Kwadwo Asamoah defends Juventus’ pragmatic style

Juventus's Kwadwo Asamoah (L), Mario Mandzukic (R) and Inter's Marcelo Brozovic (C) in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match Juventus FC vs Inter FC at Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, 09 December 2017. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Jan 25, 2018. 20:00

Ghanaian midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah has defended Juventus’ pragmatic style, explaining “if you play well but don’t win in the end, it counts for nothing”.

Juve are currently in a battle with Napoli for the Serie A title, with the Turin-based team trailing their Naples rivals by just one point after 21 rounds of the championship.

Yet while Napoli have been praised for their attractive, attack-minded football, Juve have become renowned for ‘winning ugly’ - yet this doesn’t disturb the Black Stars player.

“In the end what counts is winning,” Asamoah told Sky Sports.

“If you play well but don’t win in the end, it counts for nothing. These criticisms don’t bother us, the important thing is for us to get results and to win in the end, that’s what counts.

“We know Napoli won’t give up, they’ve dropped very few points, but we’re here to win and you weigh things up at the end.

“The quality of your play is important, but the most important thing is to win, scoring as early as possible as we’ve often done this season, because that makes games easier to deal with.”