Wanna try and guess the last time Fabio Quagliarella netted a goal in Serie A?

Go ahead, take a shot.

If you said exactly a year minus one day, you are correct, sir.

Before his goal against Novara today, Quags’ last Serie A goal came on Dec. 18, 2010, against Lecce — a sexy overhead kick at that. That’s 364 days between finding the back of the net, folks.

364 days have gone by since my last goal, but that was also the last time I started a championship game. When I knew that the manager had included me in his starting line-up, I was only focused on my performance and I think I showed to be in good shape. My goal was the icing on the cake and I dedicate it to Storari and Toni who predicted it before the match. I’ve gone through difficult months, but I’ve always felt trust from our manager and the club. It was just up to me to show my value with facts, the rest was just talk.

Hopefully this is the start of something we saw from the man with the wonderful tan last season.

Juve was certainly in complete control of the match, but things weren’t exactly going their way. Does that makes sense? I hope it does. Juventus attempted 29 shots against Cesena. TWENTY-NINE. They had 74 percent of the possession. And this was without Andrea Pirlo and his glorious hair on the field. But only eight of those were on goal. Not exactly a kind of ratio we were all hoping for.

But like we’ve seen in the previous couple of seasons, it was a match that Juve might have dropped points in. Be it a fluke equalizer late by (insert low-table team here) or continuous chances being blown, the past few editions of our beloved Bianconeri had found a way to come away with one or no points rather than three in the kinds of games against teams they should beat.

Yes, it should’ve been put away much earlier, but they got the job done. Three more points and back on top of the table. Business has been taken care of.

LE PAGELLE:

Buffon: 6 – Only had to make one save, and that wasn’t even difficult. Probably could have sat on a Chaise lounge chair with Alena and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. It was nice of the guys to pass it back to Gigi every now and then to make sure he was still awake.

Lichtsteiner: 6.5 – Back to normal for the Swiss right back. He did his usual running, got involved in the offense frequently. With Cesena sitting back and defending the whole time, Licht was able to push up as much as he wanted to. Getting Forrest Gump back to normal was definitely a good sight considering how much he struggled — especially defensively — against Napoli.

Barzagli: 6.5 – If I were to tell you that he’s the only guy to play in every single minute, what would you say? Crazy, isn’t it? Didn’t have to do much with Cesena sitting back trying to weather the Juve storm in front of their goal, but he didn’t have any major screw ups either. Sound performance.

Bonucci: 6.5 – The only blemish for Leo was his screw up in the match’s opening moments. Other than that, things were solid. There was no Napoli hangover. Obviously we’ll see in the coming matches against more attack-minded teams (Hi, Udinese) whether that is still the case.

Chiellini: 6.5 – Like his teammate on the other flank, was really able to push up the field with Cesena doing nothing on offense. Had a part in a lot of the attacks, be it crosses or going more centrally toward the middle of the pitch.

Marchisio: 7 – On a night where goals were extremely hard to come by for the Juve offense, leave it to Il Principino to get the game-winner. An extremely well taken effort, both with his first touch and then the finish with his left foot, for his sixth (!!) goal of the campaign. I love this man.

Vidal: 7.5 – He was an absolute warrior in the midfield; Vidal was all over the place against Cesena — breaking up a potential attack, contributing to his own team’s attack. The stats back it up: 91 percent pass accuracy, 10 tackles. Had the assist on Marchisio’s opener and then got a goal of his own with the late penalty. Man of the Match.

Pazienza: 6.5 – He’s certainly not Pirlo out there, but it was a smart match from Pazienza. Did his work, put in a good shift. A solid performance by the former Napoli man making his first start of the season. Now back to your role of being the official victory sub, Michele.

Pepe: 6 – Oh, Simone. Where were your finishing boots from the previous three games? Pepe had three incredible chances in the 2nd half to put his name on the score sheet for a 4th consecutive game. He didn’t finish any of them, blasting one right at Antonioli, one over the bar, and heading one just wide.

Matri: 5.5 – A frustrating night for Matri, without a doubt. Had chances but never really got into the flow of things in front of the goal. Was definitely a battle for him against Cesena. First time in a long time he had been substituted for that early in the second half.

Vucinic: 5.5 – He definitely had a better first half than he did against Napoli, but it just seems like there’s something missing with Mirko. He was involved in setting up some scoring opportunities, had a few scoring chances of his own, but he’s still struggling with that final step involved in scoring a goal. Was correctly yanked by Conte early in the second half.

Subs:

Quagliarella: 5.5 – Wait, Quags is allowed to play before 80 minutes is off the clock? Huh, who knew? He struggled to make a huge impact on the match. Understandable seeing how little he’s played this season.

Del Piero: sv – Finally got a chance to get a good chunk of playing time. But within eight minutes, he was being carried off the field after being kicked in the head. What about that backheel when he was in, though? Sexy.

Giaccherini: 6 – He came on after Del Piero had to be taken off. Got involved right off the bat and subsequently crashed into Antonioli for the resulting penalty.

Coach:

Conte: 7 – He’s now in charge of the only team in Europe to not lose a game this season. It’s incredible how well this squad is doing under Conte. He went back to the usual 4-3-3 setup and it looked much, much better. Obviously playing against a team that was just sitting back and defending the whole time helped, but there wasn’t any kind of tactical madness and chaos like there was against Napoli. Extra kudos for his celebration after Marchisio’s goal. He’s such a Juventino.

Things I think I think

#1: Only Il Capitano posts a picture of himself in an ambulance on Facebook to let everybody know he’s okay.

#2: That wasn’t a red card on Antonioli. That wasn’t even a penalty. And you might be saying right now “WAY TO STICK UP FOR THE KEEPER, YOU BIASED PUNK.” Yeah, well, the ref got both of the calls wrong.

Now I will patiently wait for everybody to disagree with me.

#3: So if that’s a red card in the ref’s mind, how is Rossi booting ADP in the face not a card? I don’t get it. Rossi was already on a yellow, give him another and he’s done … OH NOEZ! Incidental or not, that kind of challenge has to warrant something, right? I mean, Del Piero’s head needed eight stitches, so he obviously got a pretty good knock.

