This is a very bittersweet moment. For years, the Juventus Offside name has been synonymous with the best English-speaking blog about all things Juventus (at least for me). While that description will stay the same, we will now continue the epicness of this community under a new name and new website.

Without further ado, the trio of writers here at the Offside would like to introduce to you:

BlackWhiteReadAllOver.com

As you all know, we’ve been expecting this switch to SB Nation for a while now and we finally got word tonight that everything has been transferred (well, almost everything, looks like John’s last post hasn’t made it yet).

The name of the new website was chosen by John & Aaron (when Aaron was still a writer here). I was at first hesitant about it, but after a few visits to the site I have to admit that I like it – it’s quite catchy.

While you all head to the new domain and register/become a fan of the blog, I’d love to take some time and reminisce on some of the best moments we’ve had here, on the Juventus Offside.

So, what was your favorite/most memorable moment at the Juve Offside?

I can easily tell you mine. It actually wasn’t flashy or anything. There were many more generally memorable moments at the Offside, but this particular one I remember easily. It was in fact what made me realize that this blog is pretty cool.

I don’t quite remember what the topic of conversation was, but as always there was a debate in the comment section about one player or another. It was like the third or fourth time I had come to the site, so I was pretty new (though very opinionated, as always). In the midst of the discussion, I threw up a comment saying the writers of the blog should put up a poll for all Juventus Offside fans to settle the argument once and for all.

The next day, I come to the site and voila – Aaron has a quick write up about this great idea that a fan had in the comments, followed by the poll question we were all discussing. There were like 200 votes on it already.

That was the exact moment when I realized that this wasn’t a website with a snobby distinction of Writers and Commenters. Everyone was pretty close to equal – everyone’s opinion mattered the same, especially if expressed eloquently. It didn’t matter if it was buried in the comments or officially posted by the writers – people paid attention to what was being said and kept on discussing. That example, the religious following, and frequent guest posts on the site further solidified my high opinion of the Offside as a community of Juventini.

It is truly a pleasure being a part of this online Juve gang, and I am looking forward to continuing the conversation with all of you at Black & White & Read All Over.

Today, however, the two bulls will collide when Italian National Team will face off against the United States Men’s National Team.  Just another pit-stop en route to Poland/Ukraine, you say?  Well, yes, it is.  For me, however, it’s a bit more.  And that’s aside from the seven (7) Juventus players called up by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.  It’s a bit more personal.  And difficult.

I grew up the son of Italian immigrants at a time where “US Soccer” was an oxymoron.  As a child, Sundays consisted not of football but rather futbol, or more accurately calcio.  To write that I felt like an outcast for being unable to participate in discussions regarding the NFL standings on Monday mornings would imply that I cared about them at the time.  Don’t get me wrong — I always had a healthy appreciation for baseball, and football would follow.  For my childhood house, however, soccer was king, but it was all Italian.  Rai was part of the basic cable package, and Serie A was the strongest league in the world.  At age 7, Italy hosted the first World Cup that I can remember.  And although that would mark the first time during my own lifetime that the country of my parents’ birth would face off against the country of my own (and result in another victory for Italy), I have no memories of that game.  Instead, the images of Diego Maradona’s Argentina eliminating Italy in penalties in Naples are my only memories from that World Cup.

And, that’s about it.

***

It would be another two years until the two teams would face off again.  I wasn’t there, but a few days earlier I watched my first ever live international game.  My dad and my uncles drove my brother and I up to Connecticut to watch Italy play Portugal, a country which I was surprised to learn wasn’t in the Caribbean.  Actually, I still have the Italian flag that my uncle Gennaro bought me that day.

A few days later, John Harkes would cancel out Roberto Baggio — a man who two years later would serve as my childhood idol again on American soil — and the United States would crown themselves champions of the inaugural ”US Cup,” in the rich American tradition of inventing one’s own competitions in order to win them (see football, American).

***

In the intervening years, there would be no meaningful interactions between the two countries and certainly, no rivalry.  Italy would continue its steady course of clinical, tactical, near-cynical play, while hovering around the apex of the world’s teams.  The United States would continue to grow more into the sport, far beyond the point to which its very name attached to the sport was no longer considered “oxymoronic,” if not still a bit of a joke.  The U.S. got better and better, slowly and rather quickly, and has come a long way since.  It’s also since plateaued.  The US is certainly not at the point that matches its hype prior to the 2006 World Cup, when it was absurdly ranked 4th in the World — although it’s at a tipping point now.  Years of over-hype, mixed with mediocrity threaded with flashes of overachieving have taken it to a point where it’s at a crossroads.  There’s a fork in the road: remain stagnant, or progress.  The Federation is perhaps hoping that a shiny new European coach with a European pedigree can get them over the hump.  Here’s hoping to the latter, I guess.

***

As far as I’m concerned, I’m sort of stuck in this no-man’s land.  I’ve traditionally rooted for the United States in head-to-head matchups.  It’s a weird dichotomy I’ve created in my mind, sort of like my defense-mechanism of choice — the sarcastic humor / constant facetious behavior which I’ve dug myself into since adolescence.  I remember the 1994 World Cup, in which the USA qualified by default.  That opening weekend, they faced off against Switzerland, and I can still remember watching that 1-1 draw in my living room.  Meanwhile, Italy would be horribly upset by Ireland in my own backyard, Giants Stadium.  However, Italy would go onto the finals, and I would follow them the rest of the way.  Way more passionately and painfully than the former team.

