Strength and consistency is there in black and white

Tuesday 5 March 2013

For a moment Giorgio Chiellini seemed caught between saying what he knew he had to and what he was really thinking.

Giorgio Chiellini returned from injury to give Juventus the lead in a 1-1 draw with Napoli on Friday night

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Scott Fleming

It was a rare moment of hesitancy for the Juventus defender but not one which is likely to be common tomorrow night among an Italian side who are quite aware that they are already through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Chiellini had been is the stand during the 3-0 first-leg win over Celtic last month and he tried to overlook the result as he spoke ahead of the return leg tomorrow evening. That he wasn't involved the first time around perhaps allowed the Italian to distance himself from such an impressive victory and he is keen that his team-mates follow his lead in Turin. Yet it seemed a little kind to suggest that his side could yet throw the tie away, with Celtic in need of much more than an uninterested home side to squeeze past into the next round. After all, while the Scottish champions found cause for complaint in Juventus' defending at set-pieces in Glasgow, they were still picked apart, almost at will.Chiellini was much more gentle yesterday, though. "There is still much to do against Celtic. We should not delude ourselves that the qualification is already in our pocket," said the defender, who will resume his place in the side tomorrow having returned from injury.That sentiment out of the way, Chiellini allowed himself a moment to consider those who his side could face once Celtic head home. "I want to avoid Porto," he added. "I also hope AC Milan can knock out Barceona. That would be tremendous for Italian football."There may well have been a greater interest in that on Friday night when Juventus faced Napoli, only for those studious Celtic fans tuning in to ESPN hoping to catch their opponents in action to be confronted by Bath versus Gloucester. Some may have offered wry queries as to what the difference was given that "rugby" was the sport Neil Lennon accused the Italians of playing in the first leg loss at Parkhead, but when the Napoli match was eventually broadcast a couple of hours later it would not be worth the wait for anyone hoping to find evidence that Celtic can turn the tie around in Turin, or even claim a futile but famous 1-0 win. Antonio Conte's Juventus are a side that continue to prosper in spite of one very obvious flaw, namely their habit of missing a catalogue of chances in almost every game they play. There was a theory, when the draw was first made back in December, that Juve would have Scudetto number 29 – or 31, actually let's not go there – wrapped up by the first leg. Due to an uncharacteristically poor run of form throughout January, that did not prove to be the case but following Friday's result in Naples, it could be argued that they have managed it now. The Bianconeri were welcomed to the Stadio San Paolo – home of the only other credible title challenger left standing in Serie A – by a hail of eggs, bottles and rocks, one of which smashed the window of the team bus, narrowly missing Ghanaian wing-back Kwadwo Asamoah.Yet they were settled enough to take the lead after just 10 minutes, Chiellini heading in powerfully. If Celtic thought Stephan Lichtsteiner was rough, it will be interesting to see what they make of Chiellini; the skin-headed centre-back engaged in what can only be described as a 90-minute long UFC bout with Napoli's Edinson Cavani, the most notable exchange coming when he was elbowed to the ground after Chiellini had yanked on the Uruguayan's hair. "Giorgio was seeing if Cavani had hair gel in," smirked Conte.After the goal came the customary slew of missed chances, with Gokhan Inler equalising before Juve recovered to ensure a 1-1 draw. Celtic have won plenty of admirers in the Italian press with their spirit and the undoubted individual ability of players like Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama but, unfortunately for the Scottish champions, their best chance of getting a result on Wednesday appears to be complacency. It is a concept Conte seems to be unfamiliar with.

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