We need to put the pieces of the Taurus puzzle together now. The applause is no longer enough, nor the progress of the individual players, which are good for self-esteem but so far have not brought the desired points. Juric’s grenades frame the period that separates them from the short winter break, a real crossroads of dreams.
“The time has come to see if we can do something more – the words of the Croatian coach – we have seven league games ahead, plus the cup, decisive to understand what season we can do: then the first real one is scheduled. balance. Now we are still in limbo, we can go up, but we can also go down. A help from the market? In January there are always a few adjustments, the group is this and it is valid: I don’t think about sales ».
Udinese begins, “a very difficult match against a team that has quality and physical strength”, Juric warns. But more than the opponent, what worries the coach is the condition of a team “with many small problems”, which has half exploited the break for the national teams.
«I still have many choices to make for tomorrow – Juric informs -, Praet, Brekalo and Sanabria have not worked hard but they will be there. Instead Mandragora and Ansaldi are still injured ».
Juric clings to those who are back on top, like Lukic who snatched the world pass: “Nice path on his, now that he has found the role he has also become a starter with Serbia”. And who embraces after the disqualification: Pobega. «I’ve been following him for years – confesses Juric -, I like players like that, who come from below and have understood the value of money. He is a total midfielder as Mancini said well, he does not excel in anything but he knows how to do everything well when he is in good condition ».
The novelty compared to La Spezia is Pjaca back in shape and ready to play from the start. While Belotti did not dissolve his doubts even after his performances in blue. «Play if he deserves – Juric teases -, he must give us a strong signal. If he raises the level, all Toro benefits as he did against Sampdoria, but in La Spezia he was the protagonist of a bad game. The truth is that he needs to work a lot and to find continuity, I hope to find the player of the past years slowly, in training he always has a great desire ».