Marco flanked by Brazzo/Grygera- “Hey, what’d you two do today?”

Could not have been any more stereotypical, right? Roma starts out brightly, playing 4-2-3-1, assaulting our goal. When it doesn’t go in, thanks to some miracle saves from Marco Storari, the Roman mentality kicks in- they despair. Some teams fight back when they go 1-0 down, they didn’t. Our mentality is a little different; this was an old-school Juventus performance, where we didn’t play the best, but we capitalized on our chances, and they didn’t. That’s essentially the story.

This result was very important from a morale standpoint, important as well looking at the table, as Udinese and Lazio both lost this weekend, but it doesn’t mean we’re back into the Champion’s League hunt, we threw away far too many points in January and February to consider that a possibility. We may finally be getting out of a funk, and a home match against a pretty terrible Genoa could serve as more chicken soup to rehabilitate the squad. This was our 3rd victory in a row against Roma in the capital…could it lead to our first 3 victories in a row this season?

BEAST.

LE PAGELLE:

Storari: 8- My goodness, what a game from Marco Storari. If he wanted to prove that he deserves the starting gloves for now, he could not have done it any better. Pulled up 3 goal-saving tremendous saves in the first half, and all credit for last night’s win and clean sheet go to Marco. We could have easily gone into the half 2-0 down, and who knows what would have happened there?

Motta: 6- A vast improvement on what we’ve seen thus far, managed to contain Mirko well enough for the most part. Occasionally gave Vucinic too much space to cross, didn’t even try and block his cross for Totti at the far post.
Bonucci: 6- Typical Bonucci performance- a bit too casual with the ball at times, but once he cut out the nonsense, was a solid showing at the back.
Barzagli: 6.5- A good performance from the ex-Palermo man. Covered the backline well. Playing-wise, he compliments Bonucci well, they just need to work on their partnership and moreso, one needs to assert themselves as leader of the backline.
Grosso: 7- By far Fabio’s best ever performance in Bianconero, as a result, the whole team is spending time at the tanning machines in Vinovo today. For the most part, he kept Menez quiet in defense, and was tremendous up top, pulling in two fantastic assists and nearly scoring himself. Good work Fabio- now take the rest of the season off.

Marchisio: 6.5- An all-action performance from the Juventus captain. Worked hard in defense, carried the ball well, and all-in-all, helped to control the midfield. I felt in a pure 3-man midfield, he got a lot more space than normal, and did well with it. When Pepe or Krasic carried the ball up the pitch, they passed it right to the opposition. Claudio’s got a very cool head, even when he goes on a 40 yard run, he makes an intelligent pass at the end.
Felipe Melo: 7- Rock solid performance from the returned midfielder- as Adam mentioned on last week’s podcast, Melo always seems to play his best against Roma. Played relatively deep, almost a defender at times, and never put a foot wrong. There was a point where he was dribbling with the ball under pressure from two Roma players, and I feared a Melo-of-old foolish turnover. Instead, he calmly passed it straight back to Storari. A very tactically disciplined performance.
Aquilani: 5.5 I was rather disappointed with Aquilani’s performance, perhaps the jeers of the Roma crowd got to him. In the first half, his passing was rather poor, failing to meet its target or forcing the player to take it wide. As Roma ceded the midfield in the 2nd half, Albertino grew into the match, but still all in all, a rather down performance.

Krasic: 6- I’m surprised by some of the glowing reviews that Milos is getting for the match, Datasport gives him a 7.5 and calls him “looking like the Milos of old.” There were three real positives about his performance- he saw a lot of the ball, was getting into excellent positions to receive the ball, and opened the scoring with a well struck right-footed volley. There were plenty of negatives too- he was frequently wasteful with the ball, either preferring to shoot (when others, say Pepe, were standing ready to run onto it) or making a 40-50 yard run only to pass it straight to Roma. He can be one-dimensional at times, switching flanks with Pepe helped, but he’s gotta continue developing.
Matri: 6.5- Worked hard as a lone striker. For most of the first half, he was relatively isolated and I was calling for someone to play as a seconda punta to try and support him. Excellent run to go 1v1 beating the offside trap, and cool as ice as he placed it right between Doni’s legs to kill off the game. Including his Italy debut, Matri has 7 goals in 10 games since joining Juve in January. He also scored 11 goals for Cagliari in the first half of the season. In tremendous form.
Pepe: 6- Again asked to play a different role, Simone worked his ass off running up and down the pitch. Had a great turn and shot that Doni saved, but otherwise doesn’t look too clinical up top. Still think he should be experimented with as a fullback, he could be great there.

This is starting to get a bit creepy.

Delneri: 6- Hard to give him a rating here- if it weren’t for Storari’s miracles, we might be back in crisis, with finger-pointing all around. The formation was a decent, but not great one. Not because of the individual errors that led to Storari making those magnificent saves, but because we didn’t look too deadly up top until Rome pushed forward and conceded more and more space. Their desperation led to our win.
Salihamidzic: 10- He lives!
Sorensen: s.v.- Thrown on as a cameo.

Things I Think I Think:
#1- One good game does not a fullback make: Funny as hell that Grosso and Motta have decent games, and neither of them have the opportunity to repeat it next week- Grosso is suspended for yellow card accumulation, and Motta of course was injured. I don’t think either of them would have had a good game against Genoa anyways, so it’s a blessing both happened. I nearly threw my laptop out the window when I saw them lining up against Roma. One good performance doesn’t change the fact that they’re both shit and need to leave this summer.

#2- Marco Storari proves his worth, puts Delneri in a pickle: You may recall I argued a few weeks ago that Marco Storari should be starting ahead of Gianluigi Buffon right now. I was met with ridicule, but Buffon has gone on to make more errors, and Storari pulled off a blinder of a match against Roma. Note I never said that Gigi should be sold, it was only until the team started racking up enough points that we could reintroduce Gigi. Storari’s performance was enough to make Delneri a bit uncomfortable, and then he followed up with this throw down after the match.

“Only a blind person can’t see what I am doing and I hope the Coach is not blind,” he stated at the Olimpico. “Will I move to Roma instead of Buffon? I have never hidden the fact that I am a Roma fan, but the truth is that I am happy at Juventus and I want to earn some space here.”

