Genius

It was a relatively sterile match, surprising for Fiorentina-Juventus, which usually brings out the hostility and ill-temper in everyone. (Some Fiorentina fans maintained it with racist chants against Melo, and pro-Heysel songs) Neither team looked particularly fired up for the match, and neither looked like they wanted desperately to win. Utterly strange.

So are there any positives from this? Sure, some. The defense stepped up quite a bit, Bonucci had Gilardino in his pocket for much of the game- he’s quite skilled at marking target-men, tricky fast players tend to bother him. Even Motta and Grosso put in decent shifts. We had a few good opportunities on net that had we converted, we’d be talking about a solid 1-0 win in hostile territory.

The Juve locker room pre-match. Aside from Storari making Toni laugh, everyone just kind of goes about their business

LE PAGELLE:

Buffon: 6- Another day in the office. Little to do for San Gigi.

Motta: 6- Held his own surprisingly well against Pasqual and Vargas. Delneri said he was the best player on the pitch, which is absurd. Maybe to boost his confidence? Who cares. He’s here for the next 6 weeks, and that’s it. Sorensen should be playing.
Bonucci: 6.5- Had Gilardino marked tightly for most of the game, came close to scoring. Looked like the Leo of the fall.
Barzagli: 6.5- Also did well when required to mark Gilardino, a strong defensive performance.
Grosso: 6- It seems our back-up left-backs can’t cross for shit. And that’s De Ceglie’s strong point. Good defensively, but nothing got to Matri.

“Who has sweet hair? This guy.”

Marchisio: 6- Won a lot of balls and worked very hard. Wasn’t able to contribute much offensively.
Aquilani: 5.5- Often double-marked, bypassed often by Viola’s wingplay, had little impact on the game.
Felipe Melo: 6.5- Jeered by the crowd, subjected to racist chants, Melo was impeccable again in protecting the defense. He’s been superbly consistent this season.

Pepe: 5- Never was able to beat his man or deliver a good ball. Crowded out by the Viola.
Matri: 5- Isolated. It was obvious- the 4-3-3 hasn’t worked offensively, I picked that out last week. Matri was offside too much, but starved of service.
Krasic: 4.5- Another very disappointing display. Didn’t ever trouble Fiorentina. At this point last season, Diego was roundly being called an epic flop, despite continuing to deliver assists. Krasic has been even more poor since January.

Delneri showing more emotion than the entire team combined

Delneri: 6- It wasn’t a defensive formation, but it was a defensive performance. Team was cagey. The 4-3-3 didn’t work, again, as far as offense goes. It seems we can’t ever get both sides of the pitch to work- either we are great offensively and we’re terrible defensively, or vice versa.
Sorensen: 6.5- This surprised me- most pagelle ratings from other sites did not give Freddy a very good rating. I thought he was fantastic, well positioned and always making great challenges. Stupid yellow card, but he was plenty calm afterwords.
Del Piero: 6.5- Livened the attack up. A 4-4-2 with ADP/Matri back is a must, compared to this 4-3-3.
Toni: 6- Did rather well in his cameo, better than Matri, but he had the fortune of playing alongside Alex.

Things I Think I Think:

#1- The 4-5-1/4-3-3 is not a panacea: Said it last week. We saw it again, this week. The team didn’t look hungry for the victory, but it wouldn’t have mattered much if we did considering how disjointed our attack was.
#2- Felipe Melo racially abused by Fiorentina fans, Viola fans start Heysel chant, zero action: It’s only racist if Juve does it, as Balotelli proved. It wasn’t racist nor necessary to take action when Chievo or Udinese fans abused Balotelli, but dear God, shut the city of Torino down because there are some racist imbeciles in the Juventus curva! A few morons in the Viola Curva made racist chants at Melo when he fouled Montolivo, but the FIGC doesn’t care. Nor does it become a national debate. I’m not even going to get into the umpteenth pro-Liverpool/Heysel display…

Class acts, all of you

#3- Fiorentina are the new Torino: Little chance of making into the Champion’s League without Prandelli, they’ve resorted to two campaign goals: avoiding relegation, and raining on Juve’s parade. Sounds like a team we used to know…
#4- Selling Amauri for 5.5mil won’t even result in a financial loss: While recording “It Ain’t Over” last night with the guys, I came to a startling realization- Under a simple accounting method for amortization, we technically won’t sell him for a loss if we manage that amount. Under straight-line depreciation, you adjust his book value down every year, rather than mark him as a 23mil cost in the first year, it’s adjusted. His value after 3 years? About 5.5-6mil. That said- 33.5mil altogether including his salary for 17 league goals results in 1.97mil per goal. Iaquinta, who everyone says is worthless? 11mil transfer, 7.5mil salary (with one year more) so 18.5mil for 30 league goals, or 616,000 per goal.
#5- Alberto Aquilani becomes a father: Early today, his girlfriend Michela Quattrociocche gave birth to their daughter, Aurora. If you have never searched Google Images for his girlfriend, do so now.
#6- Team Eats: Bruschetta. Yummy.

