Ranieri leaves no room for emotion
Friday, February 15, 2008
Article summary
Claudio Ranieri was born in Rome and played for AS Roma but says there will be no room for sentiment as his Juventus side take on the Giallorossi on Saturday.
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Claudio Ranieri was born in Rome and began his playing career with AS Roma, but there will be no sentiment when his Juventus side take on the Giallorossi on Saturday night. Juventus are third in Serie A and, though 12 points behind leaders FC Internazionale Milano, they trail second-placed Roma by only four.
'Important'
Victory would cut that gap to a point and Ranieri considers the match a test of Juve's ambition. "It will be a very important game," he said, "and not just because of the three points at stake and the chance to move closer to second spot. It is also important for what we want to become, for what we are trying to build."
Aiming high
The 56-year-old former Valencia CF and Chelsea FC coach has done a fine job since taking over the newly promoted club in the summer. The aim is clear: to restore Juventus to former glories as quickly as possible. According to Ranieri, though, there is a long way to go. "Roma have something more than us because their coach, Luciano Spalletti, started to build his team three years ago. He has had time to make changes, to add the couple of players he needed for his way of playing. I started six months ago so we are quite a few steps behind."
'Mental energy'
Roma visit Turin three days before hosting Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League. The Bianconeri have no such European commitments this season, which Ranieri says may help them on the domestic front. "Obviously, playing in the UEFA Champions League expends some mental energy and we will have to make the most of this slight advantage," he said.
'Roma are ready'
Roma winger Mancini, however, brushes off suggestions that involvement in the UEFA Champions League could harm the Giallorossi's Serie A campaign. "Real Madrid will be a great game and we're sure we have a good chance of progressing, but before then we have Juventus. They are our main rivals for second place and it will not be easy in Turin. They are playing well and are continuing to improve. It will be a very difficult game in a very busy period, but Roma are ready."
