IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Antonio Conte was so close to taking the Juventus job over the summer and now he comes face to face with his old teammate Ciro Ferrara.

When Conte took Bari to promotion from Serie B, he announced he would only be willing to leave if it meant sitting on the Bianconeri bench. Many reports suggested it was a done deal, but the club opted to keep Ferrara after his caretaker spell and Conte ended up quitting anyway in a row over transfer policy.

Now the former midfielder takes on his past and, possibly, his future. Conte wore the Juve shirt from 1991 to 2004, winning five Scudetti, four Italian Super Cups, a Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup, Intertoto Cup and Intercontinental Cup.

Atalanta had gone unbeaten with the new Coach in charge, but have hit a brick wall of two consecutive defeats against Livorno and Cagliari. “I had the feeling our problems were not over. We struggled with three matches in eight days.” That shouldn’t be an issue this time around, as it is Juventus who have had the packed schedule.

The Turin giants have been looking tired towards the end of their games and never was that clearer than in the last Serie A round. Leading 2-0 against Napoli, they collapsed by conceding three goals in 23 minutes for their first home defeat of the campaign.

That result left them a massive seven points adrift of leaders Inter and hit hard in terms of confidence. The midweek Champions League win at Maccabi Haifa at least means a slight boost ahead of this trip to Bergamo.

Amauri is suspended following his red card against Napoli, joined on the sidelines by the injured Vincenzo Iaquinta, Alessandro Del Piero, Hasan Salihamidzic, Claudio Marchisio, Jonathan Zebina and Momo Sissoko.

Sebastian Giovinco pulled out of the Maccabi match with a muscular twinge and Fabio Cannavaro was rested, while David Trezeguet is the only real option to start upfront. “The time for mistakes is over, we have no room for any more stumbles,” warned President Jean-Claude Blanc.

Atalanta are forced to do without Robert Acquafresca, Ferreira Pinto, Tomas Manfredini, Diego De Ascentis, Gyorgy Garics and Edgar Barreto – the latter out for three months after fracturing the metatarsal in his left foot. Cristiano Doni should start despite his row with Conte over a substitution, joined by Simone ‘il Tir’ Tiribocchi.

The last time these two teams met in Bergamo back in April 2008 it ended in a 4-0 drubbing with Del Piero bagging a hat-trick. Juventus are undefeated here in Serie A since March 2001.

Keep an eye on: David Trezeguet (Juventus) – His header had given Juve such high hopes against Napoli and took him to within a goal of Omar Sivori’s record 167 as top foreign marksman in the club’s history. Trez can seem to disappear from games, but lose him for that split second and he’s bound to score. football-italia.net

Last five in Serie A: Atalanta (D W W L L) Juventus (L D W W L)

myp2p.eu (match thread), atdhe.net (direct match link)

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

“If Blanc wanted to show faith in Ferrara, he didn’t use the right words,” Moggi writes in the Libero newspaper. “That sentence ‘there are no more bonuses’ meant exactly the opposite.”

“He vented his disappointment at the weakest target: the coach. That’s a familiar method for those who don’t know anything about football. If Juve have showed problems against Napoli, it is down to a transfer campaign that was much celebrated but not at all pondered.”

“[Marco] Marchionni and [Cristiano] Zanetti have reinforced Fiorentina in exchange for bread crumbs. And Felipe Melo arrived from Florence for €25 million, but he does not have a curriculum to play for a team that must win in Italy and abroad, especially when you already have [Christian] Poulsen and [Mohamed] Sissoko,” said Moggi.