I think there’s no doubt he’s irritated that Delneri made a lot of fuss about meritocracy before Buffon returned, and then ended up immediately benching him anyways. That’s a serious challenge from Marco though, implying that he wants the #1 gloves. Delneri responded afterwords- “I know what Marco said, we spoke, and he knows I respect him. I understand it’s difficult to sit on the bench, and that he deserves to play, but he has a great champion like Buffon ahead of him, today he demonstrated that he’s a great professional and a great man. I hope he stays for a long time at Juventus even if he’s not playing.”

To me, that’s Delneri saying “Thanks Marco, but Gigi is still our #1.” I don’t think Storari will be too happy to hear that, and considering the great form he’s in, I really don’t know if he’ll stay this summer. At his age, he’s still got 2-3 years at the top level left, and he’s been kind of a late bloomer, he might want his time in the limelight. With Manninger’s contract expiring and leaving in almost all certainty, we might go from having 3 tremendous keepers to one. But there’s no doubt in my mind, if Storari wants to be #1, he will have to leave Juventus. I will wish him well, I have become a big fan of his.

#3- Is the formation change behind the result? No: A lot of people said hallelujah when they saw us line up with a 4-5-1, or a 4-3-3 depending on your view. Like I said on Delneri’s rating, we could be having a very different discussion right now. Offensively, it didn’t work very well, and it took Mexes’ injury and an increasingly desperate Roma before we got in a goal. Is Delneri’s “typical” 4-4-2 a real 4-4-2? No. Did this formation change revolutionize us? Again, no.

#4- I love Mauro Camoranesi. I also love David Trezeguet. Shame they didn’t get what they deserve. Juve has a bad history of booting out our legends.

#5- La Stampa was on one hell of an NBA kick: “Fabio Grosso made dazzling assists, he seemed like a calcio-version of Magic Johnson. Felipe Melo planted himself square in the area like Shaquille O’Neill, marking “return to sender” for all of Totti’s shots.” Wow. Is it the playoffs or something?

THE JUVENTUS OFFSIDE SHITLIST
- Gigi Delneri- Two wins help. Get a third.
- Jonathan Zebina: (Lifetime Award)
- Marco Motta: (2 weeks) Hasn’t done enough to get him off the list.
- Vincenzo Iaquinta: (Seasonal)
- Giuseppe Marotta: Mauro and David, really? You douchebag.

It’s all about the tan, man.

“Alla Juventus vincere non è importante, è la sola cosa che conta”

It wasn’t all horrible. I’m not sure why, but in the last month or so, this team has improved in certain ways…and at the same time, others compensate by shitting it up. Cesena was no different- after 4 goalless games, our midfield and strikeforce finally looked competent, although it wasn’t by fluke, with Matri finally fielded as a proper central striker with a seconda punta. While the offense and midfield looked far brighter than their dismal display against Milan, the defense suddenly collapsed. The technical quality of Cesena (what?) unlocked the defense, and I’m not sure if it was nerves or a more basic difficulty against their skill, but the defense looked nervous from minute one. And it wasn’t just Traore and Motta, who we all expected little of, it was Chiellini who is supposed to be our rock. When it isn’t your season, I guess it just isn’t your season…

LE PAGELLE:

Buffon: 6.5- I’m tempted to give him a 5, or a 7.5. More on that later.

Motta: 4- Did it surprise anyone that Motta doomed us? Not me. I haven’t been a fan since minute one, and he’s just getting worse and worse. Today was his first start since January, and if it was Delneri’s idea of “okay, you have one last chance to prove anything” then there’s no doubt Motta is heading back to Udinese. (not that there ever was) He’s not even worth the 1.25mil paid for the next 3 seasons, a damning indictment. Sorry Marco, but you’re just dreadful. No other way to say it.
Bonucci: 5.5- Seems to have problems with tricky fast players. Parolo and Giaccherini gave him endless problems, he was saved several times by San Gigi.
Chiellini: 5- Did I see a different game from everyone else? Browsing through some other sites pagelle, they are generally positive reviews of his performance. I thought it was awful. Completely schooled by Parolo for the penalty, had he hauled him down it would have been a yellow. Everytime he was in possession, he was making nervous clearances, poor passes, backpasses that threatened the goal…I was very disappointed in Giorgio last night.
Traore: 6- A satisfactory game, all things considered, but like Motta, there’s pretty much no chance of seeing him in Bianconero next season. Offered a bit of forward movement and looked composed enough in defense.

Pepe: 6- A typical hardworking performance that saw him deliver a few good crosses, get into good position, and horrible scuff his chances. Kidding. Pepe won’t offer flash, but it was nice to have a genuine wideman on the left for once.
Aquilani: 6- Quality play in the first half, but simply outnumbered after Motta was sent off.
Marchisio: 6- Ditto for Aquilani. Covered a lot of ground.
Krasic: 5.5- Another subdued performance from Milos. A few flashy moments here and there where he accelerated away from his marker, but pretty much the same performance we’ve seen from him of late.

Del Piero: 7- Magical. Seems to have lost his shooting boots, but there is no doubting his quality. It makes the decision to bench him for Toni in the last few weeks look all the more baffling.
Matri: 7.5- Pacey, direct, strong, and clinical in front of net, what’s not to like? 5 goals in 6 games for Juventus, and as Adam notes on “It Ain’t Over Till the Old Lady Sings” he has scored as many goals this season as Bari’s entire team, yet no one seems to talk about him.

Delneri: 5- The starting XI was the right one, Motta aside. After the game, he said “Today we chose quality, and I liked the midfield performance.” Very true. The midfield was a quality group, as well as up top, as opposed to Marchisio playing on the left-wing, and Matri-Toni up top. Italian coaches are notorious for preferring hardworking tall players (Iaquinta) over quality ones, and Delneri has been guilty of this very often as well. It’s about damn time he chose quality, even if Toni was injured and Melo/Sissoko out, and up until Motta screwed the pooch, we looked good. Let’s hope Delneri chooses quality more often.
Grygera: 5.5- A correct substitution, and probably the only one.
Martinez: 5- Useless. But at that point, as much as Martinez has been useless this season, we had surrendered the midfield. He was never going to get into the game.
Iaquinta: 4- It is really depressing watching Vincenzo play.

