Juventus forced Trezeguet to stay

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PARIS, France -- France striker David Trezeguet said he was forced to stay at Juventus after they were relegated to Serie B for their part in a match-fixing scandal.

"(Juventus coach) Didier (Deschamps) told me: 'You're staying here'," he told Friday's issue of French sports daily L'Equipe.

Trezeguet, who has been at Juventus since 2000, said he had no other option than to stay at the club.

"Of course it took me time to accept that situation. When a player has played the Champions League seven times in a row, it's not easy, neither for me nor for the others."

"The club officials told me from the start that I had to stay here," he said. "I had no choice."

The 28-year-old Frenchman had avoided addressing the media since missing a penalty in the World Cup final shootout that Italy went on to win on July 9 in Berlin.

"Why hide it? The World Cup was negative for me," said Trezeguet, who was used as a substitute by coach Raymond Domenech throughout the tournament.

"People keep asking me about that missed penalty but my biggest disappointment is to have hardly played in a competition that might have been my last."

Trezeguet, who missed France's first two Euro 2008 qualifiers because of a groin strain, said he had considered international retirement after the World Cup.

"Yes, I asked myself that question," said the forward, who is no longer an automatic choice for Domenech despite having scored 32 goals from 66 internationals.

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