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I Would Never Have Sold Zanetti To Fiorentina – Former Juventus Defender Birindelli

The ex-Juve man feels that the midfielder was too important to let go of…

Nov 14, 2009 1:15:30 AM

Cristiano Zanetti - Fiorentina (Grazia Neri)

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Cristiano Zanetti - Fiorentina (Grazia Neri)

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Cristiano Zanetti

Juventus have been fairly consistent this season, after winning seven of their opening 12 matches to sit in second place in the standings. Having made some key acquisitions in the summer, including Diego, Felipe Melo, Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso though, the Bianconeri were always expected to excel this season.

Despite these integral additions, a former player of the club, Alessandro Birindelli, believes that they should not have sold Cristiano Zanetti to Fiorentina, as he was a very important part of the squad.

“From what I heard, perhaps there was a willingness to sell him for technical reasons,” Birindelli explained in an interview with Radio di Roma.

“There was a disagreement between the club and the player, in terms of a contract renewal, which forced him to leave.

“The club had counted on Zanetti on a number of occasions though, and for that reason, he should still be with them.

“It is clear that there are new players now, but they all have completely different characteristics to him.”

The former defender, who currently plays with the recently formed Pescina, made one final comment regarding an individual who he has been very impressed with this term.

He added, “I must say that this year, before his injury, [Claudio] Marchisio has done extremely well.”

Adrian Del Monte, Goal.com