#4: Finish 2011 on a high note. Four more matches — three Serie A, one Coppa (this Thursday) — before the Christmas/New Years break. A struggling Roma side is next, then Novara, and finally Udinese. Those are all winnable matches, with the match at Udine being the toughest. Get nine out of nine points and things will be looking awfully nice going into a few weeks of vacation. Make it happen, boys.

THE JUVENTUS OFFSIDE SHITLIST:

- Krasic: Another game on the bench for poor Meelosh.

- Zebina: (lifetime award)

- Amauri: (lifetime award) #IBlameAmauri

That’s why when the-website-that-shall-not-be-named came out with a scathing editorial about Claudio Marchisio, I wanted to immediately remove it from internet existence. I mean, I’m not the kind of person to tell somebody else what to think, but in that case, it seemed like the only thing to do — especially seeing that it come out after a game that meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.

But here’s something that Claudio has done in games that actually do count in the Serie A table this season: Be absolutely awesome.

For the past two years we’ve seen Marchisio play out of position as a quasi-left winger. Some times it was out of necessity, some times it was because the manager at the time wanted to piss us off (maybe). Either way, while he was still somewhat productive, his potential was limited because of where he was playing, not because he’s a terrible player or anything like that.

Put him back in the middle of the park? Yeah, Antonio Conte has gotten it right. And now he’s being rewarded for doing what Gigi Delneri said he’d do, but never actually did.

You want production? Here’s production:

10 appearances. Five goals, one assist.

That’s beautiful for anybody, especially for a midfielder. And when you consider who he has scored against this season — Parma, Milan (2), Inter and Palermo — it’s even more impressive.

Want more? You got it:

In his 10 games this season, Marchisio has completed 85.1 percent of his attempted passes. (For comparisons sake, Pirlo has completed 85.8 percent of his attempted passes.)

Then there’s the intangibles that don’t show up on the stat sheet. As Ivo pointed out in the Palermo match review, Marchisio is definitely showing signs of becoming more and more of a leader as the games go by. And that can be a credit to a number of things — maturing as a player at age 25, becoming a regular at a vital position, who his current manager is.

It’s, most of all, a credit to what kind of player he is. If you know anything about Marchisio’s past, you know he used to play as a trequartista in the Juve youth academy (read more about that here on ESPN). The kid has always had some serious skill. Pair that kind of skill with Conte’s tactical know-how to get the best out of Marchisio and you get a player having the best season of their career to date.

Marchisio has been Juventus’ best player not named Andrea (Pirlo and Barzagli). If you look at WhoScored.com’s match ratings, there’s only one player on the Juve roster who has been better than Marchisio this season — and that’s Pirlo. And while those ratings certainly aren’t the be all end all — they’re definitely a bit higher than what the Italian papers dish out on a regular basis — it’s a non-biased evaluation system showing how effective Marchisio has been this season.

And a good portion of the readers here know that. I know that, you know that. You would probably be considered a bad Juventino if you thought Il Principino wasn’t a valuable part of the squad.

Hell, you could even argue he’s been better than the Andreas and I’d probably even agree with you (if you’re lucky, of course). It’s not an outrageous claim. He has been in sensational form since the opening kickoff against Parma and has shown no signs of slowing down. Music to my ears.

So let’s just say it right now: Claudio Marchisio is better than you. And, if you try to change my mind, your argument is invalid.

Shocker that the goalkeeper would post this video, huh?

You be quiet. It’s the international break and all these bogus transfer rumors make my head want to explode because they’re so stupid.

And in case you missed it, the Azzurri rolled out some new unis today.

A little bit background info – What the fuck happened?

On Tuesday, October 18, Juventus’ “savior” president Andrea Agnelli, son of the legendary Juve president Umberto Agnelli, decided that a shareholders meeting was the ideal time to announce that Alessandro Del Piero – arguably the most legendary player to ever wear a Juventus jersey – was playing his last season as a Bianconero. This puzzling and seemingly distasteful move by Agnelli was taken in shock, disgust, and despair by Juventus fans and football lovers across the world. No official word has been given from Juventus or Del Piero since the announcement, while the issue has been constantly talked about by the media, fans, online forum boards, social media sites (Del Piero was trending on Twitter all day Tuesday), etc.

Why the outrage?

Sheesh, were do I start.

First and foremost, this announcement was not Agnelli’s to make. Alessandro Del Piero has been synonymous with Juventus most of his career/most our lifetime. He is the biggest status symbol the club has, the captain that has led us through green pastures and dark, Mordor-like quests. For me, he IS Juventus and has been ever since I started watching the Old Lady in the early nineties. His entire career impacted every day of my life since I can remember. If there was one decency this man deserved, it was to call his own shot on how and when he wants to end his Juventus fairytale. That is the least Agnelli could do. A measly shareholders meeting is the last place to announce something big like this.

Second, the timing is terrible. It’s the middle of October and we are only 6 games into the season. 6 GAMES! Why announce something like this now? The team is just starting to learn Conte’s ways, the Scudetto talk is cooled of and everyone is getting their heads straight mentally, and bam you hit players with something like this. It feels off, like it was not planned well at all, or like it was planned too well and used for some sort of a political agenda. Such a shame. In my opinion, there were 3 ways this could’ve been handled.

