18 January 2020
The second round of the Serie A season begins. Juventus host Parma at the Allianz Stadium tomorrow night, who they defeated 1-0 in the first game of the season at the Stadio Tardini.
At today's press conference, Maurizio Sarri previewed the game against the Emilian outfit, but before doing so, the coach paid tribute to Pietro Anastasi with these kind words:
"I'd like to remember Anastasi. A very important player in Juventus' history and Italian football. I remember him as a leading man in the 1968 European Championships, a great footballer and a great man."
THE STRONG POINTS OF THE EMILIANS
"Parma are doing well in the table, they are only one point away from Europe. On Thursday in the Coppa Italia, they practically rested all but two starts, so they will be in good condition. They are a resilient team that knows how to regroup and to counter well.
"They have done very well on the road and we will have to be careful not to play into their hands. They have no weaknesses, even on a defensive level Parma are solid, having physical players like Kucka and Kurtic who give a great physicality and substance to the midfield. They have excellent attackers like Inglese, Kulusevski and Gervinho."
THE BIANCONERI ATTACK
"Dybala is doing very well in all formations. With regards to the trident, we must find the right balance. Higuain has a very specific role, Ronaldo and Dybala are two instinctive players, who do not have a precise location. But I prefer to have three strong forwards with difficulties in choosing the lineup than the other way round."
DE LIGT, DOUGLAS COSTA & RABIOT
"De Ligt played a lot of consecutive matches two months ago so he'll be ready to do it again now, after coming back from a period of recovery. Bonucci was rested in the last game and Rugani has shown that he is ready, there are no defensive problems.
"Douglas Costa took part in only some yesterday's training session, just like everyone else who started the match on Wednesday. He has never had great continuity in training this season, so today we will realise how strong his ability is to recover. Rabiot has found continuity, form and more confidence, his performances are improving and he is becoming a different player, more present in the defensive phase and more tactical than before. If he continues like this, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a call-up to the French national team."
THINKING ONLY ABOUT PARMA
"A team turnover happens as a logical consequence when there are so many matches played close together, it's difficult to plan it, as everything is decided in relation to previous games. Right now, I'm only thinking about the match against Parma, we must concentrate on the match at hand without thinking ahead."
