Pirlo: Regret is part of ambition

Juventus face a momentous game this weekend that could determine the club’s future for years to come. The Derby d’Italia is a highly-charged game in the best of times, but now with so much at stake, the pressure is going to be heaped sky-high on Andrea Pirlo and his squad. With Inter Milan being managed by former Juve legend Antonio Conte and already clinching the Scudetto, and the fact that even two wins in the last two games for the Bianconeri might still not be enough to secure Champions League football next season mean that it’s going to take nothing short of a miracle to see Juventus finish in the top four.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Pirlo mentioned that he liked how his side had reacted to the momentous loss to Milan last weekend by bouncing back with a 3-1 win over a tricky Sassuolo side.

“I liked the attitude on Wednesday, we needed to regroup after the match against Milan and we were compact.

“Having seen the performance on Wednesday suggests that we are sorry, we could have had more points by always remaining as focused as in Reggio Emilia.

“At the end of the year, we will review the whole season, analysing the mistakes to not commit them again.

“When you train, you have to measure your own idea of the game with the players, adapting to their characteristics and understanding how to put them on the pitch, in the positions where they can perform more.”

Pirlo also provided a squad update.

“Alex Sandro plays tomorrow, because he’s disqualified for the Coppa Italia Final. For the others, we will see, we must recover energy.

“Federico Chiesa is getting better and better, I think he’ll be available tomorrow night. Merih Demiral is available, her could start the match.”

He also went on to congratulate bitter rivals and tomorrow’s opponents Inter.

“Inter have done better, have been more consistent and hungrier than us. There are some regrets for the players I didn’t have available, but regret is part of the ambition.

“Tomorrow, facing the newly crowned Italian champions gives us more motivation. Let’s not forget that we have a chance to qualify for the Champions League. Inter will try to win the game.

“Congratulations to Inter for the Scudetto, but we could have done more.”