12 April 2016
Leading the way in the league with the Viareggio Cup already safely stowed in the J-Museum trophy cabinet and now of course with the Coppa Italia hanging delicately in the balance, Roman Macek and Juventus’ Primavera already have good reason to look back on this year’s efforts with pride.
As for the latter of the three trophies, the destination of which will be confirmed in tomorrow’s second-leg encounter with Inter at the San Siro, for Czech midfielder Macek, the Bianconeri already have plenty of experience in quality cup campaigns.
The youngster began: “We’re having a brilliant season and our run in the Viareggio Cup is a fine example of what we’ve achieved this year. To a man, we played superbly throughout the competition and were delighted to get our hands on the trophy at the end of it."
Previewing Wednesday's clash against the Nerazzurri, he said: “Inter are a great side and to beat them you need to be perfect both on and off the ball. Only once the cups have been completed can we start thinking about the league again."
Before moving on to broader matters, a word on fellow midfielder, compatriot and Juventus vice-president Pavel Nedved was inevitable for Roman, who in La Furia Ceca has the perfect, ready-made role model to look up to.
“I can safely say that Nedved is the best Czech player of all time and he is the perfect example for me both on and off the pitch. Just to become half as good as he was would be achievement enough.”
Like Nedved, Macek is not one to rest on his laurels and settle for second best. While praising the unity and team spirit of this hereto all-conquering Primavera team, the 19-year old has his eyes firmly trained on developing his already burgeoning midfield attributes.
“Our strongest quality as a team is probably our togetherness and team spirit, both of which have served us really well so far this year.
“If I could choose one thing to improve on personally, it would probably be my goal tally and it is something that the boss (Fabio Grosso) is always quick to remind me of! I’m more of a provider than a scorer but all top midfielders should be able to do both.”
Should Juve complete step 2 of their treble hunt tomorrow night in Milan, however, one thing could certainly not be picked out by coach Grosso for improvement: Macek and co’s silverware count this season…