2006 was no different, only that marked the next time the two sides would meet.  Again, it was weirder than kissing your cousin.  Arguably knowing more about the Italian team, I felt this strange compulsion towards the United States.  That game ended 1-1, and both teams would go onto their last game in group stage with something to prove.  When finally the US would go onto lose to Ghana I turned and said to my friend Paul, as we sat watching on TV from his deck in his backyard — “well, I can root for Italy now in peace”  – as if some burden was lifted off my shoulders.

***

I want the United States to do well.  I really do.  Perhaps it’s because I was born here, and have a sense of gratitude towards the country my parents came to in order to improve their lives and my own.  Perhaps it’s because I love soccer, and I am still holding out hope that a quality product will eventually make its way within driving distance, and not just once every 20-or so years, but in a regular, seasonal format.  I’ve thought it was perhaps a product of the “children of 9/11 syndrome” which I’ve theorized about, at times when feeling intellectual.  However, I was a month shy of 19 when that happened, and my US-Soccer-centricism far predates that.  The truth is, I root for US soccer over Italy without actually preferring the US better.  Not its style, players, or history.  It’s irrational, but at least I can admit it.

And then, when it’s time for the European Cup, I feel happy that I can enjoy Italy, my mistress first love, without any guilt.  When it’s World Cup time and unlike in 1990 or 2006, the two teams pass like ships in the night , I can ignore that they both exist in the same stratosphere, while simply watching each as if they both exist exclusively in a vacuum — one secretly loved more than the other, like the older child with all the trophies on the mantle.

But, when they play each other, I feel like Archie Manning watching the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants (led by two-time Super Bowl Champion/MVP Eli Manning, by the way) play each other.  It’s fun, but it’s not.

And yet, I feel as if it’s a bit worse for me.  My cousin grew up with Giuseppe Rossi.  Their families remain friends to this day.  To my family, I’m an Americentric pseudo-intellectual with the habits of a neanderthal, in regards to soccer — sorry, calcio — at least.  I just don’t get it, I’m naive, blah blah blah blah blah, Italy is the best, and the US is inferior.  And far more so to them than they actually are.  I get the sense that they’re afraid the United States will ever be close to being as good as its fans think it is.  Because then it’s something, nay, the one thing that they have over this great, big, colossal country of mine, that they’d no longer have anymore.  Even though they live here too.  Weird.

To my US Soccer fan friends, I’m a Eurosnob, an apologist for a diving, cheating, whining team, resented by them because most of their followers around these them here parts (present company excluded) are generations removed from the old country.  Oh, right, I nearly forgot to mention — according to US Soccer fans, whenever your team loses to another team with a superior talent pool, built upon years of superior coaching staffs and thus tactics, tradition, etc., it’s almost always the fault of the referees, and/or the players on the other team cheating in some form or fashion, both in which obviously go hand in hand.

Anyway, I’m not generations-removed like most “Italians” around here as I’m a first-generation, but that’s virtually ignored.  Oh well.

I simply can’t win.

And I won’t be able to tomorrow either.

***

Oh yea, this is a Juventus blog.  Tomorrow, 7 1/2 of our guys have been called up.  Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Marchisio, Pirlo, and Matri.

The remaining half is being represented by Sebastian Giovinco, both by ownership rights and physical stature.

ItalJuve versus my hometown.  AKA, Giuseppe RossiLand.

Have at it, folks.  This is a Juventus blog, remember?

]]> http://juventus.theoffside.com/team-news/italjuve-meets-stars-stripes.html/feed 201 http://juventus.theoffside.com/previews-reviews/milan-11-juventus-biggest-match-of-the-season-ends-even-in-both-scoring-and-controversy.html http://juventus.theoffside.com/previews-reviews/milan-11-juventus-biggest-match-of-the-season-ends-even-in-both-scoring-and-controversy.html#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:17:16 +0000 Ivo http://juventus.theoffside.com/previews-reviews/milan-11-juventus-biggest-match-of-the-season-ends-even-in-both-scoring-and-controversy.html Finally, a game reminiscent of the good old Serie A that we were accustomed to watching ~10 years ago. A game of two titans, two top sides going against each other in what was going to be a near-Scudetto decider. And while the score at the end decided nothing, the game had everything: good football, great drama, multiple controversies, referee mistakes, violent plays, and most importantly, two goals on each side to cancel it all out.

Having played once recently in Coppa Italia (a game at San Siro which Juve won 2-1), the two teams were no strangers to each other. It was, however, the coaches pre-game set up that had the most influence on how the game went on for most of the 90 minutes.

Despite being very successful with his preferred 4-2-4/4-3-3 formation early in the season, Conte has been relying on his 3-5-2 formation to nullify threats from rival teams when playing away from home this season (e.g. vs Udinese and Napoli). Borriello and Quagliarella started the game as the main strikers much to the surprise by many, especially with the prolific form Alessandro Matri has been in lately. I assume Conte wanted to use his strongest strikers that play with their backs to the goal since Milan’s center-backs are some of the strongest in Serie A this year.

FIRST HALF

Unfortunately, Allegri and the AC Milan players were very well positioned in midfield/attack and were able to take full advantage of Conte’s 3-5-2 set up in the first 45 minutes. One particular problem, taking the ball out the back under pressure, has been a recurring theme for Juventus this season and Conte has yet to find a valid solution to it.

