12 February 2018
FACING HARRY KANE
"Harry Kane is an exceptional striker and his statistics over the last year demonstrate that. He’s grown a lot over the last few years, but the most difficult thing is to always keep improving.
"Without doubt, he’s a very complete footballer, who scores a lot of goals and also plays for his team. He’s got the skills that make him one of the best in the world. Tottenham are very lucky to have a player like him."
TEAM EFFORT REQUIRED
"Stopping Kane one-on-one with me alone is pretty much impossible. That's not my plan, but instead for the whole team to stop Tottenham which is the most important thing.
"It’s true that one-on-one clashes are important, but the entire team has to do its best to limit not just Kane but other players too. They have a great front four in attack who link up very well together. We should not just think about Tottenham as Harry Kane, but as a whole team."
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
"Obvoiusly Matuidi is a player that has been very important for our group and will be important again when he returns from injury, but the great strength of this team is to be able to cope with situations where someone is injured because Buffon has been hurt and the same with Mandzukic and Dybala already this season."
BERNA'S IMPROVEMENT
"Certainly Federico’s development should be taken as an example by all youngsters looking to grow in the game. He was brave enough to put himself out there and take a big jump to Juventus while being very willing to learn.
"Over these months, the coach will tell you that he’s been working very hard without complaining at all, even if he didn’t play as much at the beginning: an attitude that shouldn’t be taken for granted from a young player, which is a credit to him."
ALLIANZ UP FIRST
"Are there any advantages to playing at home first? A lot depends on the result tomorrow, because in the last few years we’ve had both combinations of home and away legs first, so it doesn’t really matter.
"What I can tell you about the dressing room is that we’re very willing and determined to start this adventure. We always say at the beginning of the year that we can’t wait to get to the Champions League knockout round."
