Hellas coach Ivan Juric has expressed admiration for the newly crowned Coppa Italia winners, Napoli, on tough they have become under Gennaro Gattuso.
The gaffer is speaking ahead of tonight’s meeting as Serie A action resumes after the coronavirus enforced break. The coach who is also preparing his lads that had beaten Juventus this season assured they would try to be the usual Verona.
One point separates Napoli and Verona as they are in search of European football, which is already in the bag for Napoli- courtesy of the Coppa Italia win over Juventus. But the Pertonopei will want to push further for Champions League football as they are languishing in the 6th position with eleven points separating them from Atalanta, which is occupying the last Champions League qualifying spot. Atalanta had hammered Sassuolo 4-1 on Sunday to push further for another season in the Champions League.
Speaking during a press conference ahead of the clash, Juric said his team expects to face a team in great shape. He also noted that the Pertonopei had found their balance and strong motivation after the Coppa Italia victory.
Juric, who noted the change in the team since the arrival of Gattuso in December after they relieved Carlo Ancelotti of his job, said they have great quality, with an excellent defensive organization. He also noted that Napoli is focused on getting the result, making them a tough team to break down.
He, however, expressed the belief that every game gives a chance to pick up points, even when playing the bigger clubs. This has been a summary of the team that came from the second division to occupy the seventh spot. One of their highlight of the season is 2-1 win over Juventus on their turf.
As they welcome Napoli tonight, they had picked up where they left off before corona holiday beating Cagliari 2-1 with ten men in the rescheduled Week 25 fixture at the weekend.
In yesterday’s Serie A game, AC Milan beat Lecce 4-1, while Juventus won Bologna 2-0.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed