The Juve coach: “We have great respect for our opponents, but we’ll play our game. Change the defense due to Bremer’s absence? I never say what we’re planning. Kenan is developing well and is versatile in attack.”
“Yildiz is not resting, but Zhegrova has a hip injury and will not be in Como.” After five consecutive draws in Serie A and the Champions League (Borussia Dortmund, Verona, Atalanta, Villarreal, Milan) and the international break, Igor Tudor kicks off a decisive and treacherous week away from home tomorrow at lunchtime. It starts in Como and ends in Rome, on the Lazio side, with Wednesday’s super clash against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in between. “Has Como invested as much as we have? I’m not really interested in transfer spending,” continues the Juventus coach, “but tomorrow will be tough: Como is a small club, they’ve invested a lot and the coach has chosen all the players, which is a good thing. Juventus must always win, which is fair enough, and when that doesn’t happen, many people think I’m in the wrong, but not always me, as I analyze and try to explain. Anyone who is intellectually honest understands this. I live to help my players.”
Tudor will be without Gleison Bremer in Como, who underwent surgery earlier this week on the medial meniscus of the same knee that forced him to sit out ten months last season. This time, he will be out for “only” 50-60 days, but this is in addition to Juan Cabal (muscle problem), who is expected back at the end of November. “Four-man defense or 3-5-2 in Como? It may happen, it may not happen,” adds the Croatian coach. “We’ve been playing 3-4-3 for six months, so all options are on the table. The team is never the same; it’s a living organism that changes based on the form of the players, who is fit and who is injured. Problems force you to change the team in a positive or negative way. Zhegrova can’t play full-back and in any case he won’t be there tomorrow due to a groin injury. It would also be difficult for Conceicao to play in that role.“
SMS TO PLATINI AND TREZEGUET— Igor doesn’t even dribble around the ”advice” of the Bianconeri legends, who were protagonists at the Festival dello Sport in Trento last week. David Trezeguet said he would like to see Dusan Vlahovic and Jonathan David paired up, while Michel Platini believes that Kenan Yildiz should always play in the center and not out wide as he did against Milan. “Platini and Trezeguet? The beauty of soccer,” concludes Tudor, “is that there is a lot of talk and everyone has their own idea: I respect everyone’s opinion. Then the coach knows his players better than anyone else. Yildiz, apart from against Milan or in the national team where he is doing great, always plays in the middle. If Yildiz is the problem, we have no problems. Kenan has grown significantly under our management, thanks to him and also to the work of my staff.”
