Juventus' ‘Ronaldo is not my problem’, says Barca's Koeman
VIDEO SHOWS: BARCELONA PLAYERS WALKING ON PITCH OF JUVENTUS STADIUM, BARCELONA'S COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, HOLDING NEWS CONFERENCE
RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT
SHOWS: TURIN, ITALY (OCTOBER 27, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")
1. BARCELONA MIDFIELDER MIRALEM PJANIC WALKING ON PITCH
2. PJANIC LOOKING ON
3. PLAYERS ON PITCH
4. PJANIC SPEAKING WITH FORWARD LIONEL MESSI
5. STRIKER ANSU FATI LOOKING ON
6. PLAYERS ON PITCH
7. JUVENTUS LOGO ON SCREEN / PLAYERS ON PITCH
8. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS ON PITCH
9. COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, ARRIVING ON PITCH
10. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS ON PITCH
11. KOEMAN, ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE
12. WHITE FLASH
13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"I think for everyone this will be a beautiful and important match to watch and I think we always want to see the best players on the pitch. And Ronaldo is a great player, I don't know if with the coronavirus he will be able to play. It's not my problem and not even my decision but the question remains, for the match and for his fame. I respect him a lot and so, if Ronaldo plays, this will give us one more reason to be prepared."
14. WHITE FLASH
15. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"It is not a decisive match, it is a match between two great teams which want to get as far as possible in this competition and it is a match that Juventus plays at home, for us it is important to achieve a good result, to play the football we want and above all to create opportunities and we respect the opponent and therefore I believe it will be a high level match."
16. WHITE FLASH
17. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING:
"We are (Koeman and Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo) new coaches in new teams, we have our problems. It may be that Juventus' start to the season season is a bit similar to ours but I believe that any coach who arrives at a new club who plays differently, in which changes must be made in the players, I believe there is a need for tranquility and time but we know that in football there is not much time."
18. WHITE FLASH
19. KOEMAN LEAVING
STORY: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman told reporters on Tuesday (October 27) that he hopes Cristiano Ronaldo will play for Juventus when the two teams meet in the Champions League on Wednesday (October 28).
Ronaldo has tested positive twice for COVID-19 in the last two weeks and the Portugal international was tested again on Tuesday. If the test result is negative then Ronaldo might be able to play against Barca and his old rival Lionel Messi on Wednesday.
The Portuguese's absence might boost Koeman with the club struggling both on and off the pitch. The Ductchman's team lost to Real Madrid in the Clasico on Saturday (October 23) and the club's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned later on Tuesday following Koeman's news conference.
Bartomeu stepped down ahead of a vote of no confidence that was due to be held next month after some 20,000 fans signed a petition demanding that he step down.
The rest of the board of directors also resigned.
Bartomeu, 57, has been facing growing resentment in the last year due to the club's worsening finances and the team's decline on the pitch, which came to a head with their 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in August.
He has been widely criticised after talisman forward Lionel Messi requested a transfer following the Champions League humiliation and was facing a vote of no confidence from the club's 'socios'.
He had tried to convince the Catalan government to scrap the censure vote due to the coronavirus pandemic but it would not budge.
A victory against Andrea Pirlo's Juventus might improve the atmosphere in the club even if it is just for one evening.
(Production: Fabiano Franchitti, Tim Hart)
