Nedved confident Juve can win Europa League

Pavel Nedved is confident of Juventus’ prospects in the UEFA Europa League after they were drawn against Lyon in the quarter-finals.

Juventus overcame Serie A rivals Fiorentina 1-0 on Thursday to qualify for the last eight, Andrea Pirlo’s stunning free-kick ensuring a 2-1 aggregate success for Antonio Conte’s men.

The Turin club won the tournament three times under its UEFA Cup guise between 1977 and 1993 and are considered to be among the favourites to claim victory in this year’s competition.

Juve suffered a shock exit from the Champions League in December as they finished third in Group B behind Real Madrid and Galatasaray.

But former Juve midfielder Nedved – now a board member at the club – feels Conte’s side have learned how to approach European competition and have the capabilities to reach the final, which is to be held at the Juventus Stadium on May 14.

“There’s still a long way to go before we reach the final in Turin,” Nedved said. “We’re up against Lyon and it won’t be easy. We’ll play the two-legged tie with full commitment.

“After all, Juventus have tackled this competition with maximum respect and that’s why we’re here today.

“We’ve developed as a side. In Europe teams face you with the shackles off and we came up against the odd difficulty as we weren’t used to handling this approach.

“Now, however, we’ve understood the way we need to deal with and win these games.

“The Juventus team I played in also had these difficulties. We were the strongest in the league and struggled in Europe. But this side has all it takes to do well.”