Check out the shoulder charge Aquilani delivers for Matri’s 1st goal to free up Alex…

Things I Think I Think:

#1- Marco Motta needs to walk back to Udinese: Trezeguet was flown in First Class to Alicante. Diego flew coach to Germany. Knezevic was afforded a 1-way Greyhound bus ticket back to Tuscany. Marco? Time to start hiking. Maybe you can hitch-hike with Iaquinta.

#2- Gianluigi Buffon’s performance was again frustrating: I called for Marco Storari to be drafted in goal, and took a fair amount of criticism then. I took even more when San Gigi popped up with three tremendous saves, and people asked if I would recant my heresy against Gigi. No. If you misread my earlier post as suggesting Gigi is the root of Juve’s issues, or even a significant problem, then I apologize for not clearing it up. He’s not the problem. But he hasn’t been up to par of late, and if you can say that about any player, if they have a valid alternative, you should consider a switch. Here’s the point about yesterday- yes, Gigi kept us in the game late. But he should have sent off for the 2nd time in a month, and that would have screwed us over. Would we have been hammered in the 2nd half if we were 2-0 up still? Doubt it.

It was still a Juve-dominated game until the penalty, then Motta was shortly sent off afterwords. And speaking of that sending off, there’s no doubt in my mind that Bergonzi sent him off poor ‘ole Marco to compensate for not sending off Gigi, either consciously or subconsciously. Is a high foot a yellow? Yes. Is it a second yellow before the half in a relatively level-headed game? No. The defense deserves a hefty amount of blame (particularly Chiellini for letting Parolo through) but so does San Gigi. He made great saves and it’s lovely to see him do that, but he’s still making critical judgement errors that are jeopardizing the team. If we go into that half 2-0 up with 11 men, it’s a different game.

The Focal Point

#3- It’s about time Matri returns to a prima punta role: I had been whining about this for the last few weeks. Matri is a good player- he can play wide, he can play deeper, but it’s wasted there. I still think signing Luca Toni is a relatively smart decision, if he plays as a reserve. If he’s starting over Alex, it’s a mistake. If he’s starting over Alex and forcing Matri to play wider or deeper, then it’s a crime. Sure enough, we saw Ale-Ale up top, and it was a classic prima punta-seconda punta partnership. Del Piero provided fantasy, and Matri bulldozed through the Cesena defense with acceleration and strength. Imagine seeing Matri-Quagliarella up top next season…

#4- Should Delneri stay until the summer? No doubt in my mind- when you sign a coach and are battling for the Scudetto up until December, you should give him the full year. Sacking GDN makes no sense at this point- it’s like canning Ciro Ferrara or Giampaolo Ventura for Bari. If we admit that Champion’s League qualification is beyond our grasp (as it appears to be) what is the point in canning him? Last year, we were in free fall when we sacked Ciro, and I said there was little point because this squad wasn’t salvageable, so give Ciro some time to work. Sure enough, Zaccheroni, try as he might, could not turn around our fortunes. Same with Delneri- if we missed out on our goal, CL qualification, why sack him? Why not give him until the rest of the season so we can make a qualified and fair judgement on him this summer?

All Cesena’s base are not belong to us

#5- It’s irrelevant, as he has the clubs backing: Earlier this week, Andrea Agnelli and his cousin John Elkann visited Vinovo and chatted with Delneri and the players for a while. We discuss this on the podcast, but Agnelli/Elkann are not going to make that trip if they intend to sack him soon, particularly John Elkann who is removed from the day-to-day running of the club. Today the club attacked Tuttosport publicly (as I’ll discuss further below) which is further proof that they are backing Delneri. It’s the right move, until the summer at least.

#6- Giaccherini: Worst miss ever? Rivals Marchionni’s miss v Sampdoria.

#7- Aquilani and Marchisio midfield: I like it. It has a lot of potential, though it’s clear they aren’t fully accustomed to play with each other. Some say it’s too weak, but I think that’s the attitude that sees Toni starting up top over Alex Del Piero. It worked well in the first half of the game, and some might say they failed to control the midfield in the second, and that’s true. But the midfield was down a man when Motta was sent off, and it’s not realistic to expect Juve to dominate possession at that point.

Official Note from Juventus:

Juventus Football Club has maintained an open dialogue with all of the media during this season. The club intends to continue on this line, despite the sporting results that are unsatisfactory as judged by the fans, the technical staff, the management, and the players. Every component is absolutely committed to the improvement of the team towards that deserving of the clubs tradition, however, we maintain that the newspaper Tuttosport has been completely irresponsible, which pretends to be a newspaper “of reference.” The newspaper has spread unreliable news, with the only objective to call into question the professionalism of the coach, of some players, and the management. To create a list of 7 names of possible new coaches in 8 days is to simply provoke the emotions, without facts based in credible reports or having credible sources.

Juventus does not have newspapers “of reference” nor “preferred”, and the large portion of the Juventus fanbase is the same.

The players, the coaches, the employees, and the management continue to work, knowing that this season will create the base for a work that needs to completed quickly, to bring the Bianconeri colors where the history, tradition, and millions of fans have put it. With passion, with courage, with determination.

An interesting press release from the club, slamming Tuttosport for being full of nonsense. There’s a lot of subtext in this, particularly the 2nd paragraph. (I’ve preserved the original formatting) In some ways, I regard this note as inexperience from Andrea Agnelli, lashing out at the newspapers in frustration. It certainly reinforces the point I made earlier that the management is still backing Gigi Delneri. Others have suggested this is John Elkann who is well versed in the media, turning the tables on Tuttosport. The newspaper does have a lot of access to Juve, and pretty much have been actively working to bring it down over the last two years. It certainly throws some pressure on Tuttosport, and I wonder what the Cazzetta and Corriere will have to say about it.

