08 October 2024
Ahead of the Juventus Women's First Team's seasonal debut in the Women's Champions League away in Norway to take on Valerenga, coach Massimiliano Canzi and Barbara Bonansea were put forward to the press for the usual pre-match press conference.
Kick-off in Norway is set for 21:00 CEST on Wednesday, 9 October.
Barbara Bonansea
Barbara Bonansea expressed all her excitement for the return to the Champions League: “It certainly is a special emotion, we have been waiting for this moment for a year. We have earned it with our level of performance so far and we are excited and eager to do well.”
Regarding Juventus' positive start to the season, she said: “I always expect this. We are Juve and we always want to win. The results show that we have prepared well and we want to continue like this.”
“We will face a good team [in Valerenga], they are top of their table and they have won all their matches. They are not only physical but also very technical.”
Talking about her recent change of role and position within the team, she emphasised how this evolution has helped her to grow as a player: “It has helped me a lot, because I like playing football, I just need to be on the pitch. Changing roles has been an opportunity for growth.”
Finally, Bonansea explained how the spirited performance and win over Paris Saint-Germain has the Bianconere feeling confident of progressing through the group stage: “Winning against a strong team like PSG has increased our confidence. We believe in ourselves and we want to start well tomorrow [Wednesday].”
Massimiliano Canzi
Coach Massimiliano Canzi shared Bonansea's excitement, and he cannot wait to get going in the group stage.
“It is definitely very exciting," Canzi said. "Every coach dreams of something like this, even more so with a team as strong as this. I am enjoying every moment.
“Valerenga are a team that have been winning repeatedly for three years, they have had an impressive run with very few defeats. They are in excellent form but I don't think they were happy to have been drawn against us.
“We work a lot on set-pieces, we know that matches can be decided by one set-piece. Every detail counts.”
Canzi also emphasised the importance of changes to the squad: “With five changes, we can rotate players and keep their competitiveness high. It is no longer a question of players who start and the reserves, but of who starts and who finishes. I have to thank the club for providing me with a top-class squad.”
The game in Norway will be played on an artificial surface, and while it's not ideal, Canzi did play down his concerns about that: “It is not the dream scenario, but we have trained on artificial turf and we are ready.”