Ever since the beginning of the season, it was clear that Conte wanted the ball played out from defense and played on the ground. In too many cases, however, our poor-passing centre backs have only Pirlo to pass to when getting the ball forward. Unless one of them finds space to push the ball up the field (rare and scary, especially when Bonucci’s or Chiellini’s does it), the rest of our midfield does a poor job getting back and providing passing options for our shaky defenders. This often results in either a poor pass from our centre backs, or a mistake by Pirlo, who by the time he receives the ball and turns is surrounded by multiple opposing players. Here’s a quick example of that in the beginning of the game against Milan:

Teams have learned this flaw in Conte’s possession-style formations and are quick to exploit it with high pressing in the early stages of the game. One would expect for the rest of our MVP midfield to drop deeper and provide support for outlet passes, but Vidal and Marchisio have been slow to recognize this or, later in the games, too tired to make the extra run back and help kick-start the attack. Milan on the other hand, did this much better on Saturday:

It was no surprise then to see Bonucci gift a pass in his own third of the field to the Milan players, who quickly ran at Juve’s defense and scored the opening goal on 15 minutes (off of Bonucci’s deflection at that).

The rest of the first half was dominated by Milan as they pressed high, were better organized, and had Robinho, who was a nightmare for our defense for most of the game. Quagliarella and Borriello failed to provide the type of target-man service in attack, and were often muscled out by Milan’s defenders. Milan even managed to score a second goal 25 minutes in, but Buffon scrambled the ball away before the referee could comprehend what happened and the goal was not given. More on that later.

SECOND HALF

As our Juventus Offside comment section was reeling and Twitter was blowing up asking Conte to make changes at the half, it looked like Conte had finally switched his 3-5-2 to a more natural 4-3-2-1 with the introduction of Pepe over the disappointing Estigarribia at the 46 minute mark. Pepe took his familiar position as a right winger, Quagliarella now played the attacking left winger position Vucinic usually occupies, while Chiellini and Lichsteiner settled in more natural full back positions. The change in formation and attitude was complete when Vucinic entered the game in Marco Borriello’s place on the 52 minute mark, adding a bit of desperately needed flair to an attack that was stagnant and unoriginal for most of the game.

Milan was still the dominant side on the pitch, but the change in character from the Juventus players was becoming more evident as the half went on. The last spark was Alessandro Matri, Juve’s leading goalscorer this season who replaced Quagliarella in the 70th minute and was instantly dangerous, scoring a goal that was falsely ruled offside by the same linesman who didn’t see Muntari’s goal earlier in the game.

Matri was not to be denied a second time, however, as he took a delicious Pepe cross on the volley and slotted home for the game-tying goal on 83 minutes. Juve’s resurgence in the second half had finally paid off, what due to Milan’s fatigue after pressing and pushing for most of the game, what due to Conte’s change of tactics and attitude.

SUMMARY

Did Juve deserve to win this game? Hell no. I’d even go as far as to say that Milan deserved to win, but one thing I’ve learned from watching football all these years is that you play until the final whistle and anything can happen.

What is more important, in my opinion, is what kind of attitude will these two teams come out with after this game. I believe Milan feels encouraged yet angry – they played well but didn’t get the 3 points. Now they have more games ahead (unless Arsenal pulls off a miracle comeback) and are still technically behind (Juve have a game in hand). On the other hand, i Bianconeri are certainly not celebrating this point too much. Our team has obvious gaps and weaknesses and little time to fix them. Conte will have to work hard in these next few weeks to find a way to score more goals and be more threatening in attack.  More importantly, after enjoying a positive run at the beginning of the season, many of our players have dipped in both dedication and grinta on the field. That has to change if we are to mount a serious Scudetto challenge.

CONTROVERSY

Almost 2 days after the game, and there is still plenty of talk and discussion about all the controversy involved in this game. It’d be very easy to get drawn into it. Instead, let’s try to objectively look at what is fact and what is opinion. Here we go.

Facts

• Milan scored two legitimate goals in the first half. Only one was given.
• Juventus scored two legitimate goals in the second half. Again, only one was given.
• Vidal deserved his red card for his tackle on Van Bommel.
• Mexes intentionally punched Borriello in the stomach

Controversies/Opinions

• Mexes deserved a red card for punching Borriello in the stomach
• Muntari deserved a card for retaliating violently to Lichsteiner’s defense
• Van Bommel hit Pirlo in the head
• Antonini hit Lichsteiner in the head at the end of the first half
• Pirlo hit Van Bommel in the head…twice (minutes 22:56 and 31:54 in the second half)
• Galliani screamed at Conte in the tunnel at the half as well as at the referees
• Conte had a verbal altercation with Van Bommel and Boban after the game

Good, we got all that out of the way.

Now, what did all of those incidents mean? Well, the two disqualified goals cancel each other out. Any sane Milan fan will agree to at least that. Now, does the second goal Muntari score change the game? Of course it does. How? No one knows. It’s easy to say that Juventus are screwed and they definitely lose the game cuz of the 2-0 early lead. What is definitely true, is that it would be harder to come back from a 2-0 lead than a 1-0 lead (simple logic). But Juventus have come back from 2-0 down before this season…and it was against a top table team as well. Just ask Napoli. I’m not saying that would’ve happened again, but I’m not saying it wouldn’t have, either.

