Claudio Ranieri has branded Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso as "too slow" for Juventus.

"He was a player we wanted," Ranieri said of Alonso.

"But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

"In the midfield of Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position.

"But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as (Juve wingers) Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool's wingers."