1. Make the announcement before the season starts – This is probably the riskiest one, but by doing so, you make this one hell of a special season. New stadium, new coach, a few promising new signings, and a season when every Juventus fan will have his eyes glued to the TV for every match to watch Del Piero play. Plus, you’re setting expectations. Every player goes into the season with an extra edge, an additional motivation – to give Del Piero the send off he deserves. You automatically ensure that every single game is sold out in the first season of the new stadium. Would it have added more pressure on everyone? Probably, but it wasn’t like the pressure wasn’t big to begin with. We all know what the weight of the shirt is and any player wearing that jersey does too. I would’ve hated the “Juve must win Scudetto in ADP’s honor” media bullshit, but that would’ve been something most realistic fans would’ve seen through. Plus, all of us distant diehard fans would’ve had more time to plan our pilgrimage to Torino to watch Del Piero play live.
2. Make the announcement after Christmas – This approach would’ve probably been my move. Give this new team half a season to gel and get a feel for each other and the coach, then send them home for Natale and family time, and when they’re back in training for the second half of the season and feeling good, activate the Nitro – Del Piero is playing his last 6 months. Mamma mia, can you imagine the feeling, especially if we are at a half-decent spot on the table like we have been the previous two years? It would have possibly single-handedly erased the fear of Juve collapsing in an embarrassing fashion for those last 6 months. Everyone would be focused and motivated to finish this one off for our capitano. Grande.
3. Make the announcement at the end of the season – I call this the Michael Jordan ‘93 move. The season is over, you can leave on a high ground if it was a Scudetto-wining season, or look back at it positively since it’s the last one either way. Everyone would be shocked, yes, remember how it was when Nedved retired? Still, the farewell match would have been EPIC! Not that it won’t be either way, but I’m just sayin’. The worst part is that the fans would’ve loved to know in advance and plan to see Alex play live, but oh well.

So why the hell did this happen?

There are a couple of theories out there (or in my contrived mind). The most obvious one is that Del Piero isn’t getting any younger or fitter anytime soon, and Agnelli simply made a mistake announcing his departure too early. Let’s be frank – Del Piero is already having a tough time finding minutes this season. Many of us should have (and some of you probably did) see Del Piero’s relationship with Juventus ending at the end of this year, especially after taking a paycut and signing a one year contract over the summer. However, it was easy to avoid thinking about it. The excitement around this new season was immense, we all started convincing ourselves that Juve will qualify for the Champions League and he will stay one more year to play in the CL in our new stadium, etc. As for Agnelli, the safe approach is to just say he made a terrible mistake, he is probably home hiding in the corner crying in embarassment, and he will do his utmost to make it up to the club, the fans, and most importantly, to Pinturicchio.

A more dramatic theory is the “Agnelli vs. Moggi era” conspiracy. Some people are speculating that Agnelli is trying to push Del Piero off the squad finally, like he did with Nedved and to a lesser extent with Camoranesi and Trezeguet. If you’ve been following Andrea’s behavior since coming on as a president, this one can be pretty easy to deduce. He was never a fan or a supporter of the triade that ruled before him, and he has really tried to distance himself away from most things from the Moggi era. Hell, he didn’t even invite Moggi & Giraudo to the stadium opening ceremony! Yes, he is a public supporter of the 29 Scudetti quest, but in all honesty that one is more of a club & fan issue than a Moggi issue. Plus it can be seen as him trying to strike a balance so he doesn’t seem overly judgmental of the legendary management before him.

Lastly, one can even argue that Agnelli is jealous of the power and aura around Alessandro Del Piero. By letting him go at the end of the season, Agnelli’s is getting ready to take uninterrupted ownership of the club without worrying about upsetting the ever-so-respected captain. It would be certainly interesting to see how proponents of this theory respond if Agnelli offers Del Piero a management role. I don’t think Agnelli will ever be fully in control as long as Del Piero is around in one way or another. Is Agnelli’s ego really that big? Is he that ballsy to put himself before the team and before the team’s icon?

Truth be told, no one really knows for sure what the motive is. There have sure been plenty of negative reactions to the announcement in the meantime:

• Moggi’s disappointment
• Tacchinardi’s emotional response
• Boniek’s “tad bit too realistic” opinon

Personally, this hasn’t really hit me yet. It will be a while before it sinks in. I am sure this is the case with many of you. Honestly, I cannot even imagine seeing a Juventus match without seeing Alessandro Del Piero in black and white. I don’t think I’ve ever had that experience. I know I don’t want to. As I said on Twitter, I don’t see myself wearing another Juve jersey with the number 10 ever again. It feel so pointless. No one will ever be able to live up to it.

Realistically, the conclusion to the Del Piero & Juve love affair was going to happen some day, and I guess we know now when that day is. But the way Andrea Agnelli is approaching this is pissing me off to no end. Totally disrespectful, with a cold, business-like tone reading a pre-written statement like he can’t think of words for himself. Does one think of anything else other than superlatives upon hearing Alessandro Del Piero’s name?

This cannot be the way it all ends for my idol. It cannot be how he is treated. A class act his whole life, he deserves so much more than this. As someone put it so simply, this Juventus doesn’t deserve Del Piero.

It is undoubtedly time for some serious damage control. If Agnelli lets this get out of hand, he will regret it very soon. If this new Juve project of his is going to succeed, he needs continuous support from fans and former players and coaches related to the club. The last thing he wants is to make us pick between himself and Del Piero.

One thing everyone needs to remember is that this whole thing is not about Agnelli, Juventus, or us the fans – it is about Alessandro Del Piero. He deserves more than we can possibly give him during this last season of his and his farewell. Let’s at least give it our best shot.

A couple months back when the memories from the recently-completed season were still (unfortunately) fresh in our minds, the boys from “It Ain’t Over…” (who have since been renamed the JuventiKnows crew) invited John, Ivo and myself — before the latter two signed up to write on here — onto the podcast to talk about all things Juventus. Due to incredibly high security around the recordings, this thing took forever to produce and subsequently release to the general public.

Well, it’s time to celebrate like Del Piero after a game-winner because the podcast has finally (!!) hit the internet and is available for your listening pleasure. We discussed the season that was and the one that is in front of us. We hand out the world-famous Juve Offside/JuventiKnows awards that you all know and love, debate whether the 2010-11 season was a year of transition or another one wasted down the drain, try to figure out who was to blame for things happening the way they did, and try to solve the mystery that is Jorge Martinez.

While it’s certainly not as timely as it once was, it’s still well worth the listen. We all, without a doubt, enjoyed recording it. Beware, though. It’s nearly two hours long. So make sure you have a bit of time on your hands — and maybe a snack or two — before you sit down and tune in.

From all of us, enjoy the show and thank you for listening.

Carrying Amauri out on a stretcher might be one of the few options we have left...

There are things in life that just make you want to throw stuff at the wall. Heck, even throw yourself at the wall. You name it and it probably involves a wall and some kind of destruction.

