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| | Chiellini: Nedved is the key |
Saturday 22 November, 2008 |
| Giorgio Chiellini is confident that Pavel Nedved will be the deciding figure in tonight's Derby d'Italia.
The publicity leading into the game has been around Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but another member of the Juventus 'old guard' could make the difference.
“Who will decide it? It's too easy to say Del Piero. I vote Nedved,” smiled centre-back Chiellini.
“By cutting in from the left he can create real problems for Inter, especially when [Douglas] Maicon pushes forward.
“This game means a great deal to us, but not everything. It is an important clash against the team with which we share the strongest rivalry and also the reigning Italian champions.”
The Nerazzurri are top of the Serie A table thanks to the splendid form of ex-Juventus star Zlatan.
“He and Maicon are the secrets to the extraordinary strength of that team. When Zlatan is involved, and we know because he was with us for two years in which we won two Scudetti, the focus to detail becomes almost maniacal.”
When Chiellini was marking Ibra last season, they memorably clashed on the field, but the defender tried to play it down.
“At the end of the game there was a bit of a discussion, things that happen on the pitch. Ibra has a spicy character, so do I, but I can guarantee it was no worse than the tussles I had with [Christian] Vieri and [Marco] Borriello.”
Claudio Ranieri's rapport with Jose Mourinho is notoriously fractious, so does Chiellini like the Inter boss or consider him irritating?
“At the end of the day he's fun, it just depends on how you take to him. He doesn't annoy me. Mourinho only puts himself in the firing line like that to take attention away from the squad when there is criticism.”
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