Pride at stake for battered Juventus

TURIN, August 24: Claudio Ranieri admits that pride will be at stake as he leads fallen Italian giants Juventus back into the Serie A on Saturday after a season in purgatory.
Juventus were stripped of their two Serie A titles for 2005 and 2006 for their part in the Italian match fixing scandal, and spent last season plying their trade in the Serie B.
Ranieri took over in June from French coach Didier Deschamps, who led the northerners back to the top flight as Serie B champions, but quit after clashes with the club hierarchy. But the scars of their humiliating fall from grace remain raw and despite their record 27 Serie A titles, Ranieri believes that his main task this season will be rebuilding team morale.
"Juve has changed a lot. Don’t forget that they have had to deal with a tsunami. There remains a lot of work to do," said the former Chelsea manager. "I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep, but there is a wonderful and ambitious project in place to take the club back to where it belongs.
"The club want to be back at the top in five years’ time and let’s hope we can do it sooner. We will fight for the first places in the championship."
Despite their demotion Juve managed to hold onto high-profile players such as World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, French striker David Trezeguet and experienced Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved.