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Ferrara’s men have had quite some time to rest and refocus during the long international break so I don’t want to hear excuses from the team before or after this one regardless of our Champions League fixture against Bordeaux on Wednesday.  Of which I’m happy to announce, Milan’s trash and Bordeaux’s treasure, Yoann Gourcuff might be unavailable in that one due to a groin problem he picked up against Ireland on international duty.  Fucking Henry.  On a side note, Bordeaux just lost it’s first home game of the season today losing 1-0 against Valenciennes which lets Lyon go level with them on points in Ligue 1.  Both Gourcuff and forward Marouane Chamakh weren’t featured.

Back to Sunday’s game.  On Udinese’s side of the ball, like I was saying earlier, they’ve got a nice stockpile of injuries themselves and a key suspension that will severely hinder their chances of coming away with win in Turin.  Giovanni Pasquale, Alexis Sanchez, Simone Pepe, Christian Obodo, Antonio Floro Flores and Damiano Ferronetti are all out injured.  Last but certainly not least, Antonio Di Natale will be watching this game from the sidelines as the diminutive striker is suspended following his fourth yellow card of the season he picked up for taking his protest against a referee too far in a match versus Fiorentina last week.

Udinese coach Pasquale Marino will obviously miss Toto.  But without forward Floro Flores, who I consider to be very underrated, and Simone Pepe, who’s craftiness on the wings I definitely won’t miss, Marino’s hands are unquestionably tied.  D’Agostino can’t do this all by himself especially when Ciro’s sure to employ either Poulsen, Momo, or Melo to closely mark the Palermo born midfielder.  You want to talk about motivation Gaetano?  Well Ferrara won’t have any problem getting Felipe up for this one either.  The battle of Juventus’ transfer targets last year should be good to watch.

On our side of the ball, the injuries aren’t as grim.  While Iaquinta is still unavailable until the beginning of December, Trezeguet will be out for month after an MRI confirmed a problem in his left calf muscle that he picked up in practice Thursday.  T-Rez however will be given a prize for his goals record he achieved vs. Atalanta before Sunday’s kick-off.  Salihams is still injured for God knows how long and Alessio’s favorite defender Jonathan Zebina is out because of a fractured perm.  Also, neither Marchisio or Tiago will be featured here but Wednesday’s CL game might be a different story.

The biggest news concerning our infirmary however is our captain’s return from injury.  Alessandro Del Piero’s season can finally begin.  With close to 15 days of uninterrupted training with the first team, Alex The Great is ready to impress once again.  Here are some pre-match comments about Del Piero made by coach Ciro:

“Del Piero is a second striker who likes to meet the game and start off from outside, to then go to the centre. He prefers a specific pitch area, remaining anyway a striker. I won’t clearly say how we will play tomorrow, but if we’ll go on with the same module of the last matches, being a left external among playmakers is a position that Alessandro can well cover, of course with different characteristics”.

“But we cannot expect he can cover the complete band, and therefore we’ll find a right balance. But like we played in the last matches anyway, I don’t think that Giovinco has such defensive characteristics. Alessandro Diego and Camoranesi can surely play together”.

“Having Del Piero at our disposal is a great advantage, for the strength he passes on to the group and for what he can do on the pitch. We missed him in this period, but [those] who played for him behaved well”.

I can see two possibilities for tomorrow’s line-up: 1) Ciro goes for the 4-2-3-1 and employs Del Piero to the left of Diego right from the start with Amauri as the lone striker, or 2) Ciro goes for the 4-2-3-1 and Alex starts on the bench with Seba given the nod.  As you can see, I’m totally not giving the 4-3-1-2 a chance.  With Trezeguet and Iaquinta both out, Ferrara will most likely not start the only two strikers he has at his disposal at once (here Immobile might an interesting option).  The second possibility, where Giovinco starts, seems to make more sense as it provides Ferrara with more room to manoeuvre Del Piero and place him where he’s needed the most throughout the game.  Of course I could be totally wrong on this.  As long as we win though I’m sure I’ll survive.

