Ancelotti Wants Juventus on Top of Serie A for Christmas
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
TURIN, Italy (November 2, 1999 9:59 a.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed his ideal Christmas present on Tuesday, seeing his team beat the best sides in Italy and finish the millenium top of the Serie A.
Juventus may not have set Italy alight with the quality of its soccer, but Ancelotti's men have been quietly scoring points and are now second in the table, just one point behind Lazio.
Many believe that if Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero, both slowly returning to form after surgery, are able to play at their best in the months ahead Juventus could win the league this season.
But Ancelotti reckons that a lot could be decided even by Christmas.
The fixture list has so far been kind to the former world champions but is now about to turn nasty, starting with these weekend's first derby for three and a half years against Torino.
The clash at the Delle Alpi stadium will be followed by matches against champions AC Milan, league leaders Lazio, Bologna, Inter Milan and Fiorentina.
"Our future is going to become clearer between now and Christmas," said Ancelotti. "But we've laid down solid foundations, we're not having to play catch-up and we're coming up to this trial by fire fully prepared."
He went on: "Some people say we've been helped by not having played against the very top sides yet.
"But the facts show that the opposite is true. We've actually done worse against the provincial sides," he said, recalling the team's problems with Reggina, Lecce, Venezia and Piacenza.
But he admitted: "People are still a bit suspicious of us. We haven't been able to give a great impression of ourselves.
"The thing that makes me most happy when I watch television or read the newspaper is the league table. We can be happy with that and with the odd good performance, but obviously the fans want more.
"We need to improve and to be more consistent," he acknowledged. "But having said that, the teams who have changed a lot of players look to be in difficulty at the moment."
And he pointed to Juventus' excellent defensive record, the best in the Serie A in terms of goals conceded; just five in eight games.
"We let very few in," he told Tuttosport. "Because we have got quality players, they're in good shape physically and because they're doing the right things from a tactical point of view."