I’m going to miss this…

THE JUVENTUS OFFSIDE SHITLIST
- Gigi Delneri: (1 week) Can he get us out of this psychological funk? He’s got the experience…but I haven’t been too impressed thus far. Slow improvements, but we need drastic ones.
- Jonathan Zebina: (Lifetime Award) You douchebag. I’ve waited about 7-8 years to see JZ come to Torino as an opponent, and he gets suspended for the match? He’s trolling us, man.
- Marco Motta: (1 week) Too deserving. He’ll finish the season on the list and probably end up in the Juventus Offside Shitlist Hall of Fame. He’s like the Italian Z3BINA, without the douchiness. Occasional ability in attack, poor defending, utterly average. Today’s red card, deserved or not, complicated things immensely. Somewhere someone in Montreal is grinning when I say this- I miss Cristian Molinaro.
- Vincenzo Iaquinta: (1 week) It’s sad to put him on this list, because I’ve been a big fan. In the few spurts he’s remained uninjured, he looked like a great striker, and very capable coming off the bench. He has not been the same player since his 100-day injury last season, and he looks completely spent as a player. It’s sad, but Vincenzo has to go- even if he gets into some kind of form, he’ll likely get injured the next weekend. We spoke about Iaquinta on the podcast a while ago, about how unlike Toni/Del Piero he doesn’t “ride the fouls” (to put it nicely) and takes the full brunt of every foul, and that’s probably why he’s so injured. Against Cesena, he flopped like Toni and angrily rose his arms like Amauri when he didn’t get the foul. Awful.

“Alla Juventus vincere non è importante, è la sola cosa che conta”

On behalf of the Juventus Offside, a very warm “thank you” to Cesena for gifting the game to us. Given our injury situation, our still rather delicate morale, we needed a win, and 3-1 suffices nicely in a game where we have an 18-year old kid playing center-back alongside a still rather inexperienced center-back. Of course, Cesena didn’t start out that nicely, they took the lead after 11 minutes after our defense was generally caught napping. But a penalty (and yellow card) from Pellegrino put us back on track, and when Pellegrino was sent off for a crappy hack on Pepe, the game was over. Cesena folded up shop, attempted to play 10 9 men behind the ball, and let us dictate.

So in that sense, maybe this isn’t a victory we should celebrate. But I’m going to, you know what? The injury situation is bad enough, and that’s two wins in a row in Serie A, something we haven’t done yet this season. And a decent motivation boost like Milan, that despite all the injuries and reasons we should be drawing to inferior teams, we’re still coming up with the points. We need to carry that to Brescia, and do the same, unlike Inter who dropped 2 points at home in a similar injury crisis. Bring it on, Zebina and co.

LE PAGELLE:

Storari: 6- Marco had to do nothing for most of the game, other than pick the ball out of the net. And then made a good save about an hour later. Remains plenty attentive even when there’s not much going on, signs of being very mature.

Motta: 6- Wasn’t totally impressed with the performance, he struggled real bad in the beginning with Giaccherini, but grew a bit more into the match. An average performance, let’s hope he grows with the plenty of time he’ll be getting.
Sorensen: 6- Nerves clearly got to him in the first 15 minutes of the match, which is totally understandable for an 18-year old making his top flight debut. After that, Bonucci and his formed a capable partnership.
Bonucci: 6- Still plays around with the ball too much on occasion. We all wondered if Bonucci would get enough playing time this season, but only 2 months into the season, he’s the most experienced central defender! Nutty.
Grosso: 6- Kept Jimenez onside for the goal, but a very impressive performance considering he hasn’t played in 6 months. Capped with a great tackle to win possession for the 3rd goal. I still want him gone in January.

Marchisio: 7- A real dynamic performance from the future captain, switching wings, playing central, winning the ball back, defending the flank as a quasi-terzino, just a real tactically brilliant game from him. Covered the flanks when players moved up, switched with Pepe, and crossed a delicious ball in for Quagliarella to head into the net.
Sissoko: 5.5- Could have been sent off during the match, it was another “Groan Momo” kind of games. Still yet to get into top form, but frankly this game is never going to be one he’s going to make his mark in. When we’re playing a team that parks the bus, Momo isn’t going to unlock them. And defensively, there’s much less required.
Aquilani: 6.5- Another class performance from Albertino, excellent vision and consistent passing, he also displayed his new-found skill at defending when Cesena were attempting to get back to a 2-2.
Pepe: 6- Offered a typical Pepe performance- ran a lot, covered his wings for the forward runs of Motta/Grosso depending on what flank he is. I think the confusion of moving around is messing with him a bit, he’s gone from playing up top in a 4-3-3 for Italy, then midfield, then a fullback against Milan, back to midfield today. On SKY they mentioned “it all came apart for Pepe in the last 20 yards.” Got Pellegrino sent off, though, which killed the game more than any goal would have.

Del Piero: 7- Two days before his 36th birthday, Alex started the match having played 90minutes just a few days ago. The conventional wisdom (which I also have espoused) is that Del Piero cannot play two games in the same week. Yet again, he proves us wrong, with an excellent game just after playing the full Salzburg game. Always creative, always looking to supply his teammates with passes, and always looking at the goal. Class is permanent.
Quagliarella: 6.5- Another great header to make it 2-1. I have to say, I questioned Quagliarella’s consistency and whether he’d be good enough for Juve, but 5 goals in 8 games in Serie A is evidence enough. He’s scoring, and that what counts. Got a little greedy later in the game, but on his form, why not have a few pops at goal?

Delneri: 6.5- Not an exemplary game from Juve, and ordinarily it would earn a 5.5 or 6. But given the injury problems we’re dealing with, GDN is managing this team very well.
Salihamidzic: 6- Like Grosso, he came on after a 6 month absence from professional football and performed admirably. Grosso needs to go, but Brazzo deserves to finish out the season as part of the team. Partly to woo Dzeko, perhaps, but he seriously deserves it. Nice little chipped cross to Iaquinta for the 3rd goal.
Iaquinta: 6.5- Another return from injury for Vincenzone, but while looking rusty again, he capped the night with a lovely goal to surely put the game away.
Melo: s.v.- Wasn’t match fit when he came on, and limped off. Good news is that scans have revealed that there’s no real damage.