Is there a bigger conspiracy at hand here? My opinion is a definite no. Many are quick to jump to mocking conclusions in the style of “Moggi this, Berlusconi that”. But in all seriousness, the refs just screwed up. Twice. And big time. Fortunately, it all evened out at the end. I am really curious to see how many games suspension Mexes receives (if any). If he doesn’t, I would definitely entertain any conspiracy theories. That’s a clear red card per review.

In summary of the controversy, Conte put it best: “… this game was fired up too much by everyone, both those within it and outside of it. The atmosphere in my view was not good for sport. It’s a shame, but the match is decided within the pitch and too many things happened this week.” (source)

It feels like the same thing is happening now after the game as well. Gotta love Serie A

LE PAGELLE:

Buffon: 7 – Buffon is a big game player, there’s no doubt about that. Had no chance on the first goal, and reacted amazingly and swiftly to make sure Mexes’ header didn’t go in and Muntari’s didn’t count. Was also super quick to react to any on-rushing balls and runs by the Milan players. Very, very solid performance by our keeper. Too bad the lads in front of him couldn’t do the same.

Barzagli: 6 – If there is one guy who benefits from the 3-man defense it’s Barzagli. His lack of pace is usually balanced out by Bonucci’s tracking nearby, though Andrea doesn’t quite possess the technical ability to play as a quasi right back at times when taking the ball up the field. He did a much better job stepping out in front of Milan’s strikers in the second half.

Bonucci: 4.5 – Man, was that brutal to watch. Leonardo had one solid interception in the first 10 minutes, and everything just went downhill from there. He lost the ball on several key occasions, one leading to Nocerino’s goal, and was totally out of the game for most of it. If the 3-man defense made sense when he was playing decent, it now makes absolutely no sense. Bonucci needs to sit down for a few games, and get his chance again against a smaller team in Torino to get his confidence back. He’s definitely not one for the big games. Shame.

Chiellini: 5.5 – I was personally a bit disappointed with Chiellini for most of the game. As the third-in-line captain (at least in my head it’s ADP>Buffon>Chiellini), he did little to lead the defense out of the early game slump. Instead, he settled for deep positions, gave up space and waited for Robinho and Emmanuelson to attack, and was a follower instead of a leader in the team for most of the game. He did improve in the second half and was a lot more of a presence on both sides of the field, but overall I look for him to lead our defense, especially when he has a young kid like Bonucci alongside him.

Lichtsteiner: 6 – A quiet game by the Swiss’ standards, but you cannot put all the blame on him. While not a natural wing back, he did relatively well in the first half, providing width and crossing in attack. Was a bit more of himself defensively in the second when Pepe was in front of him as a winger.

Pirlo: 6 – I thought Allegri’s decision to not man-mark Pirlo was an interesting one. Too bad the ever-talented midfielder couldn’t make the most out of the space he had at times. He even misplaced some simple passes and his touch just wasn’t there during the game. In all fairness, he rarely got much help from Marchisio and Vidal, and even less from the forwards early on. Could’ve and should’ve done better though. Look for him to step it up after the international break. Our Scudetto challenge will depend on him greatly, and he is too great of a player not to step up to the challenge (pun…not…intended?)

Vidal: 5.5 – My man of the match in the first half, though I’m sure many of you would disagree. Still, he was the only one playing with fire, with determination in the first half. In the second, he tired and even got injured. Then, his hustle turned into chaos (as it often does) and he made a reckless challenge on Van Bommel for a red card. Overall though, I thought he had a decent game. If he starts playing a bit deeper, he’d be able to get more touches and get into the game more. We need his South American flair desperately.

Marchisio: 5.5 – I couldn’t even tell Marchisio was playing until 10 minutes into the second half. What has happened to the difference-maker of the first part of the season? He needs to be the source of energy, the spark that wakes up the Vucinices and Borriello’s of our team. Instead, he was lost in the shuffle for most of the game. Played way too high to get any good link-ups with Pirlo, tho not far enough to be a threat to Milan’s goal. Another very disappointing performance.

Estigarribia: 5.5 -Why on earth did this guy start in the toughest match to date this season? And as a wing back at that? Huge mistake by Conte. Esti needs to work on many aspects of his game, mainly defensive positioning, running with the ball, and crossing. Had a decent shot after Muntari’s not-goal, which saved him from a 5. Yay.

Quagliarella: 5.5 – I promise you I’m not just giving everyone 5.5 cuz I’m lazy. Really, Quagliarella had a very insignificant game. Was marked out for the majority of the first half and failed to make a difference by dropping deeper to get the ball. He had one big chance in the second half and he scuffed a shot at goal from 5 metres straight at Abbiatti. I was furious. I’ve calmed down since. But man, he wants to be a clinical striker, that’s his chance. And don’t be grabbing your leg like it’s cramping after missing a big chance like that!

Borriello: 5 – Next to Estigarribia, another inexplicable selection by Conte. Borriello is useless. There is nothing he can do better than any of our other strikers. Without getting into why we bought him in the first place, he had no reason being on the field at all on Saturday. He even managed to prove that himself.

Subs:

Pepe: 7 – Revitalized our team and put in some great-looking crosses. Was an obvious sub choice and I was very glad to see him come on right at halftime. Great assist to Matri for the goal too.

