Canzi: Playing against Roma at the Allianz Stadium will be different

After the away win in Norway against Valerenga, Juventus’ first team got off to the best possible start in the group stage of the Women’s Champions League and attention quickly turned back to domestic duties as the Bianconere took on Roma on matchday six of Serie A.

It will be a special occasion for the Bianconere and Italian women’s football, as the game will take place on Sunday, October 13th at 3:30 p.m. CEST at the Allianz Stadium.

Looking ahead to the game, coach Massimiliano Canzi shared his thoughts.

“More than the result, I was very pleased with how compact we were at the back and how we defended our lead. We take a lot from it because we can’t always dominate games, in general, but even more so in Europe. When you suffer in these games, you have to do it together. Maybe we weren’t as good as we could have been in finishing the game and we have a few chances that we could have made more of.”

“Sofia [Cantore] is not someone I discovered on my own, she is a player with room for improvement who plays really well. She scores a lot of goals but also gives a lot to the team. She sacrifices a lot and is proof that giving everything without the ball doesn’t affect the offensive phase of the game. I also have to say that all the girls give a lot in this regard.”

“Roma have won the last two Serie A titles and are therefore the favorites. We are all competing against them. Every team has a difficult period during the season and they have already overcome theirs and they have achieved a great result in the Champions League against a team that on paper is of a higher standard. We have great respect for them, for what they have done and for what they are doing. They play a system that they have worked on for years, they have a coach in Alessandro Spugna who knows women’s football very well and who I have been friends with for 15 years. He is a very good coach who, let’s not forget, has developed further here at Juventus.”

“It will feel different at the Allianz Stadium and some of the girls already have. However, others will not have it, and the same applies to Roma. Of course, it’s a situation that neither team is used to. We must prepare for the game in the best possible way, adapt to any situations that may arise during the game and be flexible to make changes if necessary. This time, however, it will be harder to be heard by the girls on the field [laughs].”