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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)

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“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…”

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“We are very happy.  It was a perfect evening due to the result, the match played and the way we handled the match.  This is the spirit of Juventus.  Clearly, if we see tonight’s match this would seem like the best tactical approach but in an entire championship sometimes you have to change”.

“Today the players played like great champions.  They were perfect and I can only thank them and say a big well done.  This would be the perfect Juve but I am aware of the fact that it is not easy to maintain this rythm.  It is however, the starting point of our team”.

Asked who according to him is the man of the match, the Juventus coached said: “It is hard to pick out a single player because today played as a team and in such cases you create more and suffer less.  Even the players who came on did really well”.

From now on: “This should be the charge that launches us.  It is true we came from a series of negative results and this conditioned us but we showed that we can come back and now we have to maintain this”.

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tic toc tic toc tic toc… KABOOM!!!

Tonight won’t be the type of showcasing you hoped it would Cassano.  If I’m Ferrara I’m betting you have more trouble playing against yourself than my defenders.  So, my guys are gonna play you tight hoping you start feeling like the calls aren’t going your way.  Once the fuse is lit, watch the implosion from a safe distance.  I’m sure you’re a nice guy Antonio, but there’s no fucking way your going to just walk into our house and continue to build a case for South Africa tonight.  Not now, not against my Juventus.

Mannini, incredible positioning.  Pazzini, much more dynamic then I had thought.  Castellazzi, great hands.  But in my opinion against the Bianconeri, the three of them can’t do this thing by themselves.  Take Cassano out of the game and you take Sampdoria out of the running tonight.  That said, we need to play great at the same time.  Oh yea I forgot about that part. Ciro’s take on the match:

“We need a top level Juve to beat the team which is in most in form at the moment. To win we must play a great match. Decisive match? Here they are always decisive and we must try to take advantage of the home stadium”.

“Cassano? He is strong this year as he was in the last year or when I played against him as a player. He is decisive and fundamental but Sampdoria had an excellent game organization which allows even other players to do well”.

To face a well launched Sampdoria, Ferrara would have liked to have a complete squad, however after Iaquinta he also lost Caceres (nose fracture) and Felipe Melo received a blow in the last training session. All this, however, does not frighten the coach:

“I am hopeful about Felipe. I think he can recover without any problems. Injuries and suspensions are part of the job. The important thing is knowing how to manage these situations. Nonetheless I have an excellent and numerous squad at my disposal. I have faith in those who will be playing and Samp at the moment is capable of motivating the team”.

juventus.com

In other news, Caceres was operated on this morning and will be discharged from the hospital later tonight. Apparently he’ll be able to resume training as early as Saturday. Anyways, the usual suspects are still out injured which means our lineup will probably look like (4-2-3-1) : Buffon – Grygera, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso – Sissoko, Melo – Camoranesi, Diego, Giovinco – Amauri. Our youngster Immobile was called up but he probably won’t see any PT. On their end, Semioli is out so expect a (4-4-2) consistinng of: Castellazzi – Stankevicius, Gastaldello, Lucchini, Zauri – Mannini, Palombo, Poli, Ziegler – Pazzini, Cassano.

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

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Playmaker Sebastian Giovinco is confident Juventus have put a difficult month behind them after his stirring display helped the Bianconeri overcome a hard-working Maccabi Haifa FC 1-0 in their third UEFA Champions League Group A match on Wednesday.

Hitting back

The 22-year-old was thrown in by Ciro Ferrara after spending the best part of the Bianconeri’s winless month on the sidelines as the Juve coach changed tactics for the crucial match. Forwards Vincenzo Iaquinta and Amauri were dropped and David Trezeguet brought in, with Giovinco and Diego included together for the first time this season to supply and excite.

Yellow daze

A precocious talent who has been compared to Roberto Baggio, Juve have high hopes for Giovinco and, in the first half in particular, he showed why. Dribbling with abandon, his quick feet, body speed and low centre of gravity had Maccabi defenders mesmerised. Unable to stop him within the rules, three were booked for last-ditch tackles early on. “It doesn’t matter if you play with one, two or three fantasistas,” he added. “If you go into the match trying to win, that’s how the game should be played.”

