30 September 2016
As far as objectives are concerned, Juventus are seemingly on the right course.
Wins over Cagliari and Palermo in Serie A will see them enter the final fixture before the international break with a one-point advantage over rivals Napoli while a 4-0 success over Dinamo Zagreb propelled them to top spot in Champions League Group H.
For Andrea Barzagli however, a bedrock of the Bianconeri's history-making defence, there is always room for improvement. Barzagli and co. won in style on Tuesday night in Croatia and it is that level of performance that the Italian champions are looking to sustain and make the norm for the coming season.
Speaking to the Sky and Mediaset cameras last night, Andrea had this to say of his team's start to the campaign, European ambitions and of course, Sunday's testing away trip to Empoli:
"Quality to go all the way"
"We have been on a journey in the past few years, one that has made us realise that we have the quality to go all the way in every competition we play in. No one has said that we are favourites but at the same time we know we have what it takes to have an excellent Champions League campaign.
"We've never believed that we are invicibile. We're aware that we've strengthened this summer but acknowledge that we're not going to steam roll everyone before us. There's more margin for error this season than ever before; everyone pushes themselves to their limits to beat Juventus and that forces us to raise our game too."
Looking backwards, looking forwards
"There is room for improvement in our own play and that, along with winning trophies, is one of the objectives for the campaign that we have given ourselves.
"Over time, good football produces good results. Naturally we can't just abandon the solidity and discipline that have brought us this far, just look at the massive results we have grinded out over the years, but playing as progressively as we can is certainly an important target for us."
Full focus in Tuscany
"Empoli are a hard-working unit and always a potential banana skin. We'll go there knowing that we'll have to earn the three points and nothing will be taken for granted. Performances, not systems, decide matches and however we line up, we will have to deliver a very good one on Sunday."