Vucinic: 6 – It was tough for Mirko to get into the game, especially since he’s not a big game player. Did well to stretch the field a bit, but was mostly ineffective. Just didn’t look up for it. There was talk that he got in an argument with Conte about running laps after the Catania game, but I doubt that’s what kept him out of performing against Milan. Even he must have more brains than that, right?

Matri: 7.5 – MA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TRIIIII! Yeah, you yelled it when he scored, and you know it. It was awesome. He came in, scored a couple goals, tied the game in both scoring and controversies, and salvaged a point. Grazie Alessandro!

Coach:

Conte: 6 – Got things horribly wrong at the beginning, and faced an uphill race all night. The choices of Esti and Borriello were a rookie mistake, and we already discussed his wrongfully preferred starting formation. Nonetheless, he realized his mistake at halftime and tried his best to change things up. Matri saved his ass with the energy and goals he brought when coming on, but this still is one of Conte’s worst games as a Juventus manager. Gotta give him this though – he has defined a Juventus character this year that was missing in years past. If it weren’t for that team character, we would have never come back from going down against Napoli or Milan. The biggest test of that character will be when our first defeat comes. Something tells me he/we’d bounce back strong.

Well, for the first time this season, I can honestly say that Juventus were outplayed, and didn’t deserve to win.  But that’s why you play 90 minutes of soccer football.  A couple of thoughts:

Adriano Galliani - really?  Didn’t you say that it’s unbecoming of a big team to complain about the referees.  If reports that at halftime you screamed at the referees are true, then isn’t that just the definition of hypocrisy.  Your post-match comments alone made you look small.  Practice what you preach.

Conte wasn’t a saint himself, but he apologized at least.  Passion gets the better of you at times, but come on.  Be consistent.

Milan outplayed us for a good 60 minutes.  But how many games this season did Juventus outplay another team, only to walk away with a loss?  Oh wait, that hasn’t happened yet.  I mean a draw.  Quite a few.  Again, that’s why you play the full 90.

Despite the result, in 3 games versus Milan this year, 2 wins and 1 draw is pretty good.  We’ll see them back in Turin for the second leg of the Copa.  Last night’s game will only make that fixture more fun.

Sulley Muntari was denied a clear goal.  So was Ale Matri.  They cancel each other out, period.  Arturo Vidal did his best Felipe Melo impersonation and deserved his straight red, but both Mexes and Van Bommel *and* Muntari were lucky not to be shown the door way earlier.

I understand the argument that being down 2-0 would have made the game completely different than 1-0.  To that I can retort that a two-goal hole didn’t bury us when we were away in Naples.  Also, 2-0 11 vs. 11 is way different than 2-0 10 vs. 11.  You can argue hypotheticals all day, but the reality is what happened.  The most likely alternate ending would have been a 2-2 draw, with strikes from Nocerino and Muntari canceled out by a Matri brace.

This season is turning out to be a wild one, and whoever comes out on top will undoubtedly deserve it.  I have respect for Berlusconi Milan, as much as I’d love to hate them.  They aren’t at Sfinter level for me.  The clubs have historocally had cordial relations with each other, and I have respect for our friends on that other Offside page.  If the next decade is one of Juve and Milan slugging it out at the top of Serie A and reppin’ Italy well in Europe, well — I can live with that.

I’ll see you all in May.  But in the meantime, there’s that whole Copa Italia thing…

Oh yea, and Conte — 3-5-2 — nev-er-again.

Well, looking at this year’s results, you’ve got one more to go, Juventus. Make it happen.

LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli; Bonucci: Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Estigarribia; Quaglirella, Borriello

Juventus bench: Storari, Caceres, Giaccherini, Pepe, Matri, Vucinic, Del Piero

Milan XI (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Mexes, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Nocerino, Van Bommel, Muntari; Emmanuelson; Pato, Robinho

(Grazie Zafar, @bianconerifan)

Oh, and there’s that whole little “Zlatan” thing.  And the whole “the team in black and red is owned by a hybrid Charlie Wilson goes Euro and becomes a Bond-Villain” thing.  No, I will never get tired of this.  Get used to it.  Especially now that he’s no longer Prime Minister, and I don’t need to worry about my Italian passport being revoked, although I may wish to keep an eye out for piercing, scandalous exposes about me being featured on Telemilano.  I’ll take my chances.

"So then a' the...come si dice, 'dottore,' in Americano...the, it's not like a student. Oh you say doctor? Okay, so the doctor says a' to tha' wife...'Rectum?! Managgia, you near kill him!' BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA!"

No, after failing to convince the appeals board that slapping an opposing player in the face (reminiscent of Napoloen) is not as bad as diving, Zlatan will be watching on the T-V-ihinovic (see what I did there?).  Great news, right?  Oh wait, this is a team that has strikers like Robinho, Pato, Cassano, and *gasp* Maxi Lopez at their disposal as well.  To that I say, thank God that the injury fairy flew from Turin a little farther East this season.

Le chiavi:  I wrote back in October that the key to this match would be using our strength out wide to exploit the narrow formation Milan prefers.  To be more precies, here were le chiavi for that match:

Tactics – wide and outside.

