Delneri rues missed chances and dropped points

Juventus coach Luigi Delneri believes his side should have taken more than a point from the goalless draw with Sampdoria on Sunday.

Delneri also praised the home side, especially goalkeeper Gianluca Curci, who he credited with saving at least two goals.

“We have had two potential goals saved by Curci,” Delneri said.

“(Leonardo) Bonucci had a goal chance in the first half, there has been a great save from a corner.”

“(Sampdoria striker Giampaolo) Pazzini missed another chance and a mistake made another one.”

Delneri also dismissed suggestions that Serie A sides have problems backing up from midweek matches.

“I believe that we played an excellent match against Sampdoria, a team which had played a great match on Wednesday,” he said.

“I also don’t want to hear that it’s impossible to recover from Wednesday until Sunday. There may be problems to recover from Friday to Sunday.”

“We have played a great match against Sampdoria, a team that I knew would be difficult to face.”

“I don’t want to say that it’s of my doing, but I was there for a year, so I know their skills and I know their current coach, a guy with temper.”

“I expected a team ready to battle as it has been. I have to say that I’m not satisfied by the draw, but we’ll take it.”

Delneri was pleased that the Juve defence held firm, even though the draw means the club are sixth on the table, nine points behind leaders AC Milan.

“We were a bit afraid of (Federico) Macheda and Pazzini after their performance in the Coppa Italia, but today everything went well on the pitch,” he said.

“Now I hope everyone will say that this is a match where we didn’t concede a goal and that we haven’t conceded any shots on goal, or at least we have conceded one because of a bad kick.”

“We had scoring opportunities both in the first half and the second. It’s a period where things aren’t going well for us, so we must accept this point.”

“Keeping a clean sheet is also important to prove we are out of the crisis. At this moment, Amauri is the only fit centre-forward and he performed well today. We are in an emergency situation and are doing our best in the circumstances.”

Alessandro Del Piero was suffering from flu and came off the bench to replace a quiet Milos Krasic.

“The thing about Krasic is that he hasn’t stopped since the World Cup and used up a lot of energy this season,” continued Delneri.

The goalless draw came at a cost for both sides.

Juve defender Armand Traore limped off after only two minutes with a muscle injury.

“He is feeling the strain now, but we have players who can handle this difficult moment. The absence of Felipe Melo was sorely felt and thankfully the three-match ban has now expired,” Delneri said.

Sampdoria were also hit by what they described as ‘a casualty list’ of injuries, including a facial fracture and a sprained ankle.

“More than a report on the match, it reads like a casualty list,” a statement on the club’s official website said.

“Stefano Lucchini clashed with Amauri in the opening minutes and suffered a facial fracture. Once substituted, he was taken to hospital, where doctors are evaluating surgery.”

“Giampaolo Pazzini is dealing with a sprained left ankle, Nicola Pozzi has a muscular problem close to his right knee and Massimo Volta a heavy bruise to his left cheekbone.”

There were fears Volta had also fractured the cheekbone, as his face and eye were very swollen, but as all the substitutions had been completed he carried on to the final whistle.