Quagliarella and Del Piero are developing quite the relationship

Things I Think I Think:

#1- For Roberto’s minute-by-minute match summary, check it out here. He goes more into the actual gameplay of the match.

#2- What’s the Real Momo? As I discuss on “It Ain’t Over Till the Old Lady Sings” this week, Momo had a rough last year. He was pretty much injured the entire fall, and then dealt with a major family tragedy in the Spring as both his in-laws were killed in a car accident in France, and thus, he had 5 siblings-in-law all under 18 that moved in with him and his wife. To that end, Zaccheroni urged Juventus fans to write off his performances from last season, and give him a fresh start. The thing is, he was pretty average back in 08-09 or so, too. Coming up on his 26th birthday, he likely won’t develop too many new skills, like distribution. Is he a good reserve CM? Sure. Can he grow from where he’s at? Yes, but as a reserve that’s less certain.

#3- Tactics, Tactics, Tactics: As the title implies, Cesena shot themselves in the foot with the penalty and sending off. Or we can say Pellegrino shot Cesena in the foot for both. Up until that point, it was a fairly even game, but down to 10-men, Cesena withdrew into their own half. Which favors players like Aquilani, Grosso, and Motta, who like to move forward and open up the other team, not so much for Pepe or Sissoko who don’t really have the magic to unlock the other teams bus. To this end, looking at the map of the average position, it’s quite clear. This was a game where Cesena defending, and Juve attacked. That’s why the players are fairly spread out, and much more advanced than say a much more compact game against Milan.

Blue is position against Milan, Red is against Cesena, just the Starting XI members

#4- Good to see you, Stephen: I always liked Appiah, he was a real talented player but unfortunately, some pretty devastating injuries has derailed what was a promising career. And I’ll always remember him fondly for this golazo against Cagliari, during the game that marked our 28th Scudetto. Did Moggi make that goal too?

#5- The passion and the grinta: Lars Pedersen has a wonderful write-up about the magic of supporting a team battling against the odds. Read it.

#6- The Stars Were Out in Torino:

C’E UNA STELLA IN CIELO CHE INDICA IL CAMMINO, FORZA JUVE VINCERE E IL TUO DESTINO!

Juventus dives back into the championship after the away match in Salzburg and Del Neri wants to see the spirit, which last Sunday allowed the bianconeri to beat Lecce and which even before that play an excellent match against Inter:

“I expect continuity in results, commitment and attention. We will try to show on the field that we have built a certain mentality, even though we know we will be playing against an aggressive team. I hope, even in the future, that there might be no ups and downs but a constant rendition. Bologna is a solid team. I saw them play against Inter and I got an excellent impression. What I expect from Juventus is that we face this match with the right attitude and with the rightful respect for the opponents”.

Against the rossoblu, Grygera will be missing due to injury. To substitute him, Del Neri excluded any surprises such as the moving back of Pepe: “First I must try this out and I don’t think I’ll do so during a match unless I do not have any other options. I must see whether he has the right attitude to play as fullback during training. We will see what alternatives there are, even in the Primavera. Camilleri, for example already played at important levels, even though he must now recover from injury”.

The match of Juventus against Salzburg and even the other matches in the Europa League and Champions League showed difficulties by the Italian teams: “No match is simple but we must wait before passing definite judgments in Europe or the championship. In the cup one plays against teams with different attitudes and sometimes you are made to pay for this. You cannot always field the same formation and therefore you need the capability to take the opportunity by fielding those who played less”.

In the championship, Juve seems to have found the right line-up with Marchisio on the left. The fact he has reached the yellow cards limit will not condition Del Neri: “The match against Bologna as it stands now is more important then the one against Milan. At this moment, the team needs protection and having players with certain assets we have opted for this attitude up to now”.

“It depends on the type of match: Krasic and Martinez seen in Manchester did not seem bad at all…we do not lack solutions. We score a lot? This is because we have excellent players. There are teams who have an excellent base to score a good number of goals and other teams with different solutions. I am happy to have them and then perhaps more attention is paid to the goals conceded by Juventus rather then scored”.

“I however, tend to see the glass as half full and am happy when we score 4 goals. I still don’t know where we can get yet, though. The “works in progress” are continuing but we must try to improve and remain serene whether things go well or not”. Juventus.com

It’s 3 a.m. right now and I’ve got to get up in six hours to watch this game. So here are the official call-ups, and check the comments section below for formations, live streams, and last minute updates as per usual. I’m off to sleep. See you all in the morning.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

The level of nostalgia might be at an all-time high for Manninger, but he’s aware that this will be an encounter against a team that although sit seventh domestically and are four games without a win in Europe, will try to get back into the running of qualification. Met by reporters at the airport on their way to Austria, Manninger answered a few questions. Here’s the gist of what our Austrian goalkeeper said:

‘… For me it will be a special game, but in the end those are three very important points. Salzburg are a very organized team, with a very technical coaching staff, that have lots of support from their fans. Granted they’ve started the domestic season poorly this year, but they certainly have the talent to cause us problems and on that day they’re looking to win as well. This will be an important match also for their team, staff, and fans, so it will be difficult for us in that sense. …’

Although as difficult as it may be, Juventus should theoretically be able to keep a clean sheet against a side that failed to score a goal in their last two European matches, especially considering our much improved backline. If Del Neri gets worried however, he only needs to pick up the phone and call ex-Bianconeri and ex-FC Salzburg coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, who I’m sure will be more than happy to answer any questions Luigi might have. Il Trap led Die Bullen to one and a half championships before he took the Ireland post in February 2008.

Tonight Del Neri will rest Milos Krasic, and tips Jorge Martinez to have a fabulous game on the right in his place. On the other side of the field, Pepe should get the nod in left midfield as Marchisio shifts back into his natural position with Sissoko in center midfield. Behind that midfield four, Marco Motta gets the job at right back, with Chiellini and Legrottaglie in the middle, and Paolo De Ceglie at left back.

