Nedved: Juventus won't only rely on Ronaldo when facing Atletico

Pavel Nedved claims Juventus have been drawn ‘the best team in Pot 2’ after they were paired with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16.

The tie is already being billed on social media as one that is too close to call and while Nedved backed Juve to beat Atleti over both legs, he accepted Diego Simeone’s side were ‘very difficult to face’.

“The important thing is to have qualified for the last 16, like Allegri said,” he told Sky Sport Italia.

“We’ve been drawn the best team in the second pot. The Final is too far away to think about.

“You need luck at this stage, but we have a very strong team who can go through and Italian teams should never be underestimated.

“The CR7 derby? Ronaldo is the man for the Champions League and he’s shown it. We’ll rely on him but we’ll also need the rest of the team

“He’s very strong and we can definitely go through. Atletico are very balanced and very difficult to face.

“They have a very strong defence, they sit back and can cause you problems with Griezmann and others.

“They will be two difficult clashes, with very few goals and a lot of balance. Young Boys? We don’t like losing, but we’d already secured first place in the group so I can’t criticise the team.

“The players and Coach are reaching all their objectives and it may be the case that we’re defeated by a strong team.”

The Czech then clarified his remark that former Juventus director Beppe Marotta – now at Inter – not being a ‘juventino’ was not a joke.

“It wasn’t a joke,” he added.

“It was an affirmation based on what he said. Juventus existed before Marotta and will do so after him, the same also going for me.

“I believe that there are two types of directors: ones who can work for any club and those who would never coach certain sides. I only said it for that reason.”