This Week in Cassani Watch:

Negatives: Palermo won. Mattia looked good out there.

Positives: Mattia looked good out there. Zamparini is still insane.

THE JUVENTUS OFFSIDE SHITLIST
- Catania: You sold us Jorge Martinez for 12mil, and couldn’t even hold back Lazio for us? There’s only one way to get off the shitlist for next week, Argentina B, and that’s to take a thrashing at the Stadio Olimpico.
- Vincenzo Iaquinta: (Seasonal)
- Milos Krasic: Didn’t want to do this, but he deserves it, and probably should have been put on here earlier. In very poor form.
- Marco Motta: (4 weeks) On-off, on-off. At least it’s better than earlier this season when his form was off-off-off-off-off
- Parma: Ha! Well played, Parma. One week after I threw your entire team on there due to inability to beat Lazio, you end Inter’s Scudetto hopes by beating them 2-0 through Amauri and Giovinco. Well done.
- Jonathan Zebina: (Lifetime Award)

“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”

A little music to get the party started.

More than a week of inactivity can take a toll on an athlete’s cardio-vascular level, especially when their diets around the holidays aren’t exactly ideal. However there’ll be plenty of time to shake off the “rust” before January 6th. Speaking of rust, yesterday also marked the re-introduction of two familiar faces within the bianconeri camp as goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and forward Amauri returned to the practice pitch after their respective injuries.

The number one is back in black and white group, for the first time after back surgery. After months of physiotherapy and personal training this morning, Gigi has worked with Storari, Manninger and Constantine, the orders of the goalkeeper coach Claudio Filippi. Certainly not the ideal day for a return, with the fields of Vinovo whitened by the frost in the morning, the hard ground on the edge of ice and the thermometer at 11 degrees from -3 in the morning. But Buffon could not wait to come back, and worked tirelessly.

There’s something so calming about having Gigi between the sticks that definitely goes beyond his supernatural shot blocking abilities. Like many good goalkeepers he’s very vocal during the game, but Buffon has at least two other unique qualities that make him as great as he his. For one, he prefers to keep the game moving quickly and distributes short passes often to maintain possession, and two, he’s always got a huge smile on his face and treats everyone with humility and respect; just don’t mistaken his kindness for weakness.

Now of course we’ll have to see how the Superman-Storari-Manninger relationship plays out in the coming weeks as the winter silly-season officially opens on January 3rd, with Marco rumoured to be requesting first team football in 2011. While on the topic of transfer rumours, Amauri returned to the field this morning to work separately with a trainer in front of the eyes of Del Neri and Marotta, I believe the newest Gilardino-for-Amauri gossip now includes a cash transfer of €10 million.

The Amauri situation is disappointingly simple; he’s garbage. For a real shot at the Scudetto come April and May, there should be no questions about your prima punta scoring goals alongside others on your team. Take Milan’s Ibrahimovic for example who has nine goals thus far beside Robinho and Pato at six a piece. Or take Napoli’s Cavani who has ten goals already with Hamsik sitting at seven. Finally there’s Palermo’s Pastore and Ilicic, who are doing quite well with seven goals each.

My point is this, it would be foolish to think we should rely on Quagliarella to score goals like a machine, as he’s been doing, throughout all of next year and down the stretch to make up for an impotent prima punta. The term itself, ‘prima’ meaning first, and ‘punta’ meaning tip or point, describes how important that role is in a team’s attack. Translation, Juventus don’t have a valid first point of attack. We all saw the game against Fiorentina right? No one needs to talk about what happens when Krasic and Quagliarella are double-teamed (although I did here).

I know this point has been beaten to death by many a post and podcast, but Juventus truly needs a viable prima punta option ahead of Krasic and it looks like Iaquinta doesn’t fit the bill either. In short, if we don’t make a move for some kind of Amauri replacement in January, we shouldn’t be thinking about the Scudetto even if we’re atop the standings come February. The board’s objective will be clear; Champions League qualification. Not that there’s anything wrong with that either. But if the opportunity presents itself for some kind of player swap or loan deal without breaking the bank this January, I’m sure Marotta will pull the trigger.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Prematch thoughts:

Motta is starting. Why? He’s been poor recently, and given that Krasic is returned, why not play Sorensen, who is far more defensive?

Luca Toni v. Giorgio Chiellini: Not worried at all. The only thing more washed up than Luca Toni is Hernan Crespo. [Post-game note: Who actually scored today, ha.]

Game on.

1′- I like the Marassi stadium, and I really like the camera angles here.

Krasic goes down in the 1st minute from Criscito, light contact but assistant referee didn’t like it. As Adam said, Milos will have to get shot to get a penalty in the future. Oh wait, he actually got the foul there.

