Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri insists Serie A is
inferior to the Premier League only in a financial sense and not in
terms of quality.
Ranieri takes his Juve side into battle against his former
employers Chelsea in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League
last-16 clash on Tuesday night.
Didier Drogba's solitary strike in the first leg at Stamford
Bridge has given Chelsea the edge going into the conclusion of the
tie.
But Ranieri, who knows all about the riches on offer in the
Premier League having spent millions of Roman Abramovich's fortune
during his tenure in West London, claims the tie holds no
fears.
He said: "There is no inferiority complex in Italy, maybe
there's an inferiority complex in terms of money.
"That's the only one there is and that's not really a complex,
just a circumstance."
Ranieri believes Chelsea are back to their best under new boss
Guus Hiddink, and concurred with midfielder Michael Ballack's
assessment that the Blues have regained their fighting spirit in
recent weeks.
"It's true, this (fighting spirit) is one part of the quality of
the Chelsea players, while there are also their qualities as
individual players," he said.
"Chelsea are back and with the great investments they have made
they have a great fighting machine."
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero was prepared to give the
English game a little more credit, admitting that there has been a
marked power shift towards English football in recent years which
is not just due to financial factors.
He said: "Over the last few years there has been a profound
change in English football.
"There has been a great investment, not just economically but
also in the quality of players and coaches with many foreigners
coming into the game.
"This has given them the ability to mix the typical English
qualities with those of the other leagues around Europe so they
have been able to improve a lot.
"Before they were strong in specific areas but now they are
strong in almost all areas."