Massimiliano Allegri likes to set up his squad in a 4-3-1-2 formation, making for a pretty narrow midfield.  Conte likes to use formations which are heavily reliant on wingers pressing forward and stretching the field.  However, this begs the question as to whether his conventional 4-4-2 will be the preferred antidote.  It’s looking like Milan’s midfield will consist of Seedorf, Van Bommel and Nocerino behind Aquilani. This would lead only Marchisio or Vidal to look out after our precious, most valuable turncoat (thank God he did), in a crowded centralized midfield.  Last week he employed a 4-2-3-1 for the first time this season.  Was that a harbinger of things to come?  Perhaps.  He could still employ wide players to stretch the field, while protecting the midfield where the most important battles will take place.  The personnel is certainly available.  It could be that last week the Count wanted give the new formation a whirl before he had to unleash it against a big team.  The fact that he has been conducting closed training sessions since at least Friday may be indicative of such.  Tuttosport, however, did reportedly capture footage of il mister in front of a whiteboard maniacally shouting in a Romanian accent, “Four-Two-Three-Von!  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!”

At any rate, the wings will be the key, while a combination of Marchisio, Vidal and Pirlo will better ensure that the latter doesn’t get destroyed in a crowded central midfield.  A triangle in the central area of the pitch of the three players rotating in and out of each other’s positions in some form or fashion has long been a dream of mine, sort of like Scarlett Johansson pictures leaking.  Sometimes dreams come true, although the former may not anytime soon due to Conte’s slow integration of newer players who are unaccustomed to Serie A and the Italian language into the squad.

While I was lying about Conte’s Count Chocula shtick, the wide strategy seems to still be on the table.  Only by now my wet dream about Scarlett Johansson an M-V-P midfield is so old-hat that it has it’s own nickname, and the formation has been slowly shifting to a 3-5-2.  Conte first used it to mirror opponents playing the same formation (see Napoli, Udinese), neutralizing their free-flowing wingbacks.  Now, it’s starting to become part of the normal repertoire.  This allows for two things:  one, it keeps our three best midfielders on the pitch at once (M-V-P), as well as our three best centerbacks (C-B-B, eh it’s just not the same), and keeps Giorgio Chiellini out of the leftback position to the delight of my wife (I get cranky when he plays there).  It worked a couple weeks ago at San Siro.

"You know what a' we have in common? Nothing!!!"

Good news: Injuries, and lack thereof, obviously.  While we’re at full strength, Milan will be without Ibrahimovic and the ridiculously in-form Boateng, who got injured at one of Silvio’s Bunga Bunga Parties (credit where it’s due).

Time for the bad: Milan still have one hell of a team.

But we have Antonio Conte.

My starting XI: (4-3-3) Gigi (duh); Kelso, Georgie, Dre, Forrest; M, V, P; Quagmire, A-Mat, Sgt. Pepe.

What’s this?  I’m not clamoring for Elia to start?!  You betcha!

Our biggest problems against provinciale who like to park the bus is the lack of creative options on the pitch to unlock them.  Against the bigger clubs who will attack, industrious players have worked out just fine.  I’m happy to see that trend continue.

And I’d love to see PDC vs. Abate, just for personal reasons.

Probable Lineups (from TMW):

Milan (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Mesbah; Nocerino, Van Bommel, Muntari; Emanuelson; Pato, Robinho
A disp.: Amelia, Zambrotta, Mexes, Antonini, Ambrosini, Maxi Lopez, El Shaarawy. All.: Allegri
Squalificati: Ibrahimovic
Indisponibili: Cassano, Gattuso, Merkel, Strasser, Amelia, Seedorf, Boateng, Aquilani

Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Pepe; Matri, Vucinic.
A disp.: Storari, Caceres, Estigarribia, De Ceglie, Del Piero, Borriello, Quagliarella. All.: Conte
Squalificati: nessuno
Indisponibili: Marrone

I know Berlusconi is a powerful man, but getting the Prime Minister of Germany to join his team and accept a bench role?  That’s impressive, Berlu.

"So I say, 'come on, Angela, you gonna make a bailout on a Greek and you no help a' you friend Silvio?! Just a little bit with the Euros?' And she say...'ok.'"

Thus, the only logical conclusions I can reasonably arrive at are 1) some of the things I write actually make sense and 2) I’m not the only one who thinks so.  In fact, some very important and very smart people do as well.  Among them, il mister.  He’s shown a willingness to learn, grow, and switch things up based on the opponent and squad at his disposal not seen in past years.  But even this has been somewhat limited thus far.

Again — we remain undefeated.  However, our draw totals almost equal our wins.  True, Conte has demonstrated his tactical flexibility, but one area where he remains steadfast is his preference for industrious players over creative ones.  The Simone Pepes are preferred over the Milos Krasics, and even moving Chiellini to left back over the faster, better-crossing Paolo De Ceglie represented a defensively-safer but more boring choice.  This has paid off against Sfinter, Milan, etc., but doesn’t — and will not — against teams that play a 9-0-1 (see Siena, Parma, etc.).  Whereas it’s been proven that Conte > Delneri, one troubling similarity is that hustle over flair seems tantamount to GDN’s preference for counter-attacking.  It doesn’t work when the other team is all too willing to soak up pressure, counter-attack your counter-attack, and ultimately be happy with one point.  We’re at the stage where we can no longer be happy with +1’s.  We need +3’s.  Lots of them.

"Put me in, coach...I'm ready to play..."

To that I say, Conte:  unleash the Elia.  Conte has said that Elia has been improving and become the type of player that he needs, and he’ll be unleashed when we least expect it.  Well, coach — I don’t expect it right now.  I swear.  Now’s the time to put him in the friggin game, take advantage of his skill and trickery, and let’s take care of this provinciale.