2′- Marco Storari flattens Luca Toni with a brilliant sliding tackle in the box. LEGEND. Straight out of my FIFA.
4′- Genoa wins a free kick on the edge of the box, dangerously swung in, Storari punches it out, didn’t fully judge it right there.
5′- Gorgeous cross field delivery from Aquilani to Krasic who is being jeered by the crowd. He is a Serb after all.
6′- Some funny finger-waggling from Felipe Melo.
10′- Krasic delivers a lovely cross in, Eduardo has to punch. Felipe Melo breaks up the play, hands to Aquilani who passes to Krasic precisely. Lovely midfield today, the 4 of them are a tremendous group with a diverse skill set. Aquilani, the silky passer, Melo, the destructive enforcer, Marchisio, the hard-working all-rounder, and Milos, “the Serbian bolt” as Zuliani calls him. A bit better than Momo, the headless chicken, Pepe, the hard-working not-good-at-anything, and Tiago, well, because he’s just a piece of shit.
12′- Iaquinta has a long-range pop, but it’s fairly wide. Worth an effort, at least. Krasic had a thigh strain, and given his pace and acceleration, I really hope he doesn’t push it too hard. That’s not an injury where you go from unhealthy to 100% instantly.
14′- Criscito comes in late with a two-footed slide tackle on Krasic, and deservedly gets a yellow card. That is real bad news for him, against a pacy player like Krasic, he is going to have to hold off on strong challenges. Kaladze has not been given much help to Criscito on the left.
17′- What a bizarre goal! Aquilani (I think) does well to win the ball in midfield, Marco floats in a lovely cross. Quagliarella does well to head back, Marchisio volleys, deflects off Dainelli and Eduardo comically heads it into his own net. Quagliarella back-header/Marchisio volley reminiscent of Trezeguet’s goal in “the” Real Madrid semi-final.

Genoa probably don’t deserve to go down, it’s been a pretty even sided first 15 mintues, but that’s calcio.

19′- Luca Toni has a poor volley. It used to be Amauri was the crap version of Luca Toni, but now Luca Toni is about as bad.
22′- GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL. Super goal from Krasic, who does a few stopovers, schools Criscito, and fires in. Again, Eduardo probably should have done better. Criscito completely unable to stop Milos, yellow card definitely conditioned him there.

Milos goes over to celebrate with Brazzo, it looks like. I think Salihamidzic translates for Milos, another reason to treat him well.

Two goals in 22 minutes. Not bad. Will this finish 9-0? [Subtle La Liga dig, I know.]

25′- Aquilani puts a lovely ball over the top to Marchisio, who controls well and shoots/crosses but Iaquinta isn’t there. Genoa started out well, but have suddenly looked very shaky. I guess two goals will do that.
27th- Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh, Criscito volleys off of a corner, hits the crossbar, very impressive, and Luca Toni horribly shanked the follow-up. Pre-Euro2008 Toni buries that. (As long as not in Azzurro)

Woulda been candidate for goal of the week if that had gone in, no matter what happens in the other games, that was a real great volley. Genoa have woken up a little bit offensively.

So defense in shambles, offense looking alright. Normal service for Genoa has resumed.

31′- Genoa also has reverted to a 3-5-2 it looks like, although their midfield look real confused tactically on where they should be. Ballardini switched to a 4-3-3, but back.
32′- Luca Toni scores, with his hand. Motta heads it in for him, but it’s rightfully chalked off and Toni gets a yellow. Cue Luca praying to the referee, and Paul Scholes silently grinning.
33′- Kaladze now gets booked, furious with the referee for reasons I don’t understand. Looks like he’s saying Iaquinta was holding his shirt, but he was doing the same and knocked him over from behind.
35′- Aquilani, Marchisio, Melo, and Krasic are just passing lovely between each other. Genoa haven’t looked totally awful in attack, but we are controlling the midfield at this point, and away, too. Impressive.
36′- Lovely recovery from Marchisio there, just robbed Toni of it and passed to Aquilani.
37′- With Krasic on, we have such a strange formation, Marchisio tucks in centrally and Milos plays way up top, a real lopsided 4-3-3 in attack. But it works. As I say that, Krasic just rips through two defenders, lovely cross to Iaquinta who gets a good touch of it goalside of Ranocchia, but just wide, a “palla-gol” there as they say in Italian.
38′- First real sighting of Marco Rossi, one of the dirtiest players in calcio.

A 4-4-2 with Marchisio and Pepe is solid, but Milos really adds that extra spark to unlock the other teams defenses.

39′- Ooohh, real worrying moment there. Cross in, neither of our defenders get to it, and Marco Rossi lurking just misses a touch, Storari touches it around for a corner that Genoa take horribly.

Grosso the culpable one there, failed to clear, I suppose he didn’t realize Marco Rossi was hanging out right behind him. Or “lurking” instead of hanging out, first of all because it’s appropriate for a scummy player like Marco Rossi, and it’s just a great word in general.

