Zenit St Petersburg’s Luciano Spalletti: We Can Recover From Twente Defeat

Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti remains optimistic of further Europa League progress despite his side’s comprehensive defeat to Twente on Thursday evening.

The Russian champions suffered a 3-0 loss to their Dutch counterparts in the Netherlands in the first leg of their last-16 clash.

This has virtually ended Zenit’s hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals but Spalletti retains hope of a second leg turnaround.

“We still have the possibility to recover despite the 3-0 defeat,” said the Italian after the match, according to La Gazzetta Dello Sport. “I am confident and I’d bet on my team.”

The former Roma tactician was then asked whether he would be interested in replacing Luigi Del Neri as the Juventus coach at the end of the season. The Bianconeri are in the midst of a crisis and look set to sack the former Sampdoria boss in the summer.

Spalletti distanced himself from these reports and said, “First there was talk of Fiorentina, then Inter and now Juventus. I’m fine here at Zenit and I will stay here.”