Alonso too slow for Juventus

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri says Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is too slow.

Ranieri was close to signing the Spaniard in the summer and the former Chelsea boss has now revealed the reason.

He said: “He was a player we wanted.

“But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

“In the midfield of Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position.

“But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool’s wingers.”

[Source: The Sun]