That is all.

My starting XI: (4-3-3) Gigi; Martin, Giorgio, Barzagli, Lichtsteiner; Claudio, Bon Pirlo, Arturo (forgot he’s suspended) Mr. Brown; Elia, Matri, Quagmire.

It’s not going to be the lineup.  But there isn’t anything else for me to write.

And with that, I leave you with the unabridged, verbatim, unedited piece from Jose entitled “Juventus by the Numbers.”  We hope that you enjoy.  In the meantime, I’ll have a Catania Preview/Gametime Thread ready later tonight or tomorrow morning, and maybe – just maybe — I’ll rant about Conte, Elia, Krasic, and how I fear I may have been right about Vucinic last July.

***

Juventus by the numbers

So, we are past the midpoint of the season and it is time to see what happened in the first 19 games.  When the final whistle blew on January 21^st against Atalanta, Juventus had played all teams in Serie A and in doing so accumulated 41 points, allowing 12 goals, and scoring 31.  On January 21^st we had played 9 games at the brand new Juventus Stadium and 10 games away.  I thought this was a good point in the season to recap everything that Juventus has done since last May and most importantly to figure out whether we are reaching our objectives.  In order to assess this, we need to be honest and think about our goals for the 2011-2012 season.  For some, playing in the Europa League next season maybe sufficient (but who am I kidding, no Interisti reads this blog).  For others, finishing top three is the goal and yet for a few it is the scudetto or nothing.  Here is what I wanted from this season:

• Qualify to CL
• Stop choking against small opposition
• Get rid of prima donnas
• Become more consistent
• Stop conceding goals left, right and center
• Stop conceding goals in the final minutes

With this in mind, lets get comfortable and let’s talk Juve…

...he didn’t have time to hug Bonucci.

From May to August

The mercato has been talked about extensively so I won’t go into much detail.  Essentially, Juventus exercised the option to buy on most players we had on loan.  The most notable exception was of course Alberto Aquilani.  This choice was made based on the fact that il Mister was going to play a 4-4-2 and there was no need for too many CMs, specially not the ones that can slow down the match and control the tempo (more on this later).

Although Marotta and Paratici were not able to bring a champion to Turin, they brought some good, decent, and very good players familiar with Serie A; the most important ones being Pirlo, Vucinic, and Lichtsteiner.  To top things off, they brought promising Bundelisga stars: Arturo Vidal and Elijero Elia.

In addition to the recruitment of new talent to the team, the management chose Antonio Conte to lead Juventus for the 11-12 season.  I believe the choice of Conte was for two reasons: 1) To have a coach that could use the players and modules already set in place by Delneri and 2) Hire a coach approved by the fans who may be given time to grow by the tifosi.  In all honesty, I don’t think the management thought Conte would be such a hit, however, I am sure they are not complaining.

Unfortunately we were not able to get rid of Amauri or Grosso by August (Did you know Grosso actually played this season? I almost forgot!).  Iaquinta and Toni also sat on the bench and did nothing between September and January.  Getting rid of all of these players (except for Grosso) in January is quite an accomplishment by Marotta.

A quick aside must be made regarding the great job Paratici has done with regards to the youth teams.  Secco’s project consisted of buying Diego and Felipe Melo and hoping things will turn out ok.  Marotta and Paratici are buying promising talents that can slowly be inserted into the team.  Most of them will go out on loan before coming to Juve, just like is the case in most Italian clubs.  However, it is clear that this management is trying to put a lot more emphasis on youth than the other big Italian clubs.  With the FIFA Fair Play system coming into effect, this is the only way to move forward.

All in all, I believe the mercato was very good.  Marotta will always going to find it hard to lure champions to a team that has held 7^th place for 2 consecutive years with his small budget.  With that being said, the summer of 2011 was a step in the right direction.  Given the fact that Juve is now playing a 3-man midfield, I think one big error in the summer was not bringing Aquilani.  He would have been a useful backup and could have been bought for little money.  However, hindsight is 20/20 and one way or another we are top of the table.

Three of those four are Marotta’s buys, just sayin.

September to January

How good has Juve been this season?  Well, we are first after 19 games so we must be doing well.  This of course is the simple answer and is similar to what Secco probably told Gigli after Juve finished 3^rd and 2^nd in the 07-08 and 08-09 seasons.  In reality, the team was crumbling before everyone’s eyes and the numbers just served to extend Secco’s tenure until the team really crashed in 09-10.

To assess Conte’s Juve, I have chosen to compare it to the Juve of Delneri and Ferrara.  Included in this comparison are also this year’s Milan and the scudetto winning Milan of 2010-2011 stats.  I have also added Juventus 05-06 (Capello’s unbeatable side) to show how far we are from being an unstoppable force in Italy.

In the first 19 matches of the season, Conte has obtained 8 more points than Ferrara’s team and 10 more than Delneri’s.  Now, if you want to be pessimistic, we have 11 points less than Capello’s Juve, but we all know this Juve is not the one of 06.  And how do we fair against Milan? We obviously have more points this season than them, but we also have one more point than what AC Milan had last year at this time.  In other words, this is the best Juve of the last three years (no news there) but we are almost equally as good as the “scudetto worthy” AC Milan of 2010-2011.

