17 August 2021
Head coach Joe Montemurro and club captain Sara Gama sat down with the media on Tuesday discuss Juventus' UEFA Women's Champions League opener against Kamenica Sasa on Wednesday – the Bianconere's first competitive fixture of the season.
“We're in good shape,” Gama began. “We've been working really hard and tried out lots of new ideas. Tomorrow is the first real game of the season and we're ready for it. We have to go out there and do our jobs as best we can. The warm-up period is over.”
The coach added: “You go through different stages when preparing for a new season and it's important for us to understand what stage we're at. It's the real thing tomorrow but we're ready for it.”
ON KAMENICA
Montemurro: “We mustn't underestimate Kamenica Sasa. It's crucial that we focus on our aims and how we need to play. I'm confident that if we control the play we'll reach the next round. It's up to us to dictate the tempo and boss the game – it all depends on us.
“We planned our pre-season with this game in mind, playing lots of friendlies in recent weeks. I have great belief in this team and I think we're ready for this sort of match.”
ON ITALY AND EUROPE
Montemurro: “It's an honour to have been chosen by Juventus. We must produce the goods in Europe and deal with all the situations we have to face. I think Italian clubs are closing the gap in Europe. We have to make sure we secure Juventus' first win in the Champions League tomorrow. I'm delighted to be here right now.”
Gama: “We're improving in Europe. As a country, Italy was a bit of a late starter compared to many others but we've made a lot of progress and reduced the gap. Now we have to start picking up results.
“The new format gives us the chance to build up more slowly and if we can do well we'll get to play more games. We learnt from our first two seasons in Europe and it made us stronger but now we have to focus solely on tomorrow.”
ON GROWING AS A TEAM
Gama: “We're learning and growing. We're working hard but every season is a series of steps – you never finish a season the same way you start it. The new girls have settled in really well. We're a close-knit group and that makes it easier for newcomers to bed in. We have some good new players who can help us become a better team.
“We may have lost our last two friendlies but you can learn from a defeat – although you don't always do so. We'll soon find out if we've learnt the lessons from our last two defeats. We'll see if we're able to turn our mistakes into something useful.”
Montemurro: “We must never stop improving. When you start learning new ideas it's important to understand how far you've come and how you can improve, but of course new things emerge along the way so you need to keep on growing. Being able to read the game and understand situations is key. I've been very impressed by the quality in these players and their desire to learn.
“The friendly matches we played were very useful – including the one against Barcelona. You learn by testing yourself against the best.
“[Amanda] Nilden is a very skilful player. She takes the initiative going forward and she's good defensively too. We're happy to have her on board and hopefully she can achieve her goals here. We signed her because we see her as a very important player for this team.
“We have [Sofie] Pedersen back now. She's trained with us but she's not fully match fit yet. [Lina] Hurtig is coming back today but she won't be involved tomorrow.”