“And don’t get me started on Tiago…”

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

#1- Sometimes it’s frustrating when you lose, when you’re the better team. Today was not one of those days. Palermo > Us
#2- Ferrara’s subs sucked. We had serious issues breaking down the impenetrable wall of pink, so we take off our two creative players and throw on another static forward?
#3- Amauri needs to be demoted to Primavera for a month or so. And he needs to shut up about the whole Nazionale deal.
#4- I hope none of our players play for their national teams, they shouldn’t be going anyways. Let’s see the Azzurri without Juventus players.
#5- We had zero tactics, other than occasionally long ball. No one could hold onto the ball, no one could pass, no one knew where the fuck we were going. Evidence? 62% possession, 16 shots, 0 on target. Yeah, 0 on target. That is absurd.
#6- Kjaer is a goddamn stud.
#7- Time for me to put to test the Shampoo Effect.

Nedved wanted to be there to help encourage his former team-mates ahead of the Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich, which takes place in Germany on Wednesday.

‘Furia Ceca’ wasn’t in Turin just for some back slapping, though.

According to Tuttosport, he was there to rub shoulders with the club’s directors, whose offer of a coaching role is still open. The report suggests Nedved considered the proposal while on holiday during the summer, though there is no comment as to what his thinking is.

goal.com

 IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

“We also had more chances to score. I wanted a merciless football when it came to wanting to win. We wanted the three points and we had to face the match with humility as we did and we brought home the victory”.

Praise for three great protagonists: “Gigi played a great match but Marchisio and Iaquinta who also deserve to be praised”.

Exhaustion could be an important factor: “My team could be tired but sometimes perhaps we run a bit for nothing using important energies and sometimes we tend to run after the opponents and therefore must try to hold the ball more and start the action”.

“It is a positive thing that we scored in the first half especially in the first minutes which allowed us to control the match. We must make sure that we keep up the consistency even though we are happy with the three points. Now we must think of Genoa which is a team of very high level”.

juventus.com

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE

RECENT ENCOUNTERS: The good news of course is that the last few years, despite Roma’s near-Scudetto in 07-08, we’ve kicked their asses. 2004 was the last time they’ve won a game against us, kicking our ass 4-0 in Rome, but Spalletti has never beaten Juve and the last few seasons read 2-2, 1-0, 2-0, 4-1, which bodes pretty well. Last encounter in Rome was against an injury-ravaged team and we thrashed them good, 4-1, with the highlight of the night being Nedved’s wonder volley from the edge of the box. Roma’s not so injury-ravaged this time though, so it’ll be a very different game.

You know what’s awesome about this video? I realized when searching YouTube that last spring’s 4-1 drubbing in Rome is the 2nd of the last 5-6 years or so.

RECENT FORM:
Juventus- Preseason games ignored, we labored hard against Chievo. The scoreline should have been bigger, but for an opener against a very resilient squad, I’ll take it.
Roma- The million-dollar question: Can they replicate their Europa League form in Serie A? The team fell to Genoa last week 3-2 in an exciting encounter, but have thrashed their opponents in the Europa League with two 7-1 results already. Those are pretty rubbish teams, but they did look different in those matches; more determined, more cohesive, etc.

FORMATIONS AND LINEUPS:
Juventus- 4-3-1-2: This may be the first time in 2 years it isn’t 4-4-2. Well, not true, we did experiment with 4-3-3 and even a 3-4-1-2 once. Out of the game are Sissoko and Zebina certainly, Salihamidzic likely to miss out and Felipe Melo and Diego are pushing for full fitness. Cannavaro-Chiellini look set to continue their partnership as Legrottaglie looks on forlorn from the bench, and given the substitute in the last game, De Ceglie preferred over Molinaro. Grygera will likely man the right-flank, though Caceres played well in a training match, scoring a long-range goal.

In midfield, Diego will certainly be slotting into the trequartista, provided he is healthy, and after a positive game against Chievo much will be expected of him. I’ve got a new phrase I’ll be using, and that’s the Melo effect. Simply, if a player is transferred into the squad and cost a lot of money or has a big name, he will start over the incumbent regardless of form. It sort of can be applied to Cannavaro, but Felipe Melo, if healthy, will almost certainly be starting, which makes no sense as his preseason form was pretty crap. Marchisio and Tiago will probably round it out, though if Melo is missing, Poulsen may get yet another chance to prove himself and hopefully get that reencounter with Totti we’ve all been waiting for.

