing players.
Alessandro Del Piero is preparing
his return from injury next month after a nine-month absence, but his year-long
negotiations over a new contract need to be brought to a conclusion.
World Cup star Zinedine Zidane
needs to improve on last season's disappointing displays, while the Turin
club is also trying to persuade his skipper at France '98, Didier Deschamps,
to stay on for another year.
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