'Fighting spirit' key for Del Piero

Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero hopes the Bianconeri can build on Saturday's 2-1 victory over FC Internazionale Milano when they host FC Bayern München on Tuesday needing a draw to earn a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. "We have to go out on the pitch with the same fighting spirit we showed against Inter because that is our main strength," the 35-year-old forward said.

'Boost'
Del Piero has struggled with injuries during the first half of the season and was handed his first Serie A starting berth this term in Saturday's Derby d'Italia, as Juve reduced their gap on the leaders to five points with victory. "We hope the win against Inter will provide a boost like the one against Real Madrid last year, when we went on from there to build a long streak of good results," explained the Italian international. "We want to repeat that feat."

Improvement
On a personal level, the Juventus captain also looked to have put his thigh injury behind him after initially taking time to find his rhythm in a series of substitute appearances. "Somebody said I look bigger, but my weight is the same, although I can improve and could be a bit quicker with my moves," Del Piero said. "However, I'm satisfied with my condition because it was a very physical game against Inter and I managed to keep the pace well. Playing every three days is tough both physically and mentally. It's not easy to recharge the batteries after a game like Saturday's. We will have to be fully focused and know when to work hard in defence or show our great quality in attack when Bayern allow us to. It's difficult, but it's exactly what we need to do."

'Good chance'
Against Inter, Del Piero was employed alongside Amauri in attack with Diego just behind the front two, as Ciro Ferrara switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-1-2 formation. It is a strategy the evergreen striker would like to try again. "It was the first time we had played like that so I think we have to test this system a bit more," Del Piero said. "I have a good feeling about it. We only have to improve our understanding of each other. We have a good chance of progressing, but don't ask me how much. Fortunately we aren't on the stock exchange."