Zidane Says Turin is Not His Kind of Town
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
MILAN, Italy (December 14, 1999 11:10 a.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Zinedine Zidane may be thrilled to be playing for a famous like club Juventus, but the French star made it clear on Tuesday that he can't stand their Turin home.
Zidane, whose return to form has helped Juventus become joint leaders of Serie A, also admitted that he made the mistake of taking things too easy after winning the World Cup last year.
The man from Marseille was linked with a move to Spain last season, following reports that he was an unhappy in Turin, an industrial powerhouse that is long on economic importance but often short on charm.
"Turin is not my city, there's no avoiding that," he told reporters during a sponsors' event in Brussels.
"I'm not saying that it is ugly," he claimed. "It's just that I am used to living in sunlight, not far from the sea. But it's nothing to do with Juventus, it not their problem if I'm not living in my ideal city.
"I wear a Juventus shirt and that's the only thing that counts for me," he said. "They're team colors that I'm thrilled to wear, and that (Michel) Platini wore before me.
"I was only a boy but I still remember his matches: it was the Juventus of Trapattoni - the same coach we will be facing on Sunday in Florence", he said, referring to the forthcoming clash with Fiorentina.
Juventus are now riding high in the league after one of their most disastrous seasons on record. Coach Marcello Lippi, who had privately asked in vain to leave the club the previous summer, quit in February after a string of poor results and a few personality clashes.
"I didn't expect us to be doing so well at the moment," he admitted. "Compared to last season, it's above all the mentality which has changed - now we have a team spirit that's made of steel.
"The players are more or less the same as when Lippi was here. But the confidence was missing. We got into a downward spiral of defeats and we started to have doubts about ourselves.
"It's not fair to accuse Lippi, but perhaps he stayed a season too long at Juventus."
However, Zidane also recognized his own share of the blame for their poor performance last time around.
"I suffered last year, there's no denying it," he said. "I wanted to take a rest after the World Cup and I did: but I took too much of a rest and that was why I got it all wrong last season. I was bad."
However, the fans have largely stood by the quiet, reserved Frenchman, who said: "It's always gone well with the supporters.
"Popularity is a difficult thing to cope with. But perhaps when I don't have it anymore, I'll miss it."
