Juventus coach Luigi Del Neri insists people should not read too much into the failure of Serie A clubs in the Europa League.
Juve, Palermo and Sampdoria have all failed to reach the knockout stage of this season’s competition, sparking suggestions that top flight of Italian football may be on a downturn.
But Del Neri, whose side complete their campaign against Manchester City, said: “Our soccer is growing up.
“I look at Juventus and we are out of it, but not put back in our rightful place.
“We have lost, but we made a good impression in Manchester, and in Poland, where we tried to win despite hazardous weather conditions.
“I think my team played a more than respectable Europa League, besides facing many matches in a time of rebuilding.”
And even though his side have no chance of clinching a place in the next round, Del Neri insists he will field a strong side against City tonight.
He added: “It's not true we'll play only young players.
“Obviously, at this moment, the match in Chievo is more important to us, but we'll try to play our part anyway, because we have the strength and the quality to achieve a good result and we'd like to win a match in this round.”