In attack, Del Piero should be fit, but it remains to be seen if Ferrara will choose him. Trez still looks like he’ll be waiting for his chance, after a positive game last week I think Ciro will stick with Iaquinta-Amauri. Iaquinta had a few good chances though I think sometimes his decision-making was iffy, and Amauri looked in phenomenal form despite not getting on the scoresheet.

Predicted XI: Buffon; Grygera, Cannavaro, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Marchisio, Tiago, Poulsen; Diego; Amauri, Iaquinta

Roma- The Giallorossi have a few absentees, notably Doni, Andreolli, Vucinic, and Brighi. From the looks of their Europa League exploits, they haven’t really missed them. For better info, go read Chris’ take on it (expect a lot of comments about ladri, thieves, maybe a chateau d’if reference, and of course irrational hatred for Nedved) at the Roma Offside.

Predicted XI: Channel4 says this- 4-2-3-1: Artur; Motta, Mexes, Burdisso, Riise; De Rossi, Pizarro; Taddei, Menez, Guberti; Totti
Goal.com says this- 4-3-3: Artur; Motta, Mexes, Burdisso, Riise; Taddei, Pizarro, De Rossi; Totti, Vucinic, Menez.

Pick whichever you like.

A lovely picture yours truly took in Florence. That much I can agree with Viola fans.

KEY PLAYERS:
As much as I hate to admit it, Goal.com’s preview is right on this one. Diego for Juve, and Totti for Roma. Diego had a great first half where he was dribbling past half of Chievo and putting in great final passes, whereas Totti has scored a lot in the opening Europa League games. A lot.

KEY BATTLES:
Spalletti v. Juve- Juve- Spalletti has a pretty poor record against Juve with Roma, having never won in the 3 seasons he’s played the Bianconeri. I rate Spalletti pretty highly, but I don’t think they will win this weekend, a draw would be a good result for them. After Iaquinta’s brace last spring, Spalletti probably won’t be complaining about how Iaquinta doesn’t “score enough.”

Nazionale Capitano v. Romanista Capitano- Push- Funny how different the two are, Cannavaro is not really associated with a particular team in Italy, whereas obviously Totti is the symbol of Roma, of all-time. Both have started out the season on the right foot, and it will be a fascinating duel between them.

Roma-born-and-bred Midfield General v. Turin-born-and-bred Midfield General- Push- De Rossi has been in pretty poor form this season and he’ll have his work cut out to contain Diego, but that doesn’t free him of responsibility to roam the center-midfield. Some have called Marchisio the Turin answer to DDR, and while I don’t necessarily agree with the comparison, the duo will have an interesting battle.

Prediction: 2-1 to the Bianconeri. Totti, Marchisio, and Amauri to score. Roma’s offense has been good the preseason, and that simply means Juve’s defense which has been decent needs to stifle them. Roma’s defense has been pretty miserable and we should be able to exploit that well, but ultimately, I think we need to do our best on defense and the result will take care of itself. Let’s beat these whiny inferior bastards.

Other previews:
Goal.com (EN)
Football Italia
Football Italiano- Juve preview
Football Italiano- The Roma side
And for sheer entertainment, Chris’ preview/review of the 2-2 draw in Rome from our return to Serie A.

At the end of the Sunday session, Ferrara announced the list of players called-up for the Trofeo Berlusconi which will see the inclusion of Marchisio, Trezeguet and Zebina who returned to working with the group. Diego is also included after having had a good training session and playing the mini-match as joker.

Tiago will not be part of the expedition, after having suffered a muscle strain to the right thigh which will be examined on Monday. Other players which have not been called-up are Camoranesi who will continue with his recovery following the injury suffered with the national team, Caceres who was granted a day off, Chiellini who will be rested as well as the injured Giovinco and Sissoko.

