Kovacevic Content To Sit On Juventus Bench
Tuesday 22nd May 2001
Juventus striker Darko Kovacevic has claimed he holds no grudge against coach Carlo Ancelotti, despite the fact that he regularly finds himself left out of the starting line-up.
Kovacevic came off the bench to score in the 4-1 victory over Bologna on Sunday, but he still has no complaints about the manager. "I have an extremely good relationship with Ancelotti," he said.
"He has a difficult time because he has four top-quality strikers at his disposal and it isn't easy to decide which ones to put in the first team.
"David Trezeguet and I have been through a similar time. We sit on the bench and support each other. When he scored we celebrated together."
Croatia international Igor Tudor also got on the scoresheet on Sunday. "Igor is an excellent guy," said Kovacevic. "He has everything that you need in a top player.
"He is strong, fast, jumps well and never compromises. He is one of the best defenders in Italy at the moment."
Kovacevic is hoping for a return to the national side now that Milovan Djoric has been sacked. He quit the team last month after the coach accused him of "rudeness".
"Now that Djoric has gone, I'm ready to rejoin the team. I hope that I can play in the next two World Cup qualifiers," he said.