Last but certainly not least, Del Neri will field Amauri and Del Piero in attack seeing as Fab-Quags and Iaquinta are both unavailable. Quite the debate went on about Amauri and his usefullness to the team recently, not to mention the various Giovinco conversations, so no doubt those who defended the number eleven’s quality will look to the multi-dimensionally challenged forward to put a few in the back of the net. Here are the official call-ups. Check the comments below for live streams, formations, and other last minute updates.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Sorry for the delay in getting the podcast out. I was away on vacation this weekend, so we didn’t record it until Monday, and then I didn’t get it finished editing until tonight. In this podcast, we talk about the Manchester City and Inter draws, both very impressive and positive results to gain away from home, and then discuss Prandelli, Lippi, and man management within the Azzurri. We will be having a podcast next week, despite it being an international break, allowing us to perhaps focus on some other topics for discussion than just match reviews/previews.

As always, comments/criticism (and topics for debate next week) are encouraged, you can either post here or email us at juveshow [at] gmail (dot) com, please do, we really appreciate feedback.

Thanks all,
-Aaron

Download at “It Ain’t Over till the Old Lady Sings”
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Check out our Podcasting website (Links to RSS/iTunes/Zune subscriptions on the right-hand side)

And if you missed it, the “wordy” reviews-
Our review of the Manchester City game
Our review of the Derby d’Italia

I command you to keep a clean sheet…

The take-home point for me against Inter was pretty similar to that against Manchester City, although it was a bit more open of a match. We’re clearly seeing Delneri’s skill at tactics, and I think he certainly out-tacticed “the master tactician” Rafa Benitez on Sunday, certainly a 0-0 draw at the San Siro is a positive result for us, given our defensive fragility and Inter’s dominance.

The team moved together as a unit, and the most interesting tactical choice from Delneri was to play Marchisio on the left-wing, to contain Maicon. With Quagliarella dropping back a bit, Marchisio played somewhere in between a left winger and a central midfielder, which managed to give Aquilani a little more time on the ball with Felipe Melo and Marchisio playing the primary defensive roles in midfield. Of course, it also contained Maicon very well, who’s incursions were very limited. Marchisio was a tactical sacrifice out there, and as Adam said in our podcast (out later tonight) essentially reduced it to a 10v10 match, but Inter losing Maicon is a lot worse than us missing Marchisio. A very smart tactical move from Delneri.

The other thing I read from this decision was a big display in faith to Aquilani. He’s only had a few starts thus far this season, yet Delneri gave him the keys to central midfield and chose Marchisio over Pepe. In a big game like that, it shows outstanding confidence from the manager and will surely have pleased Aquilani a bit. We’re seeing Delneri’s skill at man-management, where he vastly differs from Fabio Capello, the man he is so often compared to as a Friulian tactician.

The differences can be plainly seen in their dealings with Cassano. Both fell out with him at Roma, and Capello did so again at Real Madrid. Delneri showed the difference with Cassano in his second time at Sampdoria, this winter, Cassano was very close to leaving for Fiorentina. Delneri worked with him, converted him from a lazy drifting winger to a clinical penalty box striker and Cassano re-emerged in the 2nd half of the season.

Delneri’s attention to personal man management was on display on Sunday. Since this summer, he has been coddling Felipe Melo, talking him up as a champion, a leader, and it’s working. As Dunga said, Felipe Melo is a player that needs to feel important. There’s no doubt Delneri has been working to do so, and in turn, Felipe Melo is putting in some very strong performances. Choosing to play Aquilani in such a critical match was also a tactical choice that will surely boost Aquilani’s confidence. And then there’s the fullbacks- Motta and De Ceglie have come into a fair amount of criticism for some silly mistakes they have made.

Delneri has a pretty good record with playing youth, and he’s made them his special project. From day one, Motta and De Ceglie have spoken of the personal attention that Delneri has given them, and De Ceglie echoed this after the Palermo game when Delneri was drilling defense and tactics. It’s too early to make a final judgement now, but the duo have certainly improved, De Ceglie in particular put in two very impressive performances against Manchester City and Inter, looking confident and making great tackles. I’ve been a big fan and I see strong potential in his future, and he’s starting to realize it. For me, it’s all about the playing time. De Ceglie has not really had any lengthy run-outs in his two years at Juventus, I think it is invaluable for a young player like him. Serious credit should go to Delneri here- it would have been very easy to pick a more experienced, “reliable” option like Fabio Grosso, but he has made a serious decision to invest time into De Ceglie and Motta which is admirable.

The resemblance is still uncanny.

LE PAGELLE:

Storari: 7- Was not too busy for most of the game, but came up with a massive save on Maicon’s cross. A good stop, but hard to keep control of, had he not, Lucio would have tapped it in. He ended up kicking Storari, provoking a Melo-Lucio feud.

Grygera: 6.5- Eto’o is in tremendous form, and Grygera was up against him several times. Once or twice Eto’o roasted him, but he probably would have done it to anyone. Grygera played another impressive game in defense and his confidence is really building, we are seeing the reliable player he can be. Real improvement this past month, and he’s showing why he deserved to stay, when other fullbacks were being pushed out.
Chiellini: 7- Eto’o troubled him at times, but otherwise a magnificent performance from Keyser Giorgio, who typically puts in epic performances against Inter. Grew into the game and in the 2nd half, frustrated Diego Milito, who is looking more and more irritated as the days go on.
Bonucci: 6.5- Again, he’s cut out a lot of the tricks and risky moves he likes to do, and in a game like the Derby d’Italia, that’s very important. His partnership with Chiellini again looked solid, and after an early avoidable yellow against his old club his influence could have been limited, but he played an impressive part in keeping a clean sheet.
De Ceglie: 6.5- Extremely pleased with PDC’s performance, who looks like he’s maturing a great deal. Not only did he contain Biabiany and Maicon well, in general he read Inter’s moves like a young Paolo Maldini. (Okay, that might be a bit much. But I’m excited about this kid) Got forward when he could, and was withdrawn at the break after suffering a muscle problem that has been plaguing him recently.