The Mali midfielder is at St. Rapahel at the Cote Azzure at the centre where he had formerly undergone the post-operation rehabilitation programme: the medical treatment is being carried out in accordance with the Juventus medical staff while the athletic preparation is being followed by Gaudino.

Below is the list of players called-up:

1 Buffon
4 Felipe Melo
5 Cannavaro
7 Salihamidzic
8 Marchisio
9 Iaquinta
10 Del Piero
11 Amauri
12 Chimenti
13 Manninger
15 Zebina
17 Trezeguet
18 Poulsen
19 Molinaro
21 Grygera
23 Ariaudo
28 Diego
29 De Ceglie
33 Legrottaglie

 juventus.com

It’s still preseason we know that. But let’s not get forget that if we fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I want to see a well compact team that passes the ball on the ground and works hard to close down our opponents. Diego will most likely be starting in this one so I can’t wait to see him on the ball again. Also, anyone care for another Poulsen-Gattuso clash? Streaming: atdhe.net & myp2p.eu.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Juventus take on Sevilla tonight in their opening match of the Peace Cup. What in Mother Teresa’s name is the Peace Cup you ask? Well, twelve teams are divided into four groups of three teams. Each team plays one match against each other in the group stage, the first place in each group will qualify to the semi-finals and the winners will advance to the finals. Did I mention the tournament champions receive 2,000,000 Euros? Maybe we can keep Poulsen after all.

Either way, the runners-up receive 1,000,000 Euros, while third and fourth place teams each bag half that. Financials aside, the 2009 Coppa di Pace will include the likes of:

Ecuador- LDU Quito
England- Aston Villa
France- Lyon
Italy- Juventus
Mexico- Atlante
Portugal- Porto
Saudi Arabia- Al-Ittihad
South Korea- Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Spain- Málaga, Sevilla, Real Madrid
Turkey- Beşiktaş

Joining Juventus and Sevilla in Group A is the South Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who we’ll play in four days time. However before then, we find ourselves pitted against our toughest opponent yet this pre-season.

On our end, you could say we’re successfully maximizing our pre-season time to work out the kinks. As the lads are getting back into shape, they’re doing their best to adapt to a/many new formation(s) that will unavoidably take some time to learn. Coupled with the late international arrivals to Pinzolo, Juventus will try their best to win their group underneath the over-arching aim of match fitness preparation.

“It will be a useful test to evaluate the team’s conditions. The internationals joined a short while ago and yesterday three important players, Legrottaglie, Giovinco and Melo, joined the team. Melo must work to get back into shape, seeing that he finished with the Confederations Cup rather late. Expectations in his regard are very high just like the ones for Diego and Cannavaro but I expect more from all at Juventus”.

“The first year in black and white can be tough and therefore it is my intention not to put too much responsibility on the new signings. I am not referring to Cannavaro who know the environment well but definitely to Diego and Melo. Diego will today begin working with the ball. We do not ant to rush things and him playing will depend on how far we go in the tournament and therefore we hope to advance and be able to utilize him”. – Ciro Ferrara

So unfortunately no Diego or Melo yet. However it’s good to know our investments are being looked after appropriately. In other news, Poulsen now seems almost certain to leave this year after he was weirdly left behind in Turin for the Peace Cup. He’s obviously healthy, in fact one of our fittest according to reports from Pinzolo, so it seems Juventus want to keep him that way to lure or satisfy some potential suitors.

For more news about our Spanish opponents other than the absence of Luis Fabiano and Kanoute, Anthony over at the Sevilla Offside wrote something up about his side before this game. In which, I’m happy to say, he notes his side is playing a little “crippled” just like us these days. Well then may the least impaired side win!

Streaming Links:
http://www.atdhe.net/8162/watch-fc-sevilla-vs-juventus
http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=43703&part=sports

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!