Amauri turning down every single possible move away from Juventus is what puts one of those things to happen in motion — quickly.

We thought he was gone for good when Big Daddy Beppe was able to ship him off to Parma — salary included! — during the winter transfer window. He proved what we all knew about him — he’s the big fish in a small pond, nothing more than that — and did enough of it to basically say “Hey, mid-table teams in Italy. I’m not washed up like you all thought I was!”

However, once Juve’s preseason training opened, there was Amauri. Such a happy fellow.

The rumors flew of where he’d be off to. Back to Parma? Back to Palermo? Maybe one of the 10,000 Serie A players Leonardo was bringing with him to PSG? Maybe to help Cannavaro tutor the kids in Dubai? What about carrying Grosso’s bag of goodies whenever he went to the tanning booth? It seems like they were all thrown out there at some point.

But nothing happened. The transfer deadline came and went and Amauri is still under Juve’s control, set to steal paycheck after paycheck because he has nothing better to do. He’s thrown away the chance to return to Palermo. He’s turned down a chance to go play for Trabzonspor (say that name three times fast) in Turkey. He isn’t going France. Thanks for trying your best, Didier, but this is a creature of its own free will.

It’s hard to say what the hell is going through his head these days and why exactly he has declined all of these moves because, well, we have no idea. He’s clearly not wanted at Juventus anymore yet, according to his agent, he wants to stay and prove his worth with the team. (brb, slapping my knee because that’s hilarious.) If that means disgracing our beloved Pavel’s No. 11 shirt by bitching at refs and being completely worthless on the field, then he’s already done more than enough of that. No need for another display.

Sigh.

So here we are, with a new stadium about to open up its lovely doors to the public within a matter of days and one of the worst buys in the club’s history (yo, thanks again for that, Alessio) is still haunting us. I don’t care if he’s not training with the team right now, he’s still here, still getting his checks signed by Juventus. We’re still talking about him in the present tense. I want to talk about him like he’s a thing of the past and in the past tense, dammit.

One good thing in all of this: He won’t be scoring the game-winner for Parma on Sunday at the new stadio.

Meh, whatever. I’ve put off bashing my head against the wall to write this post. Let me get back to that…

And yes, I will blame Amauri for of all this. It’s only natural to do such a thing.

If you’re strong, you’ll leave [team team] great, if you can’t do it, you’ll come out quickly because they’ll eat you after two draws. You’re not allowed to mess up, these younger players haven’t understood what Juventus is, what kind of history it has. There are a few in the Old Guard that can transmit this. Now there’s only Del Piero, because I see Gianluigi Buffon playing with a lot less enthusiasm.

Juve needs to return to being disliked- when I see my ex fellow players and managers, I tell them “you were obnoxious, unpleasant, and disliked.” Now it’s not like that anymore. Like Buffon, who after a loss caused by his error, was laughing with Gattuso at the end of the match. Before games, I had blood in my eyes, and when I played against the Rossoneri above all, I didn’t speak with anyone, not even with Ancelotti who I had a special relationship with. At most I spoke to him after the game to say hello, when it was all finished. Now the players at Juve act differently.”

Two notes on today’s match:
-After the game, Chiellini had harsh words for everyone and everything, and was visibly furious. He refused to speak on transfer speculation of him to Real, saying “I’m not going to talk about it when I’m this angry.” [Many of his comments regarding what Juve needs have unsurprisingly not been reported on the official site.]
-Gigi Buffon on the other hand was joking and laughing with Bojinov.

It makes me even more furious than the pathetic match did. Gigi, you’re an idol and a legend, but you are treading dangerous waters here. Del Piero was angry and stormed off the pitch when the game was done. Chiellini raged. Buffon? You’re the vice-captain- act like it.

A simple glimpse at Juventus’s formation at the start of the 2010/2011 season would give you the impression that this team is capable of achieving Champions League football, and quite possibly competing for the Scudetto.

Some of our transfers have been well received

After all, it seemed the club wanted to fill all the holes in the team as a start, with goalkeeper Marco Storari brought in, to substitute for Buffon who was then injured, after a series of very impressive displays with Sampdoria. The defensive line has been bolstered with the promising pair of Marco Motta and Leonardo Bonucci, while the midfield was given the most attention with the arrivals of the elegant Alberto Aquilani, the resilient Simone Pepe, the continuously impressing Jorge Martinez, and the swift Milos Krasic. The front-line required necessary pace and speed, and since President Andrea Agnelli’s then dream Eden Dzeko seemed impossible, Fabio Quagliarella was brought in to add a second dimension to the attack. Along with strengthening the first team, the bench received its fair share of attention as well, with Leandro Rinaudo and Armand Traore being brought in as substitutes to the defensive line should anything happen.

The first signing, however, made by General Director Giuseppe Marotta was Coach Luigi Delneri, who managed to achieve a remarkable feat by getting Champions League football with Sampdoria. An experienced coach in Serie A, better known for his stubbornness to the 4-4-2 formation, be it fixed or fluid. Delneri also happened to be one of the most tactically intelligent coaches in Serie A, which is something Juventus desperately needed after a disastrous 2009/2010 season which mostly fell down to injuries and tactically inept coaches.
Come January, many things have changed, primarily with injury situations and players failing to live up to their potential, striker Alessandro Matri was loaned from Cagliari, experienced forward Luca Toni was brought in from Genoa, and defender Andrea Barzagli was bought from VfL Wolfsburg.

As we near the end of the season, with Juventus sitting at 7th place in what seems to be another disastrous season for one of Europe’s top clubs. Some question the choices Marotta has made, while some question some of Delneri’s choices in the starting formation, or some of his odd substitutions. While the decline from “Scudetto Challengers” to “out of Europe” can be due to many various reasons, judging the performances of Marotta and Delneri have been the highlight of them, and it warrants a better look into the minds and decisions of the former Sampdoria duo.