41′- Apparently Chievo and Inter are the only other two teams to win this season at Genoa. Who are playing today, odd coincidence.
42′- Ranocchia’s been looking decent out there, but still not as commanding as he was at Bari. 3-man defense doesn’t suit him.

It doesn’t suit Rinaudo either, not that that’s really an issue at this point.

43′- As I say that, Ranocchia swoops through and robs Melo of a ball, continues moving forward as Luca Toni plays a decent backheel to him. Milanetto plays in a clever ball to Criscito, but Krasic is in the penalty box defending well. Strange.

44′- Genoa’s had some real poor touches up front that allow our defenders to recover.

As I say that, Quagliarella plays in a good ball to Iaquinta who’s touch lets Dainelli recover and start a counter. I’m predicting the future.

45′- Rafinha has been real poor offensively, which is supposed to be his M.O. Krasic runs down the right and wins a corner, after being double marked by Mesto and Criscito. Beast mode.

Dainelli heads the corner out of the box, Melo does very well in his defensive midfield role to collect outside of the box, pass back in.

Half over.

As I said in last week’s podcast, Genoa, despite the points, don’t seem any better under Ballardini than Gasperini, shame they haven’t even gotten a new manager bounce. They got two 1-0 wins under somewhat fortuitous circumstances, a Milanetto screamer and a late Ranocchia header. Offense hasn’t changed, and that’s what got Gasperini sacked. Their offense has looked positively unimpressive in the first half.

Our midfield has totally controlled the game, and it looks like 3 points are in the bag here.

Second half:

45′- Kharjah on for Ranocchia? What the hell? Genoa switches to a back 4, but you’d expect Ranocchia to be given that chance there, not old men Kaladze/Dainelli. Inter-owned Destro comes on for Mesto, as Ballardini likes rhyming. I like Mesto and think he’s a bit underrated, but he hasn’t done anything today.
48′- Bonucci goes off the pitch, stopped the game for treatment under no challenge or pressure. Not good, looks like his knee, though he doesn’t look in too much pain. Kaladze concedes a real awful corner.
49′- I said in the first half that Genoa looked tactically confused having switched to a 3-5-2 or something similar, and have reverted to a 4-3-3 in the second half. They still look really tactically confused, or maybe it’s just our midfield dominating theirs.
51′- Brilliant little backheel touch from Aquilani there. He then drives in a nice shot/cross, if Iaquinta got any touch on that, it’d have been a goal, but it was a fast shot and hard to reach.
52′- I have not noticed Quagliarella much in this game. Iaquinta however has been noticed, but hasn’t had a good enough touch to look dangerous, gets beaten by Dainelli.
54′- Melo makes a dangerous challenge in the box on Marco Rossi, just knocking him over without getting the ball. Woulda been real harsh to call that a penalty. Sorensen comes on for Motta, smart move. Motta was having another mediocre game out there, will solidify the back 4 a bit.

As I say that, Sorensen blocks a cross coming in. Atta boy.

55′- Sorensen blocks another cross, this one inside the box. Not a bad way to sub on. Correction- Bonucci blocked that one.
56′- Genoa having a bit of a spell of possession here, which is to be expected. Can’t have 100% possession.

Luca Toni gets the ball on the edge of the box, attempts a volley as either a shot or an assist, it’s neither.

57′- Genoa have had some possession recently, but like Roma, it doesn’t ever really look like Genoa are going to score, Bonucci-Chiellini have been a rock. They get another corner after Sorensen makes a smart header in the box.
59′- Case in point. Couple passes between Toni, Rossi, and Destro, but nothing comes up of it. No final ball.
60′- Kharjah makes a smart pass to Toni who’s onside, but does nothing. Krasic is subbing off for Momo.

Oh dear.

NASA just texted me an alert, a black hole has been detected in Genoa. Pesto fans in the world cry out. Seems Gigi Delneri is setting up shop and calling this a 2-0 win.

62′- Grosso with a poor challenge on Rafinha, deservedly booked. Free kick headed out by Chiellini who has been in beast mode all game, Rossi hits the rebound but well wide.
63′- Commentator is pointing out we’ve had a rather unfortunate habit of conceding after we go up. True. And that’s why the Momo sub annoys me, why not sub on Lanzafame, we’re defending with 30 minutes left?
63′- Iaquinta put on goal, probably fouled Kaladze there, but poor touch and smart goalkeeping by Eduardo prevent a goal. Quagliarella was unmarked waiting in the box.
64′- Rafinha booked for a poor tackle on Quagliarella. Criscito ran at Sorensen a minute ago and was completely blocked, this kid is not bad.

So I just realized we have the Milan midfield back, Marchisio-Aquilani-Melo-Momo. Functional, but square peg in round hole.