Fantasy pair

Demonstrating their ability to play together, Diego and Giovinco combined to win the free-kick that led to Chiellini’s headed 47th-minute winner, Juve’s first victory in Group A and in all competitions for a month. “We are hoping to continue winning as we have done this evening,” Giovinco continued. “All that is on our minds now is Sunday [at AC Siena]. We’ll think about the next Champions League match three days before it takes place.”

‘Come good’

Giovinco also took the opportunity to vent his frustration after criticism of his early season performances. “You say finally a good performance, that I’ve come good and played a decent match but my own perspective is very different,” argued the midfielder. “I’ve made contributions in important games previously this season. Diego and I have done our bit but because the strikers don’t score you think we’re playing badly. That’s not on. But you’re right, tonight was a good game.”

Looking ahead

With five points from three matches – two fewer than FC Girondins de Bordeaux and one more of FC Bayern München – another win in Israel in the return against Maccabi on 3 November will go a long way to securing Juve’s qualification to the knockout rounds and answering La Vecchia Signora’s demanding critics.

uefa.com

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We’re unbeaten at home in this competition since 2004, and they’ve never won in any of their previous four Champions League games away from home.  If history can teach us anything, I would have stayed awake during it’s class.  I’m not taking anything for granted tonight.

“We worked on something different but I want to wait and see until tomorrow. Choices are made according to the particular moment of the team and something according to the opponent we will be playing against. I want to keep everyone in suspense, ready, careful, concentrated and mean”.

“I saw them [Maccabi Haifa F.C.] play and I think they are a very organized team, very linear and well placed on the field. Certain elements are high in quality. They lost the first match at home but they played well in the first half. Against Bordeaux they lost in the dying minutes after having created a number of opportunities. It is a team that should be respected with very young fullbacks, some of which were born in 1991″. Ciro Ferrara

juventus.com

The suspense is killing me Ciro. 4-3-1-2 or the 4-2-3-1? Just tell me you’re employing strippers in our line up for their prepubescent fullbacks.  I knew having Legrottaglie on the team would come in handy.  But seriously, put Giovinco on the pitch you fucker. No Diego, No Giovinco, No party.

Maccabi Haifa

Eyal Meshumar and John Culma returned from injury at the weekend and are available for selection. Eyal Golasa is out with a hip complaint. Biram Kayal is suspended for two games. Captain Yaniv Katan is out of contention after having complained of a bout of flu against Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Amir Edri is still out, Tsepo Masilela and Shlomi Arbeitman are doubtful.

Vladimir Dvalishvili will be the dangerman. The highly-rated Georgian hitman scored twice on Saturday against Hapoel Beer-Sheva and he will be eager to do the damage against the Old Lady. Probable Starting XI: Davidovitch, Masilela, Keinan, Meshumar, Teixeira, Boccoli, Culma, Dutra, Arbeitman, Dvalishvili, Ghadir.

goal.com

Bottom line, we need the three points here and I couldn’t care less how we go about it. Tonight we dine on humus and lightly toasted pitas, mmmmmmm. For links, so far there’s only this from myp2p.eu.

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“It was a difficult match.  It was important for us to win the three points but I think all in all we are happy.  In certain instances we let the rhythm drop and we didn’t manage to win.  Me and my mates can never be happy unless we are first.  Today, we had many goal opportunities but we didn’t manage to score the winner”.

“It is a bit different but I do feel I should be scoring more.  Definitely I feel more comfortable closer to goal but I am forced to start further back to keep possession of the ball.  I think we played very well, definitely better then in previous games especially in the first half.  We improved a lot however all the team realizes that we must improve further.  We want to win, however”.

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Well here’s the deal… At the moment I’m definitely not the one best suited for giving advice in this field seeing as I’m far below the pack scraping the bottom of the board.  In fact I could use some ideas.  However my girlfriend, who is in fact close to the top, wasn’t available for comment so unfortunately you’re stuck with me for now, like it or not.  If I were you I’d check the comments below for some more suggestions.

Technically speaking, Yahoo!’s system of awarding points per stat i.e. goal scored, shot on target, foul committed etc., seem to emphasize greater value on the attacking end of things as opposed to the defensive side.  As a result, I think you’re far better off choosing an attacking-minded formation filled especially with attacking-minded midfielders.

