Juve believe they have overcome tendency to self-destruct
( 2001-09-11 09:56 ) (7 )

Juventus and France striker David Trezeguet said Monday he believed the Turin giants had no-one to fear but themselves when they embark on their Champions League campaign on Wednesday.

Juventus have been drawn in a relatively easy group alongside Scotland's Celtic, FC Porto of Portugal and Norway's Rosenborg, kicking off with a trip to Portugal.

But Trezeguet believes that the talented but accident-prone Juventus team of last season has been replaced by a meaner, keener outfit that has overcome the psychological flaws that saw them self-destruct last year.

"At the moment none of the teams are at their best," he said. "That's normal at this stage of the season but Juventus have shown grit and determination.

"Yesterday's win (2-0 against Atalanta) was important because we lost the championship last season not only because of AS Roma but because of how we played against the little teams like Lecce and Brescia."

Juve coach Marcello Lippi will have to do without suspended midfielders Edgar Davids and Pavel Nedved in Porto and he is toying with the idea of switching to a three-pronged attack to cover the midfield gap.

Trezeguet would play up front with Alessandro Del Piero and Chilean Marcelo Salas in supporting roles.

Lippi, who led the white and blacks, to three Champions League finals in the 1990s including one victory, says he is hungry for more success in his second stint in charge.

"I am hungry like the wolf," he said at the weekend. "I want to eat everything."

But Juve will have to be sure they do not implode as they did last year when they failed to get out of another relatively easy first-round group.

Juve looked to be qualifying at a canter but lost their home game with Hamburg SV of Germany when French playmaker Zinedine Zidane and Davids got themselves sent off, both also then ruling themselves out of the match in Athens with Panathinaikos that eventually settled the club's fate.

Goalkeeping blunders by goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar were also costly but with the Dutchman now sold to Fulham and Gianluigi Buffon installed between the sticks, Juve will be hoping that gap has been plugged.

They also flopped in the league when it mattered - conceding a 2-0 lead against Roma in Turin. The 2-2 draw in the end proved perhaps the crucial moment of the Championship.

With Zidane gone and Buffon, Nedved and Frenchman Lilian Thuram arrived at the Stadio Delle Alpi this is a new look-Juventus.

Trezeguet believes Lippi too has added something, comparing the wily coach favourably with former manager Carlo Ancelotti. "Ancelotti was a great operator but he did not manage to find that little extra - the true grit - that Lippi has given us," Trezeguet said.