Zidane Confident Juventus Will Beat the Crisis'
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
MILAN, Italy (October 6, 1999 9:41 a.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus star Zinedine Zidane admitted on Wednesday that the team was having a crisis, but claimed that hard work would soon bring problems to an end.
Juventus is struggling in the Serie A this season after suffering a
humiliating 2-0 defeat to lowly Lecce and on Sunday beating minnows Venezia 1-0 in stoppage time after another disappointing performance.
Fans have turned against the club and its players, and even coach Carlo Ancelotti admits his team is playing badly.
Zidane, currently preparing for France's Euro 2000 qualifier against Iceland, was determined to sound the rallying cry.
"Juventus have to get their game back together again as soon as possible, and look to the future with confidence," he said.
"Ancelotti is an excellent coach and he's working hard to pull us out of this crisis, to put a smile back on people's faces and to get the team playing good football again and getting results."
Zidane underwent surgery at the end of last season and is still battling to reach his top form.
"I feel better than I did a few weeks ago," he said. "I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"It's not easy to get back your fitness, your instinctive movements and your ability to do certain things when you're returning from a bad injury, an operation and a long period of enforced rest.
"But I can feel that I'm improving every week, even though I can also recognise my limits."
Zidane is not the only Juventus player returning from injury and the operating table -- striker Alessandro Del Piero is also performing short of his true abilities.
"Don't forget that Juventus have only just got back two players who have been out for months," he said. "And unfortunately, neither of them are yet in a position to give everything they have.
"But at the same time," he added, "it's no fun for us to lose matches, play badly and give performances which I would call below par."
He defended the club's decision to enter the Intertoto tournament over the summer, which forced Ancelotti to bring forward pre-season training but which also yielded them a UEFA Cup place.
"The Intertoto was useful for helping us put last season behind us and for getting ready for competitive matches.
"I know that we've been getting a lot wrong recently and last Sunday's match was certainly not one for the annals of history," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But if we hadn't been in the Intertoto, we'd have played a load of pointless friendlies and, believe me, things would have been worse."
As for his own future, Zidane meanwhile told L'Equipe newspaper that he had already planned out his retirement.
"I think I'll play for another five years," said the 27-year-old Frenchman. "After that, I'm going to look after my family. They deserve more than what I'm able to give them at the moment. It's hard for them."
