Juve still playing catch up, says Ranieri

Juventus may have been very active in the transfer window, but coach Claudio Ranieri insists his side still have a long way to go before comparisons can be drawn with Serie A leaders FC Internazionale Milano, who visit the Stadio Olimpico in Turin tonight for the second leg of their Coppa Italia quarter-final.

Juve rise
Under Ranieri, Juve have climbed to third in Serie A, ten points behind Inter, and have quietly muscled their way back into the upper echelons of the Italian game. Winning a trophy would announce their return in style but Ranieri is not contemplating that just yet. "Inter will come to Turin to win," said Ranieri, whose side drew 2-2 in the first leg in Milan last week. "At the moment we cannot compare ourselves to them, it would be too pretentious. However we want to qualify for the semi-finals. We must repeat the way we played in Milan without making the same mistakes."

Stendardo debut
Juve have been busy off the field as well as on it over the past few weeks, signing defender Guglielmo Stendardo on loan from S.S. Lazio and Mohamed Sissoko from Liverpool FC as well as agreeing the summer transfer of Swedish international defender Olof Mellberg from Aston Villa FC. With defenders Jorge Andrade, Giorgio Chiellini and Jonathan Zebina injured and Zdeněk Grygera suspended, Stendardo is expected to come straight into the side. "He is a good player with UEFA Champions League experience," Ranieri said. "Obviously it takes time to understand each other with new team-mates but I'm sure he'll receive all the help he needs."

Camoranesi back
Ranieri is also boosted by the return of Mauro Camoranesi who missed almost all of the first part of the season through injury. "He is ready to help and will be like a new signing for us," Ranieri added. Gianluigi Buffon is still out with a back injury and will be replaced by Emanuele Belardi. A low scoring draw would be enough for Juve to progress but the Bianconeri know it will not be easy against an Inter side still unbeaten in Serie A and determined to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2006.

'Aggressive'
"We are going to Turin with only one result in mind: victory," Nerazzurri defender Iván Córdoba said. "The first leg ended 2-2 but we played with ten men for almost the entire game. Juventus will be very aggressive at home, but we're sure we can go there and win." AS Roma qualified for the semi-finals yesterday with victory against UC Sampdoria. In tonight's other quarter-finals Udinese Calcio hold a 3-2 lead over Calcio Catania and ACF Fiorentina trail Lazio 2-1.