Can’t win? Don’t lose.

“We weren’t at the races against Udinese. Off days like that can happen and you can’t expect to blow your opposition away in every game. Even if we didn’t play well, we still left with a valuable point.

“Taking all three of course would have been better but we showed good character to equalise and then to avoid defeat.”

“Juve vs. Milan? A classic.”

“Milan are rediscovering a bit of form and overall they have had a good campaign, providing a platform for some very talented young players who could play a big part in the future of the national team. Juventus vs. Milan is always a classic.

“I’ve got a good record against them and I hope I’ll feature on Friday. Whoever plays, winning is all that counts. Even if Buffon scores, it doesn’t matter!”

Old scores

“The defeat in Milan earlier in the season doesn’t bother us; if anything, the loss in Doha hurt more, at least on a personal level. With all respect to them, we lost that game, they didn’t win it. Let’s make sure we put everything right this week and kick on in the league.

 Juve in full flow

“I always say that Juventus should be judged in March and you can see why. We’ve found a system that gets the best out of the quality we have in the squad and ticks all the boxes.

“I don’t know if we play the most beautiful or attractive football but we certainly play more intelligently, more functionally and more precisely than anyone else.

“We’ve got to keep pushing on in all competitions in the knowledge that there is still a long way to go in Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia.”

Four goals, three assists and a host of match-winning displays: February was a month to savour for Paulo Dybala who is approaching his best form again at the business end of the season.

Typically, La Joya got back amongst the goals against his former club Palermo and in some style too. From the moment the ball left his foot, his 40^th-minute free-kick was always destined to fly into the top corner. Then, with just moments remaining before full-time, he doubled his tally with another unerring, left-footed drive, rubberstamping Juve’s 4-1 victory on the night.

Eleven days later, Dybala was once more the darling of Juventus Stadium with another breath-taking display, exuding the ultimate confidence and quality in scoring two penalties to haul the Bianconeri back into a position of strength in their Coppa Italia tie against Napoli after trailing 1-0 at the break.

If La Joya hasn’t been finding the net himself, more often than not it’s he who has laid the goals on a plate for his team-mates, as he did for Gonzalo Higuain against Cagliari and Palermo and, most recently, for Leonardo Bonucci’s equaliser away to Udinese.

All things considered, it’s easy to see why Paulo has won the majority vote from the club’s supporters and he will pick up his prize just before kick-off against Milan this Friday evening at Juventus Stadium.

Doing the honours will be a J-Member for a moment he/she will surely not forget in a hurry. You can find out more about the Juventus Membership scheme here.

Reigning champions Juventus will kick off the defence of their Viareggio Cup crown against Czech outfit Dukla Prague on Monday 13 March at 15.00 CET, the opening fixture of the prestigious youth trophy, now entering its 69^th edition.

Fabio Grosso’s side are also joined in Group 1 by Toronto FC and Maceratese, meeting the Canadians and their fellow Italians on 15 March and 18 March respectively.

The 40 competing sides (in ten groups of four) will be narrowed down to 16 for a straight knockout round beginning on the 22 March (last 16) with the latter stages to follow on 24 March (quarter-finals), 27 March (semi-finals) and 29 March (final).

The Bianconeri defeated the likes of Milan, Bologna, Spezia and Palermo on their way to the club’s joint-record ninth Viareggio Cup title last season after seeing off Deportivo Camioneros (Argentina), Crotone (Italy) and L.I.A.C New York (USA) in the preliminary group stages.

Leonardo Bonucci spoke of his satisfaction after his headed goal saw Juventus come from behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Udinese on Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve gained a point on the team in second place and that’s the most important thing,” said the Italian defender, speaking after the final whistle at Dacia Arena. “It was a valuable goal for the team. Nothing has changed for me: I play for Juventus and I fight for Juventus.”

Bonucci – whose goal was his second in Serie A this season and his third overall – admitted that Juventus had not been up to their usual standards against Udinese.

“Our mental intensity dropped off a bit today and that had a knock-on effect on the way we moved the ball around and won it back,” he explained. “There were a few mistakes in possession and they did well to close down the space.

“We let them have more shots than we usually do, but apart from that [Duvan] Zapata chance in the first half, when I didn’t realise what was happening soon enough, and another in the second half which I managed to deal with, Udinese didn’t really have many chances. It’s important that we learn from this game.”

Massimiliano Allegri stressed that there was still plenty of football to be played as Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on Sunday afternoon.

“This was a set point at the most,” said Allegri after the final whistle, responding to those who had painted the game at Dacia Arena as a title decider following Roma’s defeat to Napoli on Saturday. “The league wouldn’t have been sewn up even if we’d won because there are 11 games left. It’s a good point because it takes us eight points clear of Roma.

“We hadn’t drawn for a year and were coming off the back of several demanding matches. We didn’t want to draw, but Udinese played very well. Now we need to work on preparing for AC Milan, Porto and Sampdoria. We still need more points because there’s a long way to go yet.”

Allegri conceded that his side’s performance at Udinese had been under par.

“Our play needed to be quicker in the first half,” he explained. “After the break we should have shown more patience and tried to mix up our play more.”

The Juventus coach also explained his reasons for replacing Paulo Dybala with defensive midfielder Tomas Rincon as the side chased all three points late on.

“I wanted to add another midfielder to try to work a chance,” said Allegri. “Even if you can’t win a match, you must not lose it.”