Chiellini: ‘Bodo/Glimt a decisive crossroads for Juventus’ in Champions League

Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini just about made it to Norway for the Bodo/Glimt match and admits this is ‘a decisive crossroads’ for their Champions League campaign.

It kicks off at the Aspmyra Stadion in Bodo, Norway, at 20.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Napoli-Qarabag on the Liveblog.

There were some real doubts as to whether Chiellini and CEO Damien Comolli would be present in Bodo, as their flight to Norway was forced to land in Sweden due to snow, and they had to make the rest of the journey by car.

“We are here, which is the most important thing. It’s a little breezy, but not too bad,” smiled Chiellini on Sky Sport Italia.

Playing away to Bodo/Glimt has always been tricky, in part due to the artificial turf that has tripped up so many opponents over the years.

“I have played on an artificial pitch in Seattle, one of my last matches. That was bad, Poznan was worse than Istanbul, in all honesty. In any case, the conditions to play are here, the rest is all talk and you mustn’t think of anything else when stepping foot on the pitch,” insisted the former defender.

“This is a team that achieved good results in the last couple of years, and we respect them, but also know how important this match is. It’s an important game, as it is a decisive crossroads for our campaign, and a victory would relaunch us for the rest of the season, not just in the Champions League.”

Luciano Spalletti rotated the squad with players like Fabio Miretti, Vasilije Adzic and Lois Openda getting rare starts.

“We need some pace and fresh legs too, so some players are starting who haven’t had much space yet, and we hope to do well tonight.”

Fabio Capello in the Sky Sport Italia studio insisted that Juventus should listen more to Chiellini when building the squad, as they have invested heavily in recent years without finding a firm identity or project for the team.

“We know that we are building the team still, but hope to get there as soon as possible. We know there isn’t much time, that we lacked something in recent games, but we have great faith in the experience of the coach and believe he can lift these lads up to the next level,” agreed Chiellini.

“Tonight is an important first step, and a win would really kick-start our Champions League campaign.”