A large group of reporters gathered to greet the Juventus squad as they arrived at Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday evening.

New manager, Luigi Delneri and club captain, Alessandro Del Piero were there to answer questions for the sizeable Italian presence ahead of their Europa League tie with Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night. With neither Delneri nor Del Piero answering questions in English, it was up to the interpreter to inform the media what the Italian duo had to say.

Juve are expected by many to beat Rovers fairly comfortably tomorrow evening, but Delneri knows that it won’t be easy. The Juve coach remarked: “We are taking this game very seriously. They (Shamrock Rovers) are a very well organised side, very well prepared and very strong physically.”

“It’s a beginning of a new season and we really want to do well and results are very very important.” Delneri also said that, as usual, he will wait till the last possible moment to announce the starting eleven for tomorrow night’s game.

When asked what would be an acceptable result for his side tomorrow night, Delneri said: “Obviously, we will go into the match wanting to win, like any other game. I believe that Irish football is very physical so we will need to be very well prepared.”

When asked about motivating himself for a tie like this after 18 years with the Turin club, Del Piero, considered by many as one of the greatest players ever to wear the black and white of Juventus, had this to say: “This is pure football at this level. I am very motivated. I like to play in these type of matche