But yeah, I’m not a big fan of the Momo sub. He could win the ball and comically miss in the box, allowing Quagliarella to score, but ultimately it’s a real defensive sub with a LOT of the game left to play. Delneri has done real well to drill us tactically in that we can defend that lead, and I expect us to be able to withstand Genoa’s pressure (admittedly, they don’t look too sharp up top) but why go defensive if you can throw Lanzafame on, give him a few minutes, and look for goal #3? It’s not the “joga bonito score lots of goals” Nike marketing campaign I’m thinking about, it’s more that we’re just inviting pressure this way and I’m not a big fan.

66′- Cross comes in, Luca Toni was onside but can’t direct it on target, Sorensen did well to pressure him.

I’m wearing a Juventus jersey, not just because I do whenever we play, but also out of necessity. I need to go check my laundry.

68′- Sorensen tackles Criscito, smartly lets the ball go out for a goal kick. He’s looked way better than Motta in his brief time on, certainly one for the future. And by future, I mean now.

70′- Cross in, Marchisio volleys but Dainelli is there to block it. Aquilani collects it on the clearance, and Juve back in the drivers seat.

Not terribly impressed with Momo’s play thus far, but again….square peg, round hole.

As I say that, Momo has a real godawful first touch in a promising position, gives it to Genoa. On the counter Sorensen reads the ball perfectly and clears.

71′- On the counter, Aquilani plays a lovely throughball to Quagliarella, who attempts to cut in and have a shot, but plenty wide. Mediocre game from our two center forwards thus far.
72′- Kharjah plays in a nice ball to Rossi who just can’t reach it, he’s been real positive since he came on for Genoa, he might have that final ball that Genoa otherwise have been totally lacking thus far. The Genoa player was real good for Siena, and looks to be playing well at the Marassi.

As I say that, Kharjah has a volley, which is deflected and tipped over the bar by Storari.

75′- Momo’s had two decent tackles in the last minute or so, and then kind of fouls a player off the ball. Hasn’t been too great since coming on.

I just saw Sorensen venture into Genoa’s half. Mind you, I don’t care if he doesn’t, although Momo doesn’t offer the same kind of offensive capabilities that Krasic does.

76′- The King comes on for Quagliarella. Not a great game from Quags, not necessarily poor, but at 2-0 up, it’s not that important to criticize our front two.

Substitution delayed as Momo may have a muscle twinge.

77′- Genoa has a good opportunity as Luca Toni heads it down for Destro, who’s shot is deflected out for a corner by Chiellini. Giorgio and Bonucci have been mopping up back there.

Miguel Veloso and Rafinha were strongly linked to us a while ago. Anyone see anything in them today that makes you wish we had them? Not me.

78′- Sorensen blasts a lovely cross field ball to Marchisio. Kid can play.
80′- So Aquilani is coming off for Salihamidzic, when Quagliarella was due to come off for Del Piero. Strange, if they scrubbed the switch, I wonder if Alberto asked to come off. Either Momo/Marchisio will slide into the middle, and Salihamidzic will play at right-mid.

Genoa have had a lot more pressure since Momo came on, but still no real good final killer ball. This kind of reminds me of a game 3 years ago against Genoa, I believe it was also at the Marassi. Grygera had a screamer, and then a brilliant slalom-cum-assist for Trezeguet, and I think it all happened in the first 30 minutes. Game was put to bed in the first half, and this one looks similar. Considering they’re 2-0 down, Genoa have lacked any kind of urgency.

82′- Momo gives the ball away, but Toni’s no-look pass is crap. Can’t decide who is worse right now, Amauri or Toni. On the counter, Grosso plays in Marchisio who has a shot but well saved by Eduardo who at half-time must have decided it was time to play.
84′- Yikes, Kharjah has a cracking drive, it hits the crossbar, with Storari beaten. Unlucky for Genoa, there have been 4 times the ball has hit the post today- 2 were our goals, and Criscito/Kharjah had the other two. Like I said, Kharjah has been a tricky little fellow today. Also, is it just me or does he look Asian?

This might be my 2nd Genoa game this season I’ve watched, but perhaps Genoa’s poor attack is down to relying on an utterly-washed out Luca Toni? They try and play the attack with him as the focal point- like Italy at Euro2008, It’s not working so well.

85′- Ex-Juve primavera Omar Milanetto gets a yellow for clipping Felipe Melo on the counter. Melo has had a solid game. Milanetto has not.
86′- Sorensen puts in two solid tackles. Can be a Grygera-style RB, but also definitely a CB, he’s got impressive physical stature and strength that Criscito doesn’t.
87′- Salihamidzic plays a good long ball to Iaquinta, headed out, and Momo puts in a great tackle to win it back for Juve.
88′- This game was put to bed in the 25th minute. Hasn’t been a drab game to watch, I like our midfield possession and passing, but well, hasn’t been one to keep me on the edge of my seat. Thank God I’m watching this on replay- where I am, this game was at 530am. Some might question my Juventinita, but if I got up then to watch it, I’d be a bit cranky, this liveblog might be profane than an Alberto Malesani press conference. (or a Gigi Buffon Genoa game)
90′- Luca Toni clips Melo, who rolls about 7-8times. I used to do that as a child down hills and such. Oh, Felipe Melo, the man-child.