Stay classy, Inter fans

Krasic: 7- We thought Krasic would tear Chivu apart, and he certainly put him in great difficulty. Another example of the “Krasic Effect” as someone here mentioned, where Milos gets his man taken off because they cannot handle him! Happened with Zabaleta mid-week (was withdrawn with a muscle complaint, but I think his woeful performance containing Krasic was a factor) and again this week. Santon played better against him and his influence waned as the game went on, but another great performance from the Furia Serba.
Felipe Melo: 7- A powerful performance, one that looks like the “Good Brother Melo” that we signed from Fiorentina last summer for 25million euros. Played simple and smart, winning the ball back and distributing intelligently. Kept Sneidjer quiet for almost the whole game.
Aquilani: 6.5- There were a lot of rumors years ago that Aquilani would be heading to Inter, I’m very glad to see him with us. A very classy performance from Alberto, who offers more of a passing dimension than Marchisio. Played confidently and did excellent as our regista/playmaker in midfield.
Marchisio: 6.5- Played out of position on the left-wing to contain Maicon, and his professionalism and sacrifice in doing so get an extra .5 from me. Patrolled the flank, helped out in center midfield, and slid in a clever pass for Quagliarella to put him 1v1 on goal in the 2nd half.

Quagliarella: 5- Our defense and midfield played well, but the same cannot be said about our attack. Quagliarella brings a certain X-factor, but he’s very inconsistent and didn’t trouble Inter enough. Put 1v1 with Julio Cesar by Marchisio, he failed to lift the ball over the keepers body. Another relatively quiet night for the ex (?) Napoli man.
Iaquinta: 5- Clearly was tired from the Manchester game, he ran a lot but never really got into dangerous positions. Rightfully had a goal chalked off for being offside, and aside from that did not really have opportunities on Inter’s goal.

Delneri: 7- Getting the team organized very tactically, the defense has tightened up, and our fullbacks are massively improving their game. Cannot criticize him for the only two poor performers, Quagliarella and Iaquinta, as they were the only real players fit to start.
Motta: 5.5- Had quite a few problems containing Eto’o, but otherwise a competent performance.
Del Piero: 6- Held onto the ball, had a few chances here and there.

Things I Think I Think:
#1- The referee was very fair: Unlike the Manchester City game, in which I griped about the terrible referees performance, I thought the derby was very fairly refereed with no particular advantage to either side. In general, the game was played with a very sporting spirit, all the bad blood and Calciopoli news were seemingly checked at the door.

#2- Speaking of the Manchester City referee: He’s an odd man. From ADP’s official website-

It’s better to stay away from a red card as far as possible , but not always…

I’ll explain better. This time I really want to tell it to you: nothing like that has ever happened to me before. Mancester Stadium, a match against City just finished, we shook hands in the center of the pitch, one by one, the atmosphere of great fair play and correctness, we went next to our supporters stadium sector to thank them for the support they gave us, and at the same time City team did the same for their fans.

As soon as I came back to the changing room Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, Spanish referee, whom I had already greeted on the pitch after the end of the game, stopped me. I greeted him again. He smiled and said:”Compliments, you are a fair player, great game, great free kicks. I want to give you a present.”. That very moment he pulled out a red card – to tell you the truth, I think, it looks more orange than red, look at the picture…- he showed it to me like he wanted to send me off (fortunately he didn’t do it on the pitch!) and then, handed it to me. I was surprised by this gesture, but nicely surprised. So I said: “Thank you, but it isn’t enough for me. I want you to sign it”.

And here I am with my red card: ” Para Alex, grande”. Thank you Mr. Gonzales!

Our players keep getting nice autographed cards from the referee. Good, as long as they aren’t when the game is going on.

#3- Benitez surprised me in several ways: First, his decision to play relatively central. With Sneidjer maybe that’s obligatory, especially when Milito came on for the injured Biabiany, but I’d have targeted our fullbacks and particularly the gaps between our fullbacks and center-backs. Inter didn’t really do that. The second thing that surprised me was his decision to play Coutinho and Biabiany, very young unproven players in such a big game. Rafa isn’t really known for having a good record with youth, but he’s given them a fair amount of faith.

What, I’m supposed to manage the locker room too?

#4- Benitez is not surprising me, and it’s causing Inter to crack: Rafa doesn’t like conflict, and his player selections and inability to control the locker room contributed to a lot of dissent at Liverpool. Several players after leaving complained that he never spoke to them, or explained his decisions. His ego isn’t big enough to manage some of the players at Inter, and it’s causing issues. Chivu already yelled at him very publicly during the Roma game, Muntari stormed off after being dropped from the squad list this weekend, and Maicon was seen yelling at Benitez to take off Biabiany for playing a poor game. Milito isn’t happy, Sneidjer doesn’t seem very enthusiastic, there are some real problems over there. Several things, like Milito and Maicon’s mediocre form is certainly related to the exhausting Treble-WC year they had, but Rafa hasn’t exactly helped there.

#5- Andrea Agnelli, UNO DI NOI! Andrea has reportedly given his A-OK to Trezeguet getting a farewell match, responding to a letter from the head of a fan group. One hopes Camoranesi gets the same thing.

“But they usually give me a penalty for that!!”

#6- DZEKO SIGNS FOR JUVENTUS: Next summer. Except he didn’t. Corriere dello Sport this morning claimed that a deal had been done to bring Dzeko to Juve. Basically, they put 2+2 together- we sold Diego for cheap to Wolfsburg, they want Sissoko, Dzeko wants out to whatever big club can afford him, yadayadayada, we get him next summer essentially for Diego+Sissoko+15mil. Or something like that. It sounds great and all, but here’s my problem with it. Today is Tuesday, of the international break. Yesterday, the papers could publish their match reviews of Sunday’s games, particularly the Derby d’Italia. Today? No one cares about this weekends games, and the Azzurri are still several days before doing anything interesting. So voila, the rumor. Any transfer story that comes out during the international break is suspicious. This one was easy to assemble.

I’m not saying it’s not going to happen, Agnelli and Marotta are well-known admirers, but I definitely don’t think everything has been wrapped up as they’re claiming.

#7- Moggi’s lawyer claims out-of-the-park homerun: And he’s right.

