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."