5 minutes of added time, really? Seems a bit long.

90+1’- Destro makes a good run forward, and has a shot that Storari does very well to save. Had that gone in, my heart rate might have ticked up a notch, woulda been a tense finish. It won’t be, instead, which is perfectly acceptable for me. Kharjah had a very clever pass for Destro.
90+2′- Rudolf has a shot that Storari kinda fumbles. I still laugh a bit whenever the commentator says Rudolf. Jokes are too easy.
90+3′- Commentator says “Freddy Sorensen has looked very solid since coming on” as he heads out a cross. I concur. Well done Freddy.
90+4’- Rafinha fouls Grosso with a poor tackle, could have been a 2nd yellow but that’d just be cruel. Game is already over, we’re in stoppage time.

Game over.

Summary?

0-15: Milos Krasic.

LOLGOAL.

15-25: Milos Krasic.

25-90: Freddy Sorensen. Luca Toni sucks. Rudolf is awesome, but not for his ability. Iaquinta heavy touches. Quagliarella too far from goal. My laundry is done. Momo is no Tea Partier. Kharjah made this semi-interesting.

But hey, I’ll take a controlled albeit a bit boring performance, if it secures a 2-0 win away at a decent team. Should spark a few questions over Gasperini’s sacking, I don’t see an improvement at all since.

I’m off to go roll down a hill, discover my inner man-child. Cheers all.

Also up for debate today are the merits of Frederick Sørensen & Armand Traoré, the inspirational displays of Alberto Aquilani, Simone Pepe’s vastly improved showing this weekend, our love of Giorgio Chiellini… and a small history lesson featuring Magic Johnson.

Enjoy, and as always thanks for listening!

Aaron, Marco & Adam

LE PAGELLE:

Storari: 6.5- Wonderful save on Menez early on, and then had very, very little to do. Why shouldn’t he be in the Nazionale right now? He’s proving to still be one of the most consistent keepers in Serie A.

Sorensen: 6.5- Made his Juventus debut as a central defender, I was very surprised to see him get a start against Roma, and moreso in a right-back position, but he repaid Delneri’s faith in him significantly. Concentrated and cool under pressure, a wonderful and very promising performance. Strange he isn’t getting more praise in the media.
Bonucci: 6- A relatively good performance marred by some real bad errors when he moved forward. Really needs to do better when leaving position, as far as protecting the ball.
Chiellini: 7- A brilliant game from Keyser Giorgio, who read passes like Scirea and man-marked like Gentile. He is absolutely vital to our defense.
Grosso: 5- Three games in 2 weeks is a bit tough for a player in form, but for recalling a player from 6 months of sitting on the shelf, rather difficult. Fabio was not good against Brescia, and also against Roma. That said, he wasn’t disastrous by any means, and this is more or less the kind of performance I expect from someone on the fringes of the squad.

Class.

Pepe: 6.5- Penalty aside, a very good performance from Pepe who was whipping in some dangerous crosses and also helping out in defense as usual. If he can play like this more consistently, there’s no reason we shouldn’t sign him as a reserve.
Melo: 5.5- Back from a small injury, and it showed. Caught in possession a few times and didn’t make as many imperious tackles as we’ve seen thus far this season.
Aquilani: 7.5- Wonderful, wonderful performance from the ex-Romanista. I wondered before kickoff if he’d be poor, or great in facing his old team, he chose the latter. Mastered the midfield, threading passes around and advancing whenever he liked. He’s far more than a regista, he can tackle (his foul on Totti) and he has a good shot/dribbling skills. Brilliant assist to Iaquinta for the goal, he nutmegged Greco and then put in a precise cross to Vincenzone.
Marchisio: 6- When advancing he created a few problems for Roma, but it wasn’t too consistent of a game. Relatively subdued, and I’m still not a fan of him on the wings.

Quagliarella: 6.5- Very dangerous in attack, he looked creative, determined, and capable. Held up play well, had a brilliant volley/shot that would have been goal of the season if not for Julio Sergio’s save. In very strong form at the moment.
Iaquinta: 6- Didn’t look too in-form, as a real heavy first touch let him down when he was nearly 1v1 with the keeper. Followed up with a goal Quagliarella would be proud of, a real genius scissor-kick.

Delneri: 6.5- More than anything, this game convinced me we’ve seen a new Juventus. Roma had the lions share of possession for most of the game, but we never looked like we’d concede.
Del Piero 5- His substitution was ostensibly because Iaquinta wasn’t fully fit, but also to allow Quagliarella to push up, but Alex didn’t play well. Lost a lot of balls, didn’t ever look too inventive, all in all, a let down. (Roma is his favorite target, too) But hey, it happens to the best.
Traore: s.v- I don’t even know what to say. At times during the game I wanted to ship him back to Arsenal, other times I thought “he could be useful.” First debut in a new league, and not a bad one. Caceres was really poor in his debut against Lazio…and he adapted quickly.

