Garcia: 'Sarri doesn't change Juve'

By Football Italia staff

Lyon coach Rudi Garcia saw “elements of Maurizio Sarri’s tactical principles” in the new Juventus, but argued the club “are an institution who rarely change identity.”

The first leg in the Round of 16 kicks off in France on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT.

“We are confident going into this game, even if the season on the whole has not been easy for us,” said the former Roma coach in his press conference.

“We studied Juventus over the last few days, and I can see elements of Maurizio Sarri’s tactical principles at Napoli and before that his Empoli team.

“He is a precise coach in purely tactical terms. However, Juventus are an institution and they rarely make profound changes to their identity, even when the coach is replaced by someone else.

“In 2013, I discovered Juventus was an institution in Italy. There are similarities between these clubs, as they’ve been under the same owners for years, have their own stadium and try to improve the squad every summer,” continued Garcia.

“It’s up to us now to get the best possible first leg result against Juventus. When there is such a clear favourite in a tie, we want to go beyond expectations.

“Just look at Liverpool, we all thought they were going to win away to Atletico Madrid last week, with the same for Paris Saint-Germain at Borussia Dortmund.

“This is a complex week, but the kind we’d gladly have in every season, as we’ve got Juventus, the local derby and other important fixtures coming up.

“We must be highly-motivated and ready to cause Juventus problems. We can’t just focus on the defence, so must be at the top of our game in every aspect and the fans can help us achieve those fresh untapped resources.

“Not all is lost, otherwise we wouldn’t even be here. We have to play as a team, with solidarity and motivation.”

Lyon will have their supporters present, but it remains to be seen if Juventus fans will be allowed to cross the border from Turin, one of the areas on lockdown due to the Coronavirus scare.

“We haven’t thought about it, as there are people whose job it is to work out that situation. We’ll see if the fans are present or not, it’s all about the game for us.”

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