Juventus coach Conte slams Italian game after exit
Juve were outclassed during a 2-0 first-leg defeat to the newly crowned German champions last week in Munich and, despite a far better performance in Turin in the second leg, the hosts again lost by the same scoreline.
Juventus coach Antonio Conte has called on Italian football to get its house in order or risk becoming a lost giant of the European game, following their quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich.
Juve were outclassed during a 2-0 first-leg defeat to the newly crowned German champions last week in Munich and, despite a far better performance in Turin in the second leg, the hosts again lost by the same scoreline.
Conte, a former midfielder with the two-time European champions before leading the club to their 28th Italian championship in his first season in charge last year, said there was a huge gap between his side and big-spending Bayern.
After second-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Claudio Pizarro sealed the Bundesliga side's place in the semis for the third time in four years, Conte took aim at Italian football in general.
He said it was time for Italy's clubs to start generating the finance needed to compete on a level playing field with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester United.
If not, Juve could go the way of one of European football's strongest sides in the 1970s, Dutch giants Ajax, who have struggled to get back to Europe's top table in the past two decades.