Totti acts like the douche he is

So Aquilani flattens him. Good man.

Things I Think I Think:

#1- Referees aren’t corrupt, but they continue to make shit decisions: Is what Pepe did a penalty? Yes. Why was that not a penalty for Milan? Why did Milan’s 45+2 end at 45+2 but Juve’s continued well beyond? The problem is not the calls, it’s that for some reason the referees only seem to be applying the full letter of the law to us. Krasic got banned with TV evidence. Will Borriello get the same for tripping Chiellini in an off-the-ball incident? Why did Iaquinta get booked for celebrating in front of the Udinese fans and Totti get off scot-free for saying STFU to the Curva Sud and insulting Storari? Either call the rules the same for everyone, or don’t. Ridiculous.

Did I mention Totti repeatedly called Storari a “piece of shit” after scoring the penalty. I hate that man, so much. Classless douchebag.

#2- Subbing Iaquinta for Del Piero Didn’t Work: The idea made sense, Quagliarella looked dangerous but was dropping very, very deep to pick up and defend the ball. Iaquinta wasn’t fully fit and his first touch was letting us down on the counter attack. So put in Alex to hold the ball, and let Quagliarella move up. I would have done the same, except Alex didn’t do so well. Maybe something about playing almost 2 1/2 hours in the last 7 days isn’t so great for a 36-year old. Might not be the age, though, even the best players can have nights off.

#4- Quando Gioca Sempre Segna Trezeguet: He scored again this weekend against Real Sociedad, giving Hercules a 2-1 victory. 6 goals in 9 games for Trez, and as high as his salary was (barely higher than Amauri anyways), we should have cut Amauri a free transfer and kept Trezegol for one more year. Now we’ll have Amauri sitting around next summer when we try and sign a champion striker. Forget transfer fees, who would want him at 4+mil a season?

Nedved- “God, I wish I could be out there to tear Mexes a new one. Giorgio, do me a favor?”

“STOP BEING FRENCH!!”

#5- Afellay signs for Barcelona: There was confirmed interest from both Inter and Juve within Italy, but PSV winger Ibrahim Afellay has chosen to sign with Barcelona. No bitter regrets here, as I didn’t think we ever had a chance of winning his signature, but seriously, enjoy the bench Afellay. You’re an attacking midfielder/winger, joining Barcelona of all teams. Are you out of your goddamn mind?

#6- Watching Materazzi Get Hit By Ibrahimovic: It was like watching Justin Beiber fight Lady Gaga- somehow, you hope that both will die so we don’t have to hear from them again. At first I didn’t think Materazzi was hurt, after all, he has faked injuries and done so to avoid being humiliated. Can’t believe Rafa picked him for the derby, he’s 37, he’s been shit for years (probably his whole career barring a 2-year span) and hasn’t played all season.

That’s all for now. Good news- Marchisio skipped out on Nazionale due to muscle fatigue (be back in 2-3 days) and Krasic started training and could be ready by this weekend.

SEMPRE JUVE!!

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!!!

Everyone recognize the guy on the left?

Welcome home, Pavel.

Obviously, I’m extremely pleased with what we’re seeing right now. The scorelines, the enthusiasm, the desire to win reminds me of the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. We had crushing victories like 5-1 over Livorno, or 5-0 over Palermo to announce our return, but also some nailbiting entertaining encounters like our 3-2 victory against Cagliari, which we replicated (1 better!) just a few weeks ago. We started the season with a fairly drab 1-0 loss to Bari, and then the floodgates opened on both ends. We all wondered whether the scoring or conceding would dry up first, and Delneri’s hard work drilling tactics into the squad seem to be paying off.

This isn’t to say we’re out of the woods, not by a long shot. There’s much work to do, but I can say as I said this summer, this team can qualify for the Champion’s League. It may not be a Scudetto-winning team, but that’s not our aim right now. We wanted a younger, hungrier, aggressive team with a fine tactician, and that’s what we have. Regarding the Scudetto, it is a dream. I do not want the team to focus on it, I like the way we are flying under the radar right now. If we come to late March, and are still in contention, that is when we talk about it. But it is too soon, there is much work to be done. (It reminds me of the NFL Baltimore Ravens in 2000. Their coach banned them from talking about the playoffs, and the team subsequently referred to it as “Festivus.” They ended up winning the Super Bowl, or “Festivus Maximus.”)

So no more talk of the Scudetto. It remains a pipe dream, as far as I’m concerned, but we can see that this team is certainly a contender for automatic qualification to the Champion’s League.

LE PAGELLE:

Storari: 7- The sign of a great keeper is not necessarily if he can make a string of super-saves, but if he can be decisive when it’s most important. Storari made a brilliant save at 1-0, preventing Lecce from getting into the game. While I think we would have won even if they scored, Storari came up big in the one real chance they had.

