Vieira: Juve are the most well-structured club I ever played in

Patrick Vieira will be “watching closely” as his former teams face off. “Juventus are the most well-structured club I ever played in, while Inter lack rigor.”

“I will be watching that game closely,” the Nice Coach told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Juventus are the most well-structured club I ever played in, as from the directors to the fans, everyone’s role is clear. The players know that they come after the institution, so it is that strength that has allowed them to remain at the top.

“Having said that, I decided straight away that I’d leave Juventus, because I didn’t want to finish my career in Serie B. I was fortunate to join Inter, a club that has more of a family atmosphere, but which lacks rigor.”

Vieira was one of the star names who walked away in the summer of 2006 after the Calciopoli scandal saw Juve demoted and he went to their arch rivals Inter.

That sparked a period of Nerazzurri dominance over Serie A, but Juventus have just clinched their eighth consecutive Scudetto.

“It’ll be a battle. Nobody wants to lose this fixture, as there is honour at stake, both on the field and in the stands. Perhaps Inter have more to lose, but Juve certainly won’t be distracted.

“I believe Serie A is returning to its former splendour, but above all Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad are pointing in the right direction by playing attacking football and winning with young players.

“There is a lot of talent in Italy, the problem is they rarely get the chance to play in Serie A because there is so much pressure, too much fear of making a mistake or taking risks.”

Juve set a new record in the top five leagues by winning eight titles on the trot, beating the seven achieved by Olympique Lyonnais in France.

“It happens in France too with PSG, while Spain are dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona, Germany by Bayern Munich,” continued Vieira.

“Juve work better, they reinforce. As for the others, Milan are paying the price for their reconstruction and Inter never did recover after Jose Mourinho’s era.

“In general, Italian football is too focused on short-term thinking. If it goes badly the first year, they start again from scratch. It takes time to build success.”

For all their Serie A dominance, Juventus have again failed at the Champions League, crashing out in the quarter-finals to Ajax.

“They have a better chance of winning now that they have Cristiano Ronaldo. He is extraordinary and an example of professionalism for anybody.

“Taking nothing away from Ajax, what penalised Juve is that Ronaldo’s teammates expected him to do something rather than take their own share of the responsibility.”