Juventus Women's Bonansea: "The coach told us to put love into what we do"

Following their match against Hammarby Idrottsforening, Barbara Bonansea commented on her team's performance in the Champions League preliminary round.

Juventus forward Barbara Bonansea spoke at a press conference after the match against Hammarby. TuttoJuve.com reported the Bianconere player's words live:

What did you do differently to win?

'Honestly, I don't know. The coach had told us after the Torreense match to put love into what we do. When we are in difficulty, to put even more in. We did that; we came alive after conceding the goal. We could have finished it better. The coach told us to keep going and believe in what we've built this month. I think our game was visible; we need to have faith that the goal will come. Chiba scored a beautiful one, and we gave everything we had.'

The importance of the bench...

Those who start and those who come on as substitutes are always important. You need to be focused, understanding the moment of the game you're entering to help the team. The difference is coming on to make a difference. I tried to bring freshness and something different that we weren't finding at that moment.

What message do you send to your competitors?

'I don't know what message we're sending; we're enjoying ourselves. Football is this. I think from the outside, you can see that we're having fun and believing in what we do. In the first half-hour, we were a bit behind them, then we came alive. The signal is that we're doing everything the coach has asked us to do.'

On your start to the season?

It hasn't been difficult. The coach has brought a new style of play, but everyone has made themselves available, and that has made everything easier. A lot has changed, and many players have changed. But a good group has been formed; without that, we wouldn't have won. Hammarby is a truly tough team; winning in extra time after so few training sessions is a source of pride.

Where do you need to improve?

'I'm satisfied with the fact that we're enjoying ourselves on the field; that's not a given. We try to do what the coach asks us to. We're at the beginning, and we need to improve, like in trying to play our game a bit further up the field. With a few more training sessions, we'll be able to do different things. I didn't expect to see a team this far along after such a short time.'