Paratici: 'No alibis at Juventus'

Juventus director Fabio Paratici stands up for Maurizio Sarri ahead of the Champions League decider with Lyon. ‘Nobody here clings to alibis or excuses.’

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The first leg ended 1-0 for the French side back in February, so the Bianconeri must win by two clear goals to reach the Champions League Final Eight in Portugal.

“We hope to see a repeat of Atletico Madrid. It’s difficult without fans, but that’s not an alibi we want to cling to,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.

“It is an important match, we have the opportunity to reach the fascinating Final Eight in Portugal with this new format. We all know the motivation and focus that we’ll have in this game.”

Sarri said a decision has been made on his future, as the Juve hierarchy would have to be ‘amateurish’ to judge the entire season on one game.

“Sarri just repeated what I said three or four times before, which is that judgment for a coach, directors and players, are never based on one single game. They are based on the whole season, the good and the bad,” added Paratici.

“Of course, nothing has changed. First and foremost, we are focused on playing this game to the best of our abilities. Anything after that is irrelevant right now.”

The response from both Paratici and vice-president Pavel Nedved implies the directors are not entirely sure of their position either.

“When you are at Juve, there is a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders, and it is a pleasure to carry that. You cannot cling to alibis or excuses, you can’t say the crowd isn’t there or this player is missing.

“If you don’t know that before, you soon learn it here. We take responsibility and are happy to do so. We won the ninth Scudetto in a row. We reached the Coppa Italia Final and only lost on penalties. None of this is to be taken for granted.

“Juve have been champions of Italy for over 3,000 consecutive days. We owe it to everyone who works at this club to keep celebrating that and thank them for their efforts.”

Paratici was asked if the decision to hire Sarri at Juve had also been dictated by his winning the Europa League trophy with Chelsea.

“Sarri did very well in several seasons, he didn’t just win the Europa League. He showed good football and proved he deserved to be the Juventus coach.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is fired up and even more important this evening, seeing as Paulo Dybala is only fit enough for the bench.

“He feels that the Champions League is his tournament. It has a different atmosphere and he feels it more than anyone else.”

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