Iaquinta backs himself and Amauri

Juventus hotshot Vincenzo Iaquinta is confident no other player in the Serie A can match him when he is in the mood.
He also backs Juventus teammate Amauri to join him in the Italy side.

There have been rumours that Iaquinta will leave Turin in the summer as he struggled to secure first-team football for much of the season.

But the former Udinese man has been on decent form of late and has been included in the latest Italy squad to face Montenegro and the Republic of Ireland.

“When I am feeling good, I don’t feel inferior to anyone,” Iaquinta said in today’s Press conference at Coverciano.

“I am on good form. I am playing regularly and have no problems physically or psychologically. I just want to do well for La Nazionale.

“At Juventus we play with two strikers, whereas we also have a wide attacker for the Azzurri,” he continued.

“If I play as first striker I can usually find space. I have never played a game from the start for Italy as main striker but it wouldn’t be a problem because I did that at Udinese for seven years and it’s the position that suits me best.

“At Udinese I would start games even when I hadn’t trained but at Juve there are so many champions that I know I have to always train well. I have played five games in a row and I don’t want to stop.”

The debate over whether Amauri should be allowed to join the Italian ranks continues to rage.

“It is for Amauri and Marcello Lippi to decide,” Iaquinta insisted. “Too much has already been said about it.

“Perhaps it would have been better if Amauri had never discussed it before he made his decision.

“But for me there would be no problem in Amauri playing for the Azzurri – he is a great player and I would play alongside anyone.

Manninger: Juve can still win it

Alex Manninger believes that Juventus are still capable of winning the Scudetto, despite a seven-point gap.

“The championship is still open. We have done well to stay close to Inter and anything is still possible,” said the Juve goalkeeper. “We think we can catch Inter, but we must pay attention to every match. The Italian league is very competitive and if you only focus on the strongest teams than you end up losing points on the road.”

Manniger was key during the absence of Gianluigi Buffon due to injury earlier this season, but has lately been on the sidelines himself with a calf injury.

“I am pleased with the choice I made in the summer [to join Juventus] and now I want to continue to give my best for this team and be back in good condition as soon as possible,” the 31-year-old concluded.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper has made 22 appearances in all competitions in the current campaign.

Ranieri: No dinner with Jose!

Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri has stated he will never sit down for dinner with his nemesis Jose Mourinho.

The two managers were engaged in a round of back and forth bickering last month with neither coach willing to back down.

Speaking to La Stampa, Ranieri said: “Would I go to dinner with Mourinho? No,

“I have already forgotten about what has happened. Obviously it was nothing important.

“Mourinho was hired to win the Champions League because Inter have always won the Scudetto.”

Ranieri also reiterated his faith in the current crop of Juve players.

“I have always said this strength of this team is to aim for the maximum in every match – then we will see what happens at the end,” added the coach.

The Juve boss went on to probe the subject of Pavel Nedved’s imminent retirement.

We need someone who will fit in with the Juventus project,” said the affable coach. “Everyone is going through a moment of [economic] crisis and we have to go forward with what we have at our disposal.

“One champion will leave and we will have to replace him with another. Nedved is impossible to replace, but we will try one way or another.”