Ibra, Higuain will not make Juve strong in UCL

Posted Wednesday, May 08, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Antonio Conte believes Juventus would not benefit from signing the likes of Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain or Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a bid to do better in the Champions League.

Juventus won the Serie A title last week but have not seen their dominance in Italy be replicated on the continental front as they were comprehensively beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals stage.

Conte has been called upon to sign a high-profile attacker in order to boost the club's attacking prowess. Many believe that Juve are strong in all other departments and could become a force to reckon with if they sign a premier goalscorer.

However, Conte insisted that it's not just a lack of goals that prevented Juve from making an impact in the Champions League as he believes a long-term plan to improve synergy as well as the quality of the playing squad would best serve to improve the Bianconeri's fortunes in Europe.

"I can only laugh when I hear people say that Juventus can win the Champions League with two or three good signings. The reality is different. There's a big gap with the top," Conte told Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Ibrahimovic, [Luis] Suarez or Higuain? You cannot say no to players like that for the fans, so if it was up to me, I would take all three of them.

"Even that would not be enough to win the Champions League, though.

"We have to follow the model of Bayern Munich. These are the kind of things I discuss with the president and [general director] Giuseppe Marotta. We have to improve in all areas.

"I heard [Arjen] Robben say the other day that Bayern's win was a team effort. He understands how it works. He's a natural talent, just like [Franck] Ribery. Yet they both do their utmost for the team.

"A good organisation brings out the best of individual players.

"Either way, we have to show respect to the club and the players we have right now."

Juve lost just four times in the current campaign and were unbeaten on their way to winning the Scudetto last season. However, it has been something of a collective effort as only midfielder Arturo Vidal has crossed the 10-goal mark for them in the 2012/13 season.