Robert Kovac has pledged to continue playing for Juventus in Serie B, while Ruben Olivera officially joins Sampdoria.

“I spoke with director of sport Alessio Secco and decided to stay, whether it’s in B or A,” announced the Croat defender.

Many of the Turin giants have already walked out or are threatening to do so, such as Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Gianluca Zambrotta, Emerson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mauro Camoranesi.

This evening another player left Juve, as Uruguayan midfielder Olivera was handed to Sampdoria on a loan deal with an option to buy half his contract at the end of the season, announced the Genoa club.

“I am happy here in a great squad and it’s good to work with Didier Deschamps. Of course, the atmosphere is a tough one at the moment, as we saw a Scudetto that we earned on the field taken away, but I am sure we’ll soon get back into Serie A and then Europe,” continued Kovac.

The Calciopoli trial saw the Bianconeri demoted, stripped of the last two Scudetto titles and ordered to begin the new season with a 17-point handicap.

“It’s sad to see the other sides beginning the Champions League this week, as it is the biggest club stage in Europe, but now we have to give our best to begin again and make up for the lost ground. It’s a heavy penalty, but before the appeal they were 30 points and with the next court hearing that handicap could be halved again.”

The experienced 32-year-old only joined Juventus from Bayern Munich last summer and was mainly used as an understudy to Cannavaro and Thuram, notching up one goal in 18 Serie A appearances. Now he must prepare for a very different type of football in Serie B.

“We will face more aggressive and physically strong sides, but I want to give my contribution. It’s a great motivation to be a first choice player, as last year I learned a lot and hope to improve even more.”

In other transfer news, Serie B outfit Treviso have surprisingly snapped up Alessandro Moro from Udinese on a loan deal with an option to buy half his contract at the end of the season.