Caceres offers no excuses for Roma defeat

17 February 2013 17:37

Juventus defender Martin Caceres insists his side cannot look for excuses after their Serie A loss to Roma.

Francesco Totti's thunderbolt earned the hosts all three points on Saturday evening, and Caceres has refused to blame the Bianconeri's tough midweek trip to Celtic in the UEFA Champions League as a factor in their lacklustre performance.

"I didn't like the game," the 24-year-old told reporters.

"We were not in our best shape and when that happens mistakes are made.

"I don't know if we were tired or what, but we mustn't look for excuses. We are Juventus. When you wear this jersey, excuses are of no use.

"Now we must work during the week and try to understand what went wrong."

Meanwhile, Roma midfielder Marquinho has praised the impact of interim coach Aurelio Andreazzoli, expressing his delight at the change of fortunes at the club after he almost left Stadio Olimpico in January prior to Zdenek Zeman's dismissal.

"Football changes quickly," he said. "Now Andreazzoli gives me more opportunities to play and I am happy, albeit aware I must always push to do better.

"Andreazzoli has changed the shape of the side, the way we play, but above all I think he changes our mentality. He asks us to be gritty and determined on the field, to always play with our heads and the right preparation."

Conte: We didn´t play like a team

17 February 2013 01:49

Juventus coach Antonio Conte has slammed his team's performance during Saturday's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Roma.

A Francesco Totti strike saw the capital club past Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico, and Conte admitted that his side did not perform at the necessary level.

"Fatigue is normal, but if we don't play like a team, we won't go anywhere," he told reporters after the match. "I won't mention individuals, but I didn't like the team or anyone out there tonight.

"Everyone went their own way and it was really disappointing. We have regrets that we did not have an extra day to prepare and recover our physical levels.

"If I had picked other players and we lost, then I'd be blamed as well. (Kwado) Asamoah has been on international duty for six weeks and someone wanted me to play him against Celtic. He looked like a fish out of water today."

Conte said his players are starting to feel the effects of a draining run of fixtures.

"As I've already said before the match against Fiorentina, I thought it was absurd to play three matches in seven days: we're asked to be competitive in the European competitions, but we need to have one extra day to recover," he said.

"It isn't easy to play against teams, such as Fiorentina, Celtic and Roma in quick succession. This is our only justification for the defeat."

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri had been critical of the Italian champions' protests about their fixture schedule, but Conte believes his complaints were justified.

"We've played three games in seven days, how many did Napoli play? It's easy to calculate," he retorted.

"In any case, all clubs must be given the opportunity to recover whenever we are involved in these supplementary competitions."

Capello backs Juve ahead of Roma clash

16 February 2013 12:52

Fabio Capello has revealed he expects Juventus to confirm their status as Serie A favourites on Saturday with a win over Roma.

The Old Lady lead the Italian top flight by five points and travel to the capital on the back of a comprehensive 3-0 Champions League victory at Celtic.

The Giallorossi, in contrast, are yet to win a league game in 2013 and recently sacked coach Zdenek Zeman.

Capello, who guided Roma to the Scudetto in 2000 before taking charge of Juventus four years later, made it known that while he is an admirer of the Olimpico side and their efforts to reinvent themselves, the Turin giants remain the benchmark on the peninsula.

"Juve are the favourites for the title, but in summer I had tipped Roma to be one of Juventus' main rivals. They have an attractive young group and are already competitive," the current Russia coach told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Juventus are the strongest amongst all the other teams (in Serie A) and neither Milan nor Inter are competing at 100 percent. This is a nice gift for Conte. The most dangerous competition has disappeared.

"I like Juve's approach. There is attention to the defence but also the desire to play football. They never throw possession away.

"They are not the strongest team in the Champions League, but neither were Chelsea last year."

"Their mentality is simple - win and turn the page. They always seek to raise the bar and are never satisfied. They have several leaders in their squad such as (Andrea) Pirlo, (Gianluigi) Buffon, (Giorgio) Chiellini.

"Oh, and another thing that is making a difference: (Mirko) Vucinic. He completes Pirlo's wonderful build-up play."

Capello then lavished praise on Italy veteran Pirlo and the telling impact that the midfielder has made since his arrival from AC Milan in 2011.

"Every time Pirlo plays, he becomes more ageless," he said. "Milan have really given a fantastic gift to Juventus. Pirlo's story reminds me of a naive mistake made by a young coach.

"I was once told, 'Dear Fabio, you can go wrong when buying a player but you cannot get it wrong when you give them away'. He was right. Milan made a serious mistake when they lost Pirlo."

Conte cautious of Juve squad fatigue

15 February 2013 17:08

Antonio Conte is anxious over the fitness of his Juventus squad ahead of their Serie A clash with Roma on Saturday.

Serie A preview: Roma´s Europa League hopes fading

14 February 2013 15:41

Roma face an uphill battle to keep their European hopes alive when they host Serie A leaders Juventus on Saturday.

Winless in six matches, Roma have slipped to ninth on the table, seven points adrift of a European berth.

Roma have made 28 appearances in European competition but could miss out altogether this season if they fail to address their latest form slump.

Aurelio Andreazzoli's men went down to Sampdoria last time out, which came in the wake of a shock loss to Cagliari.

Juventus, by contrast, are five points clear on top of the standings following wins against Fiorentina and Chievo.

Having beaten Celtic 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, Juventus head to Rome full of confidence despite missing the suspended Claudio Marchisio and Federico Peluso.

Meanwhile, second-placed Napoli will aim to keep the pressure on Juventus when they entertain Sampdoria on Sunday.

Napoli are unbeaten in their past seven league outings, having accounted for Catania and Parma in the process.

Elsewhere, third-placed Lazio travel to Siena on Monday in search of their first win in five league games.

Lazio looked set to beat Napoli last weekend, but were left to rue a late equaliser from Hugo Campagnaro.

In other matches, fourth-placed Inter Milan take on sixth-placed Fiorentina in a crucial clash for both sides.

Fifth-placed AC Milan will aim to bounce back from a 1-1 draw with Cagliari when they face Parma at home on Friday.

Palermo are up against Chievo on Saturday, while 18th-placed Pescara can climb out of the relegation zone at home to 16th-placed Cagliari the following day.

Genoa face a tough test against Udinese, while Bologna make the journey to Catania and Torino tackle Atalanta.