Nedved: Juve must respect Celtic
Juventus legend Pavel Nedved has warned the Italian champions they need to treat Celtic with "great respect" after the two clubs were drawn against each other in Europe.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Juve drew Celtic in Thursday's UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw in Nyon. The Italians are heavily favoured to progress past the Scottish champions but Nedved is well aware of the threat Neil Lennon's side can pose - especially at home.
Celtic beat Barcelona 2-1 in this season's group stage at Celtic Park.
"It could have gone a lot worse, but we still need to face Celtic with great respect. They were the only team to beat Barcelona and have qualified for the next round with great credit," Nedved said on the Juve website.
"We're on a path of development, but many of our players are playing Champions League football for the first time in their careers and will need to be up to the challenge.
"We'll be stepping into a red-hot atmospere and will encounter difficulties if we're not fully up to speed. We need to match their intensity, hoping that our players have something extra on a technical level.
"Playing the return leg at home, in front of our public, certainly gives us a slight advantage. If we put in a Juventus style performance then we'll have a good chance of getting through to the next round."
Juve are away to Celtic for the first leg on 12 February next year before the return leg the following month in Turin.