Lets kick things off with the man responsible for putting everything together, Giuseppe Marotta. Marotta didn’t have big shoes to fill, after all his predecessor was Alessio Secco, however he had a lot of work to do, as his predecessor was Alessio Secco. His first priority, understandably, would be to build an all-round stable team by filling in the gaps left by below average players. As well as reducing wages and the overall age of the team, and letting go of players that are past their prime. In short, building for the future.

A lot has been said about those who were sold or let go, and those who were bought or loaned. There is no point in trying to understand why Diego was sold to Wolfsburg, why Trezeguet was let go and why Caceres was returned to Barcelona. Some, like Trezeguet and Camoranesi, deserved a better farewell for staying with Juventus despite the drop to Serie B, while others like Diego and Caceres left question marks that are still unanswered.

However, with a full season under their belt in the Black and White shirt, it’s time to further understand and assess some of Marotta’s signings over the Summer and Winter transfer windows of the 2010 / 2011 Season.
It’s worth noting, that in the Worries and Potential sections, the players will be looked at prior to the season start. Sort of a “What Marotta saw in them” section to further understand why they arrived in the first place.

Name: Alberto Aquilani
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Liverpool
Loan: No cost, the club only pays the players wages
Price: €16,000,000 right to buy over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Extremely Happy
Worries: Just returned from an awful spell at Liverpool and has a bad history of being plagued with injuries.
Potential: Immense. Aquilani had already established himself, when fit, as one of the best midfielders in Italy, known for his precise passing and thunderous shots. An understandable signing by Marotta, the midfield needed someone of his caliber.
Assessment: To say Aquilani returned with a bang would be an understatement. He showed the entire world what he is capable of, and eventually cracked his way back into the Nazionale. Played a major role in the first part of the season, dictating play and starting counter-attacks, all while learning how to defend. The biggest concern would be his dip in form, as he went from being heavily influential to influential as the season comes to an end. However, that can be due to the entire team collapsing since the beginning of 2011.
Final Thoughts: Aquilani should be purchased, no doubt. The entire team is putting on sub-par performances at the moment, and Aquilani is the type of player that thrives on his teammates. If what Marotta said was true, and Juventus are indeed going to buy 2 or 3 quality, game changing players, then right now, we haven’t seen Alberto Aquilani in full motion yet.

Name: Alessandro Matri
Transfer: Half a season long loan with right to buy from Cagliari
Loan: €2,500,000
Price: €15,500,000 right to buy over a period of three years “Rumoured to be a forced option, which means Juventus are forced to buy him”
Fans Reaction: Happy
Worries: Hasn’t played for a big club or in European competitions. Buyout price, compared to Pazzini, seemed high.
Potential: Very high. Never had the opportunity to play with a big club (his 2 minor appearances for Milan don’t count) and spent most of his professional career in Cagliari. Known as a modern clinical striker, and bought due to Quagliarella’s and Toni’s injuries. Giampaolo Pazzini was always the primary target, as both Marotta and Delneri are familiar with him. However, Garrone wanted €15,000,000 paid directly, something the club couldn’t do. Enter Alessandro Matri.
Assessment: Surpassed all expectations. Scoring 8 goals in 14 games in all competitions. Got his first call-up to the Nazionale, and scored on his first appearance as well. There are no realistic downsides to his transfer as he has been only playing for two months. Can’t be blamed for some of the performances he has put in as the midfield seems to be starving him of the ball lately.
Final Thoughts: Matri, just like Aquilani, should be purchased without a doubt. In a day and age where decent strikers cost €25,000,000 and higher, a 26 year old striker familiar with Serie A for €18,000,000 seems more than just a fair price. His imminent future partnership with Quagliarella could be the lethal duo Juventus have been searching for all along.

Name: Armand Traore
Transfer: Season long loan from Arsenal
Loan: €500,000
Price: No buyout clause
Fans Reaction: Indifferent
Worries: A 21 year old Left back at Arsenal who hasn’t had much play time, a club known for giving youth a fair shot.
Potential: Low. Virtually unknown to Juventus fans. Was brought in as a substitute for Paolo De Ceglie.
Assessment: Traore hasn’t put in the best of performances, at best he was an average player. Didn’t have much playing time and spent a lot of the time being injured. His crosses and passes left a lot to be desired and unfortunately he isn’t worthy of the number 17 or the black and white colors.
Final Thoughts: With no buyout clause, Traore will return to Arsenal when the season ends, Hopefully not making a return any time soon.

Name: Andrea Barzagli
Transfer: Purchased from VfL Wolfsburg
Loan: No loan price, direct purchase
Price: €300,000, with a maximum of €600,000 based on performances
Fans Reaction: Confounded
Worries: Generally no worries, as he was one of the best choices as a 3rd defender.
Potential: None, his chances of being a starter are slim and he is at his prime. However he would make a great 3rd defender, and Barzagli understands that.
Assessment: Barzagli’s transfer took everyone by surprise. During a period where the club was severely lacking in the attack department, Marotta opted to sign a defender. With Legrottaglie heading to Milan that made sense, and that sense was overshadowed by the fact that the club needed a striker, desperately. However, Barzagli did more than redeem himself. He has put in some impressive displays, a prime example would be the game he played VS Inter, and has already proven to be a bargain for his price. His experience is something that is fairly obvious to see as some of his interceptions and tackles just scream class. At 29 years of age, he still has a good 3 to 4 years left in him.
Final Thoughts: An absolute steal. Along with Chiellini and Bonucci the central defense should be in safe hands for years to come. That’s without mentioning Frederik Sorensen.

Name: Fabio Quagliarella
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Napoli
Loan: €4,500,000
Price: €10,500,000 right to buy over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Shocked
Worries: Was never a prolific striker, inconsistent.
Potential: Unknown. At 28 years, he is at his prime, however he was always known for scoring some of the most beautiful goals, but never as a prolific striker. The fact that he was inconsistent was a major concern, which made his potential unpredictable. A chance that Marotta took.
Assessment: Without a shadow of doubt, the best signing Juventus has made this season. One, that is sorely missed as well. It is no coincidence that once Fabio got injured on that fateful day, that Juventus have been in decline. Came as a replacement for Diego, and one that has not been received well by the fans. His pace and his unpredictability tortured defences as well as giving the midfield a whole other dimension of attacking choices. Scoring 9 goals as a secondary striker, all while lacking the option of a proper clinical striker up front. His telepathic partnership with Krasic was something of beauty. Currently sitting as the top Juventus scorer this season, and he hasn’t played since January. This just shows how much the team misses his presence. With Matri’s arrival, Fabio should get the support required in the front line, all while supporting and getting support from the midfield as well, this might just be the start for him.
Final Thoughts: Despite the injury he received, which will very well have a major effect on his pace, there is no doubt that Fabio should be bought. A lot will be questioning whether he will have the same effect he had this season, and in all honesty it is unknown at this point. However his play-style and his unpredictability suite the formation and the play-style of this Juventus perfectly.