And that is not all!  Juve’s rise to the top has been consistent (Yes, I was beginning to forget that word).  Ferrara’s Juve was better than Conte’s until Round 7.  In round 8, Ferrara’s team was one point behind Conte’s and in round 11, four points behind.  Although that gap decreases to two points in round 13, it widens again to seven points in round 17^th.  As a matter of fact, Ferrara’s team slows down significantly in round 15, obtaining only 3 points between round 15 and round 19.  I was always under the impression that January was bad for Ferrara but it appears that since early December the problems were there.

Delneri’s Juve is actually worse than Ferrara’s Juve, (and by extension worse than Conte’s Juve), when looking at accumulated points.  Delneri never had more points than Conte.  The closest Delneri comes is 2 points less than Conte in round 7^th.  The difference extends to 6 points in round 12.  Delneri’s Juve slowed down in round 17, finishing the first round of games with three defeats.  This is of course when Quagliarella got injured and our season went down the toilet.

Will Conte’s Juve slow down as the season goes on? Given that even Capello’s Juve of 06 slowed down during the second half of the season I am inclined to believe that we probably will.  The more important question is how much will they slow down.  So far, our pace doesn’t appear to be changing much.  We have not lost a single match and the worst consecutive record we have is 2 draws in a row (which happened twice this season).  I think something that can cause us to slow down is losing LIchtsteiner for a long time or Vucinic.  For that reason, getting Quagliarella and Caceres up and running as soon as possible is essential.  Quags and Caceres are not like-for-like replacements of Vucinic and Lichtsteiner (maybe ADP resembles Vucinic more) but they are the most likely alternatives.

How did we get here?

First off, I think what Conte did with what Marotta gave him is spectacular.  It is fair to say that many of the players in our starting 11 are really not significantly better than some of our bench players.  For instance, bringing in DeCeglie on the left and benching Bonucci doesn’t significantly decrease the quality of our team, but it encourages Bonucci to train to be at his best.  The same can be said about Estigarribia, Pepe, and Giaccherini.  Actually, the determination of these players has surpassed the natural ability that Krasic and Elia have.  Krasic has played poorly, but he has also not changed his playing style to suit our team like Giaccherini and Pepe have.  Elia right now is at the bottom of the pecking order and after the last twitter scandal I don’t think we will see much of him.

Something else that I think has been remarkably helpful is that Conte was honest with our players.  For the first year since we came back from Serie B, there are no players talking about winning the scudetto after winning 2 games in a row (Bonucci’s scudetto remarks last year drove me insane).  This is most significant given the fact that we are doing better than any other year since 06.  I believe that a huge reason for this is Conte’s honesty.  He has said time and again that we need to give 120% to win every game and the players have come to believe this.  Our coach knows full well that we are not world beaters and our players know full well that nothing will be handed to them.

One things that I like about Conte’s Juve is an invariable playing philosophy.  We press relentlessly for 90 minutes, we do not give up the ball cheaply, and the players help each other both offensively and defensively.  This has been pivotal in our success.  No matter whether we play a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 9-0-1, or a 1-0-9 the philosophy is the same.

This philosophy is also that of a big team.  With Delneri we defended and hit on the counter.  Although that may work against AC Milan, Inter, or Manchester City, it is not a winning strategy against Lecce, Bari, or Salzburg.  Juve needs to have the ball, call the shots, and impose their rhythm.

This philosophy has also helped us have the best defensive record in the league.  While Delneri and Ferrara’s Juve allowed 25 and 24 goals respectively, Conte’s Juve has allowed 12 goals (0.6 goals/game) in the first 19 games of the season.  Capello’s Juve allowed 10 goals in the same period of time (only two less than Conte).  That is a pretty sweet record given the fact this is Conte’s first year as coach of Juve.    Comparing our defensive record to Milan makes us look even better.  We have allowed 5 goals less than Milan did at this point in the season last year.

How about goals scored?  This is the area were we are not doing too good.  We have scored 2 and 3 goals less than Delneri and Ferrara respectively.  We have also scored 3 goals less than AC Milan last year and 4 less than Milan this year.  Two or three goals do not appear to be a huge difference but when you consider the number of shots we have in each of our games, these numbers are a little worrisome.  Part of it may be due to how the team is always helping out in defense.  Personally, I don’t care.  Even though Juve is not scoring many goals they are playing very entertaining matches.  Interestingly, 11 players have scored for us this far.  Our midfield (Marchisio, Pepe, Vidal, Estigarribia, Giaccherini, and Krasic) has scored 16 goals.  Our forwards (Vucinic, Matri, Quags) has scored 11 goals.  I think that if our attack picks up, we can really cruise to success.

Conclusion

In summary, Marotta, Paratici and Conte have built a very impressive team from players that are not necessarily impressive.  I know everyone here wants to win the scudetto, but even if we are not able, we have a very strong basis to build from.  Many of the players in this team will be capable reserves in one or two seasons.  These reserves will have the work ethic to teach the youngsters that scudetti are not deserved but earned (not matter what Massimo Moratti says).  Our current players will teach the new acquisitions that blood and sweat are necessary when playing for Juve.  And with time, all players will know that at Juve vincere non é importante, ma é la unica cosa che conta.

Seventeen total shots. Eight off target. Five blocked. Four on goal.

I’m not saying they aren’t doing anything, but maybe they need better scoring chances?

Just throwing it out there. Discuss.