all the way in this season's Champions League following the
summer departures of Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and
Andrea Pirlo.
The Bianconeri reached the final last term, losing 3-1 to
Barcelona in Berlin, but have started the current season
terribly after losing three of their key men.
"I think it’s going to be really hard for them to reach the final
again as they have lost so many good players," Ancelotti told
Goal .
"They signed a number of very good and young talented
players who will surely do well, but they need time to
understand the system. That’s why I think they won’t reach
the final like last year."
Although they are well placed to reach the Champions
League knockouts, Juventus are currently languishing in
10th position in Serie A after 11 games - already nine points
behind joint league leaders Fiorentina and Inter.
However, Ancelotti insists the Bianconeri can re-enter the
race for the Scudetto - even if he believes Roma are the
favourites to take the crown this season.
"I do not think Juventus are out of the fight for the
Scudetto," he stressed.
"It is a strange and very balanced championship this
season. The average points won will be lower than usual
and for this reason I think Juve still have time to recover.
“The team that has the best chance of winning the title is
Roma because their offense is probably the most
dangerous. I think [despite their win over Roma on
Saturday] Inter will still have some issues because they
changed a lot this summer and it’s not easy to get all the
new players on the same page.
"Then there is Napoli, who have started very well the
season. I think Napoli can only improve further. The players
are learning Maurizio Sarri’s system and will do better as
they get to know it. I like Sarri’s philosophy because it’s an
attacking one."
Ancelotti says he would reject the chance to return to
Juventus should the struggling giants approach him to
replace under-pressure coach Massimiliano Allegri.
The ex-Real Madrid boss, who is currently unemployed after
departing the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, coached
Juventus from 1999 until 2001.
He has been linked with a potential return to Turin following
the Bianconeri's worst start to a domestic season in almost
30 years.
"What if Juve approach me? It is natural there is talk about
me going back to Italy, but I have already been there [at
Juve]," Ancelotti said. "Also, I am attached to one team only
in Italy [AC Milan].
"At Juve I had a good experience and I got on well with
directors Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo. There was a
nice atmosphere and I got to understand how important the
relationship is between a club and its coach.
"But I prefer an experience abroad as my next job. I had a
very good time in England and appreciated the environment,
the stadiums and the respect from fans. I would love to go
back to England."
Ancelotti also compared three of the big name presidents he
has worked under during his coaching career - AC Milan's
Silvio Berlusconi, Chelsea's Roman Abramovich and Real
Madrid's Florentino Perez.
"The thing they have in common is they all love football," he
explained.
"The differences are that Perez and Berlusconi were born
with a team in their heart. Abramovich became fond of
Chelsea later. Perez and Berlusconi are more fanatical
about the game, while Abramovich is a little more
detached."
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