#8- JuveSiena taking charge in Serie B: Antonio Conte’s side is 4 points clear at the top, tied with the best offense and the 2nd best defense. Immobile is back from suspension, and two weeks ago Luca Marrone got his first start. Good luck boys.

#9- Krasic=Shaggy: Chiellini stated the other day that the team nickname for Krasic is Shaggy, from Scooby Doo.

#10- In case you missed it: Entire game narrated by Claudio Zuliani available on his fan’s Youtube.

#11- Where has Lanzafame disappeared to? I was all excited. He was our best winger in pre-season, I’ve watched him since he was at Bari (the first time) and he has real talent. But with Krasic’s arrival, his playing time has dropped to zero. Very disappointing, and it seems he may be sent on loan this January. Such a shame, because he is a very promising winger.

FORZA JUVE!

Alas, those sorts of high octane efforts can never last an entire match. Now while the addition of Milos Krasic provides a constant offensive threat that does wonders to help improve our team’s balance, Juventus looked sincerely troubled when confronted by City’s quality on the ball for most of the match. At times, a tear trickles down the side of my face knowing that we can’t stack up to teams like City in that respect. But, we are who we are for now, and at least no one’s trying to hide that.

“The great intensity could be an important factor in this match [against Inter]. In the last few weeks, we played many matches, facing teams that make intensity their greatest quality and we held well and therefore the physical condition is optimal but it is clear that these matches depend also on the psychological factor. We must give the maximum with great intensity and will” -GDN

It’s all about controlled aggression with Juventus. Delneri knows we aren’t blessed with the most talented players in the world, but they’ve got heart dammit- trophy case loads of it. This Sunday our defense is obviously going to have their hands full with Eto’o and Milito, plus they’ll have to keep one eye on the elusive Sneijder as well. However, the word on the street is that Pandev, Samuel, and Zanetti aren’t playing so there goes one of Inter’s important wide threats, and one tireless utility man.

Their midfield starlet Coutinho, who had a promising performance in their recent 4-0 Werder drubbing, might also be a cause for concern although according to Johonna and La Gazzetta, Biabiany will start out wide on the left. Speaking of Johonna, she’s gone the extra mile and put together a little history lesson on the Derby d’Italia in all its glory, and not. So check it out if you’re bored. There are only so many Amauri highlight videos online. Speaking of Amauri, this morning’s Gazzetta tips him to start alongside Iaquinta in attack, with Melo and Aquilani in center midfield.

In terms of our unavailable players, Delneri has for the first time in a while everyone at his disposal. Click here for the call-ups. Back in September I made the mistake of thinking we’d have to worry about our fitness levels after playing Lech Poznan three days before we traveled to Udinese. Well we all know what happened there don’t we? So this time around I expect to see a similar starting line-up to the one we did in Manchester, with the aforementioned exceptions. That’s all for now until the final whistle. Check the comments section for more information on streams, line-ups, etc. Enjoy Papai’s best to date.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Hope you enjoy it, all! Maybe brighten your Monday morning up a bit.
-Aaron

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Del Neri: «Let us act like Juve»

«It would be out of place to be overconfident. We haven’t done anything yet. We are working to obtain the best results and we must spoil ourselves after a victory or feel disheartened if we lose. This risk, however, as far as we are concerned, does not exist. We do not feel enthusiatic easily but we simply think of working». Gigi Del Neri, who on Thursday night will be celebrating his 700th time as professional coach, immediately cleared the fact that the victory against Udinese must be a point of departure and certainly not a reason to relax. The coach sees the team as being charged-up and in form and wants to take advantage of the moment, and this leads us to think that he will not be adopting a turn over against Palermo:

«Taking advantage of the psychological qualities when a player is well is more important then the physical state. If he does not have the right state of mind he will not run». For this same reason, Del Neri explained that he worked very hard in the last few days: «When things go on well there is more disposition. If the team is serene you can work better because results give credibility to what you have done. Therefore I prefer working harder when we win rather then when we lose». In midfield it seems he will be confirming Marchisio and Melo: «They are in very good condition and therefore they will be playing. I have faith in all of my players and Aquilani, Sissoko, Melo and Marchisio are all excellent but it seems to me that the duo that played up to now gives me ample guarantee and therefore there is no sense in changing. How I managed to transform Melo? He transformed himself. He found an environment which welcomed him, a good relationship with the public and has the right behaviour for a champion. I am sure that Juventus in this championship will create an important group».

Luckily the condition of the bianconeri is improving: «They are all well. The problem is that who returns must find consistency in performance. Amauri? The important thing is that he is available also because we are busy on different fronts and there is room for everyone. Martinez? He still has to work. I hope he will be available for Sunday. What I think of Krasic? He is a player capable of great runs, very physical but even though he does not have the characteristics of Milos, even Pepe played an excellent match in Udine by sacrificing himself. I like to take advantage of the characteristics of an individual player who distinguishes himself but also of those who work for their daily bread. Sometimes it is not only quality that counts but even quantity can change the destiny of a match».

On Thursday we will be needing the best Juventus against Palermo who on paper is one of the trickiest teams of the championship: «Difficulties are not only on paper – corrected Del Neri -. Those which Palermo will create are real. Juventus must know that every Sunday is an exam and exams are passed with strength and respect for your opponents and therefore we do not expect Palermo to be strong only on paper but even on the field. Pastore? He is a great player. You must guard him well but we will definitely not be marking him man to man. Besides he is not the only one: there is Maccarone, Ilicic…they played a great match against Inter…it will be a delicate match because Palermo has players of great potential».

After Palermo it will be the turn of Cagliari, then Manchester City and Inter: Juventus is about to embark on a tour de force which could say much about the potential of the bianconeri: «We still need a bit of time but not to define Juventus as much as to define the championship for which we will need the whole first round…I expect daily improvements. We must not take anything for granted if not the fact that we must give our best in every match. We must play like Juventus every time. The rest is simply chit chat. At the end we will draw our balance». Finally in response to those who insist that his Juventus is like team from a province, Del Neri replied: «Juve is not like a team from a province but a down to earth team which means quality but also a will to work. This was made note to me on Sunday and I felt flattered».