Conte: Juventus were wary of Udinese threat

Date: 15th April 2014 at 12:04am
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Despite overcoming Udinese fairly easily at the Stadio Fruili on Monday night, Juventus coach Antonio Conte reiterated that it was not a fixture the Old Lady were about to underestimate and was concerned they could lose valuable points in Udine.

The 44-year-old admitted that he had been forced to rest Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal due to injury, and praised the impact of goalscorer Sebastian Giovinco who has been subject of criticism at times, stating he views the Italian like a son.

“It was a match to be wary, we could have lost important points at the Friuli,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“Udinese were in good condition, we wanted to defeat them and keep Roma away and we succeeded.

“Giovinco did well, scored and we did not regret leaving out Tevez. We rested Carlos because he has had an adductor problem for a long time and kept him out to avoid unnecessary risks or losing him for the season finale.

“Vidal also has a problem with a knee, and today would be playing in a game with only one leg.

“They were two choices fairly enforced, but we need to because we are all engaged on two fronts.

“Giovinco is in an important moment of form, you must understand that it can make a difference even with in an important team like Juve.

He’s growing up and I’m glad, often people speak of him in a negative way. To me he’s like a son.

“I always defend Giovinco when booed, it also happened to Vucinic.

“I always say, attack me but not my players, I’m going to defend them against all odds. The boys always give their best.

“The championship is not over, Roma will fight but we will do it.

“We aim to win Saturday against Bologna, for us it will be the match of our life. I expect a packed Juventus Stadium to drag us to victory.”

Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton

 

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