Grygera: 6- With Krasic ahead of him, it removes a lot of offensive responsibility from Grygera, and it allows him to play simple, to play defense. It’s no coincidence that Krasic’s emergence has come at the same time as Grygera’s started putting in solid shifts at fullback.
Chiellini: 6.5- Keyser Giorgio gave no quarter to any of Lecce’s strikers.
Bonucci: 6- Looked a little too casual at moments, but another clean sheet and another good relationship-building performance with Chiellini. Looks like they are improving day-by-day.
De Ceglie: 6- Like Grygera, De Ceglie wasn’t too troubled as Lecce didn’t really attack down the wings. Got forward, had a few good crosses in the 1st half, but otherwise a pretty quiet game.

Anyone with photoshop skills, please take the above picture and make it into this with “Welcome to Torino”

Krasic: 8- Blimey, this guy is sensational, and he’s only 25 years old. Looking more and more like the goddamn buy of the summer, whether Serie A or all of Europe. I thought Krasic would be a great signing, but he’s looking beyond great. What is that, 2-3 assists yesterday?
Aquilani: 7- Stepped in and displayed all his quality, very much displaying the player he was at Roma. Technical quality, simple and difficult passing with ease, and a lovely long-range effort to open the scoring.
Felipe Melo: 7- Freed from any kind of playmaking responsibility, Melo is able to do what he does best. Win back the ball, and pass it to someone else. I’ve mentioned several times that Felipe also has an eye for an occasional great pass, and he shows that too. Maybe when he’s not pressured to be a playmaker is when he can actually be one.
Marchisio: 7- Played again as a central-midfielder-slash-winger, in which he occasionally advanced down the wing, other times drifted centrally to help Aquilani and Melo. Excellent performance, and on the wing he’s allowed to display a few tricks here and there. I still don’t like him outside, though.

Quagliarella: 6- Drifts out wide and deep, given a lot of tactical license. His cross, albeit not a particularly good one, led to Aquilani’s opening goal, and then with a diving header, scored Juve’s 3rd in the 1st half to kill the game. Why did he score it with a diving header when a simple tap-in could have sufficed? Because he’s Quags, damnit. If he makes it harder, it becomes easier.
Amauri: 5.5- Good build-up play, but again doesn’t seem to have the ruthless streak to score freely. With Dzeko’s shadow looming, he needs to get into form or his position as “foreign bomber who (supposedly) scores lots of goals with some skill involved” will be replaced. Fouled a lot, and caught offside in a relatively mediocre performance.

Delneri: 7.5- Everything worked well, the defense, the midfield, the offense. Cannot complain about how the coach had the team organized.
Del Piero: 10- Grazie per tutti i gol, Alex.

Things I Think I Think:
#1- Foreshadowing: Roberto titled his preview “All About The Quality.” Lecce didn’t have any.

#2- Tactics, tactics, tactics: In theory, Delneri played a 4-4-2 and will always play a 4-4-2, but for large portions of the match this was simply not the case. In reality, between Krasic shifting flanks and attacking the middle, it could easily be interpreted as a 4-3-1-2, with Marchisio drifting central and Krasic as the trequartista. Hard to argue it didn’t work.

#3- Delneri this summer: “Del Piero is the charismatic captain of Juventus but for the future I’m thinking of Marchisio. Marchiso’s an important element, a central midfielder, not a wide man. He’s young, he has the right temperament, I like him.” Gah. Where did that go to?

Aquilani is not impressed with Melo’s dancing

#4- Melo’s cucchaio: He bet his father he’d do it. Aquilani teased him he wouldn’t be able to. A cucchaio shows incredible confidence, perhaps bordering on cockiness or hubris, but it shows Melo is full of it at the moment. In so many ways.

#5- Perfect way to leave the international break: I was a bit worried that some of our positive momentum going into the international break might be robbed, but we were raring to go from minute one. We didn’t look rusty at all, looked tactically

#6- Another clean sheet: Forget the 4-0 drubbings, every clean sheet we get is going to boost the confidence of players like Grygera, De Ceglie, and Bonucci, all who need it. That’s two in a row, Red Bull Salzburg are a poor team and we should really aim for another clean sheet there, regardless of how many goals might come.

#7- Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday: Lecce are a team “without quality.” So are Red Bull Salzburg, who have lost 2-0 to Lech Poznan (at home) and 2-0 to Manchester City. We have Bologna coming up this weekend, so Delneri should use this time to experiment. Maybe using Pepe as a fullback, ahem ahem?

#8- Missed the game? Watch it on YouTube, narrated by Claudio Zuliani.

#9- Beyond the Pitch, the best damn podcast out there managed to snag an interview with Diego. He says some very kind words about Juventus, and also drops a big hint about Dzeko. (Those “Juventus fans hounding us about how much they liked you” that Anthony mentions could have been me. I may have sent them a lot of messages about it.) Absolutely worth a listen, it’s about 10 minutes or so, go czech it out. (Grygera/Nedved groan)

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