In terms of weekly fixtures, I tend to stick with my stallions as often as possible no matter their opponent– I’m a firm believer in cream always rising to the top.  However, you would definitely be doing yourself a disservice by not keeping an eye out for desirable mis-matches when it comes to selecting the rest of your line-up.

In the end though, no matter how much attention you pay to certain indexes, i.e. price per point, a significant portion of one’s success in any fantasy sports league is luck.  Cue my excuse. In any case whether your decision making analysis is a bit more qualitative, quantitative, or astrological, don’t shoot yourself in the foot.  Check Gazzetta’s Probabili Formazioni to be certain your player isn’t injured or suspended.

Yahoo! Sports Player Valuations:

Player values can increase and decrease based on performance but managers can only ever sell them at their purchase price. The good news is that when you find that diamond in the rough you can ride that increasing value all the way to the top at your reluctant colleague’s expense. The great news is that you never lose any dough if your boy shits the bed. Plus, if you’ve been salivating for a cheaper price before you pick him up, those negative moving days are exactly what you’re looking for.

My most obvious diamond in the rough is Wesley Sneijder whom I picked up at 6.70 two weeks or so ago.  At close to 10.00 nowadays, he’s still a solid deal considering how much Inter depend on him for their offensive creativity.  Another player to keep an eye out for is Fiorentina’s Juan Vargas (16.49).  Although Prandelli officially uses him as a midfielder this year, Yahoo! still has him listed as a defender.  So if your looking to add some punch to your line-up and his price tickles your fancy, keep that name in mind.  By the way, don’t you guys feel a little like mercenaries sometimes?

Leading Total Point Performers with Market price: (as of 10/14/09)

Goalkeepers
Sebastien Frey (Fiorentina) 89.5 – $19.55
Luca Castellazzi (Sampdoria) 83.5 – 12.94
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) 70 – 15.03
Jean-Francois Gillet (Bari) 67 – 11.67
Antonio Mirante (Palermo) 54 – 12.58

Defenders
Juan Vargas (Fiorentina) 66 – $16.49
Lucio (Inter) 52.5 – 10.17
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) 42.5 – 11.15
Maicon (Inter) 42 – 16.29
Nicolas Frey (Chievo) 41 – 9.75

Midfielders
Michele Marcolini (Chievo) 77 – $16.24
Marek Hamsik (Napoli) 70.5 – 15.17
Daniele Mannini (Sampdoria) 66 – 10.15
Antonio Candreva (Livorno) 48 – 7.66
Daniele Galloppa (Parma) 46.5 – 10.59

Forwards
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 131.5 – $25.51
Francesco Totti (Roma) 112.5 – 29.59
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo) 89.5 – 27.47
Diego Milito (Inter) 82.5 – 25.19
Giuseppe Mascara (Catania) 76.5 – 16.26

Di Natale was instrumental in Italy’s 3-2 win against Cyprus today

I for one didn’t think Toto would’ve bounced-back from his knee injury earlier this year the way he has that’s for sure.  Nine goals in seven games is quite simply retarded.  The only question that remains, and will continue to remain I’m sure, is whether or not his hot streak will turn cold.  No one here though would mind any price tag that much if one continues to produce +20 point performances a week, right?  Perhaps then we should adopt a ‘path of least resistance’ attitude when it comes to selecting our teams from now on.  Lord knows how many times Amauri has let some of us down.

Hopefully this piece will help someone out there and in turn, good karma will come my way.  Also, for those of you who wish to join our fantasy sports group, but have missed by accident or ignored the deadline for entries I set mid August, there’s always next year.  However all is not lost, you can still sign up a team and play with others on Yahoo!’s default group. It’s not nearly as fashionable, intimate, or reputable, nor do you have the chance at winning a free lifetime subscription to alessio’s bi-annual trance CD compilations, but I guarantee it’ll scratch the itch if you eat, sleep, and breathe calcio Italiano. Stay tuned for more Serie A fantasy sports updates every now and then, plus a Viola preview should be up sometime before Saturday’s match.

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