Name: Jorge Martinez
Transfer: Purchased from Catania
Loan: No loan price, direct purchase
Price: €12,000,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Questioning
Worries: Never played for a big club. Was never a difference maker. Price was too high and the purchase was made almost too quickly.
Potential: High. While never being a game changer, he has been putting impressive displays for Catania in recent years, and at 27 years of age he was in his prime.
Assessment: One of the worst signings of the year. Apart from the Milan game, spent most of the season injured or benched. When given the shot to prove himself, he was less than a shadow of the Martinez of Catania, putting in horrible performances one after the other. With 12 appearances to his name, and only one decent performance, this has been one year to forget for the Uruguayan winger / attacking midfielder.
Final Thoughts: Juventus are stuck with him for the next 4 years, unless the club decide to sell him for a massive loss. Could be given a second chance to redeem himself next season. However, trading him + cash for another, higher quality player seems a much better option that would benefit both sides.

Name: Leandro Rinaudo
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Napoli
Loan: €600,000
Price: €5,000,000
Final Thoughts: Cutting to the chase, with 1 below average performance to his name and spending almost the entire season injured. Everyone can safely assume he is returning to Napoli and not coming back to Juventus, ever.

Name: Leonardo Bonucci
Transfer: Purchased from Bari
Loan: No loan price, direct purchase
Price: €15,500,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Pleased
Worries: Spent one season only in Serie A. No experience with a big club.
Potential: Very high. Considered one of the best young defenders in Italy, and has built himself quite a reputation partnering with fellow Bari player Andrea Ranocchia. Touted as part of the next-generation of Italian defenders to guard the back-line of the Nazionale.
Assessment: Considering this is his second season in Serie A, absolutely fantastic. Leonardo has not only grown as a player ever since he transferred from Bari, but is slowly building a great relationship with Georgio Chiellini. The defender cannot be blamed for some of the defensive errors that have happened during the season, as most of the blame would fall on the Fullbacks, since the central defenders need to cover for them as well. However, he has not yet fully developed to be the central defender that would be attentive and focused for an entire match, also struggles with fast and tricky players, but then again, he has just turned 24. Georgio Chiellini is known as the Juventus rock, however with Bonucci and Barzagli Juventus now have a mountain.
Final Thoughts: A wonderful breath of fresh air to finally see a young defender in the Juventus back-line that has what it takes. His understanding with Chiellini can only get better from here. A spot on purchase from Marotta, even though having two defenders will the same characteristics can cause some issues, however it should not be of major concern.

Name: Luca Toni
Transfer: Purchase from Genoa
Loan: No loan price, free transfer
Price: Free
Fans Reaction: Confused
Worries: Old. Washed up. Slow. Way past his prime.
Potential: None. Luca Toni is slowly nearing the end of his career, the only real potential Juventus fans see, is the possibility of him being a reason for Amauri to be sold.
Assessment: Initially, Luca Toni was thought to be the replacement for Fabio Quagliarella, despite Marotta insisting that he wasn’t. It could be the fact that both Amauri and Iaquinta were injured, and we only had Alex to depend on that prompted his purchase. Despite all that, Luca Toni has actually done well with the club. Mostly given a secondary striker role in which he holds the ball for as long as possible to allow the team a momentary break to catch their breath. However, he has been negatively affecting Matri when both are on the pitch. Despite that Toni understands that he is no longer first choice, and he is fine with it. Over all decent performances and one magnificent header.
Final Thoughts: It’s a bit tough to judge this one, on one hand Toni has done more than Iaquinta and Amauri have done for the club this year, on the other his wages are quite high for a player of his age, sitting at €2,000,000. This could have been a good opportunity to get an experienced striker, which could help out the two useless ones in the squad, or a panic buy. In any case, Luca Toni’s arrival was quite an odd and unexpected one. However I would say just for the sole purpose of him being a free transfer, it might not have been such a bad idea. The fact that he took a 50% to join Juventus, certainly helps his case as well.

Name: Marco Motta
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Udinese
Loan: €1,250,000
Price: €3,750,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Approving
Worries: Didn’t have much play time in Roma. Has a few issues with consistency. Hasn’t really played continuous matches to be properly assessed.
Potential: Very high. Previous captain of the Italian U-21 National team and had everyone else backing him to be the next great Italian Right Back. Showed a decent level of skill and play for a player of his age, in the brief chances given to him, during his time in Udinese and Roma.
Assessment: To say Motta was a flop is an understatement. Motta is easily solely responsible for costing Juventus many points, and not only that. Horrible in every possible way, bad positioning, horrible interceptions and uncalled for yellow and red cards are just the beginning. His crosses are completely inaccurate and worthless, his passing is predictable and easily intercepted while his surges to the front often end up with the opposing team getting the ball and counter-attacking. If that wasn’t bad enough, Motta has a habit of just randomly kicking the ball when he is close to the defence, despite him having enough room and time to pass it to a fellow player. Every possible hope any Juventus fan had for Motta to be a decent right back has been put to rest. To make matters even worse, his horrendous performances have been negatively affecting Bonucci, Chiellini and Barzagli as well. With their constant presence required to watch over an area they shouldn’t have to worry about, the central defence struggles and the imbalance causes openings for opposing teams to take advantage of. Undoubtedly the worst performer for Juventus this season, and some may argue that he could be better utilized as a winger, but to that you just have to look at his passing and crossing to judge.
Final Thoughts: One can see the potential Marotta saw in him; but after a season of getting many chances over and over again, Motta is a disaster and should be shipped back to Udinese. However, some argue that due to his incredibly low price, he should be purchased and either kept as a 3rd right back or traded for another player. It’s hard to see that happening, considering how his approval is required if he were to transfer to another club, and Juventus don’t want to risk having another stubborn player who refuses transfers, receives his wages and does absolutely nothing to benefit the club. If indeed that was the cast, at 26 years old, sitting on a purchase agreement that sees him tied to the club for 4 years, it just seems a waste to spend €5,000,000 on him.

