Lippi Hints At Davids Exit
Wednesday 5th December 2001
Juventus coach Marcello Lippi has admitted that the future of Edgar Davids is out of his hands after the Holland midfielder threatened to quit the Serie A giants following his recent relegation to the subs' bench.
"He didn't tell me he was suffering from this situation and now I will have to study the problem with the club," Lippi said, while indicating he is not about to change his selection policy.
Davids' outburst came after the 3-1 Champions' League defeat by Arsenal on Tuesday, when he again started the match as a substitute.
He warned Lippi afterwards that he would leave Juve if was back on the bench for the weekend clash with Milan, and the coach responded on Wednesday by saying that he had already done as much as he could to accommodate Davids since his return from suspension.
"Even though I changed things round in the past few matches, it doesn't mean that I think any less of Davids," Lippi said.
"I consider Davids an important player and I still trust in him very much. I put him in the line-up immediately upon his return from suspension because I know exactly what he can give a team.
"I thought it was the best way to show Davids how much I rated him."
Juventus vice-president Roberto Bettega stood by his coach and is likely to step up efforts to find a buyer for the Dutchman when the transfer window reopens at the end of the year.
"I am not happy about what Davids said, but I can understand him it was a human outburst," Bettega said.
"But I stress that the coach is always the one to decide who he wants to play. In the past, other big players have also been obliged to be among the substitutes."
The Holland international came on midway through the first half against Arsenal following injury to Igor Tudor, who has recently replaced the Dutchman in the heart of the Juve midfield.
Davids, who has been sent off twice since his return from suspension, missed the first three games of the season, when Juve stormed to the top of Serie A with three straight wins.
Juve's form dipped soon after, however, and they won just one of their next seven Serie A matches, culminating in a 1-0 defeat by Lazio - after which Lippi dropped the below-par Davids to the bench and reverted to his preferred 4-4-2 system.
With Davids out of the side, Juve thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0, before registering a 2-0 win over Perugia at the weekend. And, despite defeat at Highbury, Lippi is now confident he has hit on a winning formula for the games ahead.
Davids left Juve with little room for manoeuvre when he warned Lippi on Tuesday: "If Lippi puts me on the bench one more time I will ask the club to let me go. I have had offers and I am ready to leave."
