Alessio Tacchinardi spent 11 largely successful seasons at Juventus that included him winning the Champions League.
He knows a thing or two about winning matches in the competition and has warned Juve that they will have to be very careful as they face FC Porto in the round of 16 of Europe’s elite competition.
The former midfielder spoke exclusively to Football Italia and claimed that it was important for the players of Juve to be on their best form now.
He said one can be in poor form in the group stages, but this knockout phase demands that they are at their very best.
He was asked about what Juventus had to do against their Portuguese opponents and said that they had to concentrate in the game and ensure that they score an away goal.
“I know this competition too well. From today a new tournament begins,” he says in an exclusive interview with Football Italia.
“Everything must be perfect to win it. Injuries to key players and episodes can change everything. It’s a terrific competition. Think about Atalanta last season, they came so close to eliminating PSG and we all know how it went.
“Lifting the cup is like winning the lottery. It’s better to have a bad group stage and be in shape now, it’s crucial to be at the best right now, it’s a very complicated competition, every game will be though from now on.
“These games are played over 180 minutes and Juventus have everything to lose, they must be very careful, it will be crucial to score a goal away and [Juan] Cuadrado’s absence is a blow for them, he’s been a key player so far.”
Juve was eliminated at this stage of the competition last season by Lyon and they will be keen to avoid a repeat of that in this campaign.