Name: Marco Storari
Transfer: Purchase from Milan
Loan: No loan, direct purchase
Price: €4,500,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Satisfied
Worries: None, his performances with Sampdoria cemented his reputation as a solid, classy goalkeeper.
Potential: None, at 31 years of age, Storari is at the peak of his career, can be a super-sub goalkeeper for Buffon for years to come.
Assessment: Absolutely fantastic. Commanding the back-line and making saves that would make even Buffon jealous. Put to the test several times and has always come out on top. There is not much more to be said about him, Storari has been the best goalkeeper for Juventus this year, edging out Buffon himself. The fact that he communicates with the defence and commands his area so well is something that cannot be taken for granted. He cannot be blamed for any of the goals on him, as it was mostly defensive errors. His highlight has to be during the Inter game, in which him and Bonucci bumped heads, then raised his thumb at the players and cracked open a smile. Confidence galore.
Final Thoughts: No-brainer by Marotta. With his master class performances with Sampdoria, and the relationship they already had between both of them and Delneri, he was the perfect choice to be the deputy for Buffon.

Name: Milos Krasic
Transfer: Purchase from CSKA Moscow
Loan: No loan, direct purchase
Price: €15,000,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Overjoyed
Worries: No rest due to the Russian League being played during summer. Not familiar with Serie A.
Potential: Massive. Krasic was known to be an extremely quick winger with a precise strong shot. Known also for his many screamers during his spell at CSKA Moscow and the Serbian National team. Was the star signing of the summer.
Assessment: It’s always hard to judge someone’s first year in Serie A. However, he has been proven decisive in many situations. The comparisons with Nedved are only physical unfortunately, as he still lacks that untiring fighting spirit that Nedved had. However, in his own way Krasic has been hugely beneficial to the team, scoring and assisting left and right in 2010. His form, since the beginning of 2011, has taken a massive dip unfortunately. This can be attributed to exhaustion as he hasn’t had much rest since joining Juventus, and it can also be due to the teams dip in form. Despite that, Krasic is an absolute star, if he can maintain consistency throughout an entire season then he could possibly be a major game-changer. The only issue seems to be that his attacks are very one dimensional, which can be attributed to the fact that he is more accustomed to being just an attacking winger, instead of an attacking and defending one. He usually receives the ball, sprints through the defence in an attempt to bypass defenders and eventually cross or pass the ball into the box. A lot of the defenders have learned all his tricks and have successfully contained Krasic, which can be a major concern for the next season. In his defence, however, the absolutely horrible defensive displays from Motta require him to fall back and assist in defending, something which he is clearly not familiar with. As Delneri mentioned early on in the season, Krasic is a great player, but needs to learn how to defend. Even when Sorensen is playing as right back, his lack of offensive abilities hinder Krasic as well. In the early parts of the season, he built an almost-telepathic relationship with Fabio Quagliarella, something which has greatly effected his form, as the lack of a quick attacker to move with him can cause issues in counter-attacks. It’s very hard to assess someone who is unfamiliar with the language and the league, all while suffering the incompetency of Marco Motta. As a first season in Serie A, he has been one of the most influential players in the team.
Final Thoughts: It was either Krasic or Dzeko, and Dzeko was Agnelli’s dream. Thankfully, we got the former, and the fact that he waited for Juventus made it all the more special. He came for a decent price, and despite his dip in form, he has been a great asset to the club, and one that could be devastating next year. His on-field relationship with Fabio Quagliarella was mesmerizing, and with his imminent return and Matri’s arrival, Juventus fans might truly see a different version of an unleashed Krasic next season.

Name: Simone Pepe
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Udinese
Loan: €2,500,000
Price: €7,500,000 over a period of three years
Fans Reaction: Understanding
Worries: Was always a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Never really spent time playing for a major club. Hitting his peak while barely achieving anything.
Potential: Realistically, none. Pepe was at the peak of his career and known to be average in everything he does. Known for his always giving it his all, constantly.
Assessment: Pepe has not really been a star performer, but he hasn’t been bad either. Known for his workman like spirit, he played every game with heart, whether he had a good or bad one. Constantly running up and down the flank, untiringly, and at least giving the defenders a thing or two to think about, but Pepe’s major effect has not been on the field, but more out of it. Known for being a clown, he has lifted spirits when down in the club, be it by making jokes during training or pulling pranks, like prank calling Aquilani while he was on live television. Every club needs someone to lift people when they are down, whether small or big, and fortunately Pepe has been there to help lift the mood a little when people were down. On-field, it’s worth noting that his performances were above average, mostly used as a sub for either Marchisio or Krasic, he always gave it his all. That being said, his all is usually found lacking, but then again by that point most people should have realized that Pepe was more of a joker in the midfield rather than a game changer. To his credit, Pepe has taken every role Delneri has thrown at him without complaining, from playing as a winger, to a second striker, to a left-back. His undying spirit has also occasionally paid off, such as a beautiful late-game equalize against Fiorentina and a late winner against Lazio.
Final Thoughts: Originally, Juventus fans had doubts to why Pepe was brought in considering the amount of midfielders at the club. However, his versatility proved to be quite useful as he was utilized at every possible way. It’s worth noting that Pepe might have been originally brought as a substitute, as every major club needs to have a strong bench. This was not a risk Marotta took, in fact, everyone knew well enough that Pepe was at best above average, but his untiring runs and his spirit are two things that have been lacking lately. The fact that he is versatile in the midfield, can play as a left back, is a hard worker, lifts the spirits of those around him and never complains about being on the bench should be more than enough reason for Marotta to fully purchase him from Udinese, and that he should.

