Juventus on Monday had to keep it cool as they patiently awaited an opener in their late home win against Hellas Verona in Serie A, a conduct coach Thiago Motta appreciated from his players.
Misfiring Juventus earned a 2-0 victory thanks to late goals from Khephren Thuram and Teun Koopmeiners, despite creating nearly 30 chances throughout the game and fully dominating their opponents.
“The way we got to the three points was important and it wasn’t easy,” Motta told DAZN. “Being calm means waiting and playing football. It’s not easy because after the elimination [from the Coppa Italia] the atmosphere was particular, and you could have an extra desire and anxiety to do things [right].”
Photo: Reuters
“When it’s like that you leave counterattacks, and instead we didn’t give our opponents that opportunity. In the second half we could have scored even more than the two goals. The boys deserved it and have a lot of quality,” he said.
Juve suffered a shock exit from the Coppa last week when they were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Empoli in the quarter-finals after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
“In the last [cup] match we got our attitude wrong in the first half, but we are always very demanding with ourselves, we want to do better and that’s the secret,” Motta said. “We have to look for something to improve every day. Today we had a great performance, but that’s part of the past.”
The Italian-Brazilian coach had words of courage for goalscorer Koopmeiners, who found the back of the net for the first time since the beginning of December last year.
“Koopmeiners did well and I’m very happy for him, he’s a special guy,” Motta said
“He has a great mentality, it’s a privilege for us to have him. He has to be convinced, confident and accept criticism. He’s doing well and he’ll give us a lot,” he added.
The 27-year-old Netherlands international, who joined Juventus from Atalanta BC for a reported fee of 55 million euros (US$58 million) in August last year, scored his second Serie A goal for the Turin side.
Fourth-placed Juventus host Atalanta, in third place, on Sunday, with three points separating the sides.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
RSS