Juve face Rimini test

World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon, the most expensive goalkeeper in the world and arguably the best, will be between the posts with fellow Azzurri players Mauro Camoranesi and Alessandro Del Piero looking for goals.

Juventus were relegated from Serie A for the first time in their history by a sports tribunal which investigated match-fixing allegations and had 17 penalty points imposed on them for the campaign.

Following the relegation and the stripping of the last two titles won by the club, Juventus lost their coach Fabio Capello who moved to Spain's Real Madrid taking captain Fabio Cannavaro and Brazilian midfielder Emerson with him.

Former Juventus and France midfielder Didier Deschamps took over at the club with the hope that the appeals process would restore their top flight status.

That failed to happen leaving the former Monaco coach with the prospect of a season-long struggle to regain Serie A status but Deschamps says he has no regrets.

"When I arrived at the club, no-one guaranteed what division we would be in so I can't be affected by the fact we are in Serie B -- there is the possibility to do well here," the French coach said on Friday.

Rimini's stadium holds just under 10,000 but Deschamps expects an intense atmosphere at venues across the country as many fans get a first chance to see their clubs take on the 27-times Italian champions.

Hundreds of Juventus fans slept outside the stadium on Thursday night hoping to snap up some of the few hundred tickets available.

"Having Juventus is a big deal for Serie B and that is shown by the build-up at Rimini," said Deschamps.

"In this league there will be different kinds of difficulties for us, technically and also psychologically for those players who initially did not want to accept relegation.

We know it won't be easy," added the Frenchman.

Although Juve have lost several of their top players such as Cannavaro, Emerson, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta and France internationals Patrick Vieira and Lilian Thuram, they have hung on to a surprisingly healthy number.

As well as Buffon, Camoranesi and Del Piero, French striker David Trezeguet and Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved have remained along with Croatian defenders Robert Kovac and Igor Tudor.

The strength of Deschamp's squad, which is packed with top flight and international experience, means many think they can overturn their 17-point deficit and make it back into Serie A at the first attempt.

But Rimini's Argentine born midfielder Adrian Ricchiuti believes his side can give Juve the worst start to life in the second tier.

"Every team has a weak point and we have to hope that they haven't yet found their form. They are a very strong side but promotion is by no means certain for them. They will have to fight long and hard because those penalty points will hang over them for a long time," added Ricchiuti.