Pavel Nedved, the former Juventus star, has confirmed that the Serie A side aim to win the Champions League this season. He also admitted that not playing for English giants Manchester United is his biggest regret.
The ex-Czech Republic midfielder spent eight years in Turin winning three Serie A titles. Several times in his career he was linked with a move to England with reported interest from Chelsea. However, the deal never materialised with Nedved retiring in Italy in 2009.
Now, Vice-President of the Bianconeri, Nedved confirmed that he always dreamt of joining the Red Devils. According to Czech news outlet iDNES, the 44-year-old spoke about Juventus' primary objectives this season.
“With Juventus, we’ve returned to the top in Italy. Now President Andrea Agnelli wants to get back to the top in Europe,” Nedved explained. “We want to win the Champions League, we’ll try,” he added.
Also Read: 10 football stars who are legends at three different clubs
When asked about the standout moments in his career he singled out the 2003 Champions League final disappointment against rivals AC Milan. He lamented that winning the Champions League would have been the greatest success but they failed at the last step. Nedved missed the final through suspension and it was the biggest disappointment of his career.
Speaking about wanting to join Manchester United he said, “A regret? That I never played for Manchester United, I’d have liked that. The transfer was never on the table, though, there was only Chelsea.”
Also Read: Arsenal transfer rumour: Santi Cazorla linked to Serie A giants Juventus
“I liked the generation of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who I admired. I was a little bit jealous of Karel Poborsky who played in Manchester and experienced great matches. I know he still feels that love," he went on to add.
He also spoke about his best goal in his career and named Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the best teammate he had ever had. The Czech Fury also mentioned that Javier Zanetti was the toughest opponent he faced. Nedved recollected how he smashed the ball into the top right corner with the outside of his right foot to score the only goal in the Champions League fixture against Ajax in 2004.
He hailed Ibrahimovic’s on field abilities, how he used his strength and height to bring in physicality in his gameplay. Both Nedved and Zanetti have a mutual admiration for each other. The ex-Juventus star said that Zanetti was similar to himself in many ways with the work-rate he put in.
The former Ballon d’Or winner is hoping that Juventus win the Champions League this season, a dream that he never fulfilled.