That pretty much covers all the major transfers that have happened in Juventus during the 2010/2011 season, however there is one particular transfer that hasn’t grabbed headlines. Someone who up until October 2010, was virtually unknown to most people.

Name: Frederik Sorensen
Transfer: Season long loan with right to buy from Lyngby
Loan: €30,000
Price: €120,000
Fans Reaction: Went Unnoticed
Worries: None
Potential: None. Realistically everyone knew he was for the Primavera team and didn’t pay much attention to his transfer, not much was expected of him as he was too young and virtually unknown at that point.
Assessment: This is as good as it gets. A 19 year old central defender, from a second division club at a fairly average league, comes for a trial season at one of Europe’s biggest clubs. His transfer barely gets any recognition from the press, and no reaction from the fans. Injury plagues the team, and Sorensen is called to fill a role he isn’t familiar with, right back, in the first team. To say he has impressed is truly an understatement, as he has been nothing less than exceptional. He has been one of the most solid defenders of the season, and the statement that truly makes you realize how special he is, is the fact that he has been the best right back for Juventus in the 2010/2011 season. Obviously, being young and a natural central defender, he is very limited in attack, however that should not be a concern since it’s rather doubtful that he will be a permanent right back. His highlight has to be the Inter game, playing a crucial role in defence, silencing Samuel Eto’o and assisting Matri for the winning header. Juventus fans today, may be witnessing history in the making.
Final Thoughts: €120,000 for one the most promising central defenders in Europe, and one who has impressed Calcio fans with his natural defensive talent and positioning. At 19 years of age, Sorensen is definitely a safe pick for the future, and has over 10 years to give to the club, and at €120,000 that is daylight robbery. Sorensen can be considered as an official Juventus player as there is no doubt Marotta will be buying his rights from Lyngby. If he doesn’t, some serious questions will be raised.

With that done, it seems the only think to left to judge in regards to the transfer window is the man responsible for those players, Giuseppe Marotta.

Marotta has done an impressive job, and no blame can be placed on him for signing players that once had great potential, and eventually failed to live up to it. Considering the right-back was occupied by Grygera, the midfield was a complete mess which also included Poulsen and the disastrous pairing of Melo and Sissoko. Chiellini’s central defence partner was Fabio Cannavaro, and the attack included Amauri who at that time went a year without scoring in Serie A and the injury-prone Vincenzo Iaquinta.

The squad desperately needed to change, and most importantly, needed to be younger. While some might argue that a few “champions” or “stars” could have made the difference this year for Juventus, the prime answer to that would be Jorge Martinez. While he is no star, however his injuries and delayed returns made his presence this year in the team pretty much worthless. Now picture if Marotta had splurged on one of those “champions” or “stars”, there wouldn’t be an adequate replacement for them in the team if they got injured in a similar way as Martinez did, as all funds would be spent buy those players. Marotta has in one season, created the base for a future team, with adequate subs and starters to help Juventus be what it was before.
Alessio Tacchinardi said in a recent interview that Juventus had a few stars and the team was built around them. The current team is being built with that model in mind, everything is in place, the only missing key components are the 3-4 “game changing champions / stars” that Marotta has promised to purchase for the 2011/2012 season. This was originally a 2 to 3 year project, so patience is required, and it has to be mentioned that at the same time as improving the first team squad, young players for the Primavera and the future of Juventus are being purchased as well.

As far as transfers go this season, Marotta has done an exceptional job, and earned himself more time to see his project through. From transfers to the man responsible for making everything click on the field, Luigi Delneri. While Delneri is not a big name in the coaching world, he is well respected in Serie A. Tactically superior to most of the Serie A coaches right now, if not all.

Delneri managed to form a team that, prior to Quagliarella’s injury, was competing for the Scudetto. His great work with improving Krasic and Aquilani’s defensively has not gone unnoticed, however his greatest work this year has to be Felipe Melo.

Melo was, to say the least, one of the worst deals for Juventus in the 2009/2010 season. With a little bit of faith from Delneri, Melo has transformed into a beast in the midfield. The most consistent player for Juventus, excluding “that” Parma game, and by far the best player this year.

Despite his great work with players, some of his choices have to be questioned. For example, playing for a draw against Fiorentina and Lazio, when the team could desperately use the points, or some of his substitutions. Granted, some of his odd substitutions have paid off, like subbing on Luca Toni in the Genoa game, however a lot of that can be attributed to luck as well.

His lack of “going all in” is also a major concern, as perfectly demonstrated by no other than Jose Mourinho, when his team is falling behind, he throws all his cards in. Delneri has yet to throw in 3 attackers and 2 offensive midfielders in hopes of equalizing or possibly winning the game, something which can be attributed to his lack of a winning mentality. Furthermore, Delneri plays an overly defensive game, absorbing pressure from teams and playing on counter-attacks, something that will definitely be exploited if the team gets to the Champions League and plays a big team. Something that also causes a major concern against teams with a better and faster offensive force, playing under the same strategy.

There is also the concern that the team can only play well against a big team, defeating Inter but losing to Bologna, Bari and Lecce certainly don’t help his case, although truth be told, a lot of the blame falls on the backs of the players themselves for under performing.

Delneri has taken a lot of the blame for this season, and he rightfully deserves some of it. Some still wonder why Motta is even considered as a starter with Sorensen available. However, Juventus have lacked continuity in recent years, and it would do them good to keep the ex-Sampdoria coach another year, and provide him with better quality in hopes of achieving better results.

Although the dream coach for the club would be Didier Deschamps for most Juventus fans, his arrival seems difficult without Champions League football. While Andres Villas Boas has truly demonstrated he has the winning mentality required, he has pledged his allegiance to Porto for the next year to try to win the Champions League with them.

For the time being, it’s a safer, better bet to give Delneri another chance at Juventus, all while providing him with the star quality the team so clearly lacks, in hopes for a better result next year. Though perhaps after the Chievo game, Delneri’s time in Juve should be reconsidered. However, only when an adequate coach has been found…

Written by Tariq Falaknaz- Follow him on Twitter