Italy's World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi hinted Thursday at a future return to Juventus, the club he won five Italian titles and a Champions League crown with.
"How can you rule it out when you have spent 10 years at a club? Never say never," he replied when asked about going back to Juve, who are currently in Serie B as punishment for the club's role in the Calciopoli scandal.
Lippi is between jobs at the moment after quitting the Azzurri bench on the highest possible note in July to take a one-year break.
He said that he has only talked to foreign sides about coaching positions up to now and stressed that he will not start serious negotiations with club chiefs before April.
In a recent TV interview, Lippi said press speculation linking him to top European clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid was groundless. Lippi covered Juventus in glory during his two spells in Turin, 1994-99 and 2001-04.
As well as the five domestic championships and the Champions League, he also led the Turin giants to a European Supercup and an Intercontinental title and three Champions League finals.
The 58-year-old Tuscan praised the work of the present Juve boss, Didier Deschamps, one of his former players at the club. "Deschamps' team have pulled off a remarkable feat by reaching the top of the Serie B standings despite the nine-point Calciopoli penalty," Lippi said. Juventus were relegated in the summer because the club's former management were found guilty of being the main culprits behind moves to have 'friendly' refs assigned to some teams' games.
The club were also stripped of the 2005 and 2006 championships, won by Lippi's successor Fabio Capello. Lippi's son was implicated in the Calciopoli scandal and because of this he had to resist extreme pressure to resign as Italy coach before leading the Azzurri to triumph at Germany 2006.
On Thursday the tactician also had kind words for Alessandro Del Piero, who is due to make his 500th appearance for Juventus this weekend, against Bari.
"Del Piero is one of the few icons left in Italian soccer," he said. "Alex is a fine example of professionalism, as he showed this summer, right in the thick of Calciopoli, when he pledged his allegiance to Juventus without hesitation. "He is not just a symbol of this club, but also of Italian football as a whole".
