Zizou Loss Will Hurt Juve, Says Sheva
Friday 10th August 2001
AC Milan forward Andriy Shevchenko has claimed Juventus will struggle to come to terms with the loss of French star Zinedine Zidane this season.
The Ukraine star insisted that the Turin side were a shadow of the team that pushed Roma to the title last term after helping Milan clinch the pre-season TIM trophy in Austria with a 1-0 win over Juventus and drawing 0-0 against Internazionale.
"Of course they are weaker," he explained. "They are trying new things at the moment and I think they will find it difficult for the first few months - at least. Losing Zidane is a big blow.
"You can't just forget about someone like Zidane. It's never easy replacing great players like Zidane and [Filippo] Inzaghi," he added.
But Shevchenko added that Juve's defence looked more formidable than ever following the summer signings of Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon.
"They are very strong in that department," he admitted. "Not just in defence, but in midfield, where they have brought in Pavel Nedved. He is a vital player for them," claimed Shevchenko.
The former Dinamo Kyiv striker insisted that he was more impressed with city rivals Inter. "In Trieste I saw a new Inter," he revealed. "They looked more motivated and, in particular, Christian Vieri seemed to be a new man."
Shevchenko, though, was above all pleased with his own team's performance. "It's an important win for our morale," he claimed. "We'd lost our last two matches, but in these games we ran a lot and started to show our true colours."
Despite Shevchenko's claims, Inter coach Hector Cuper is convinced that Juventus will be a force in the coming season. "They are undoubtedly one of the favourites to win the Scudetto," claimed the former Valencia boss.
"I thought [Alessandro] Del Piero was terrific and is now playing in his correct position, while Thuram did not put a foot wrong."
Cuper is delighted with the progress his team have made since he arrived in the summer, despite drawing both games in Trieste 0-0. "They have worked hard in training and it is starting to pay off. They stick together out on pitch," he explained.
"If you work hard in training, you don't have to work so hard during the match because it is so much easier. They have started playing a quicker passing game and I thought we made life difficult for our opponents."
