As Italians Head to the Polls…

By: roberto | April 10th, 2008

The Match up: Billionaire club owner- Silivio “three times a charm” Berlusconi vs. atheist ex-Communist journalist who writes novels, loves movies and played the voice of a turkey in Chicken Little- Walter “go it alone” Veltroni. Who doesn’t like watching movies about atheist turkeys? In any case, Italy’s elections are scheduled for the 13th and 14th of April. Funny, isn’t there some insee winsee football match this weekend as well? Oh my.

Italy’s 61st government since the Second World War fell on Jan. 24, when Romano Prodi’s centre-left coalition lost a confidence vote, capping a week of political turmoil that started when a corruption investigation cost him his justice minister. While the latest polls put Mr. Berlusconi, 71, and the centre-right parties in the lead, Italy’s political observers say Mr. Veltroni, 53, apparently has a fair chance of coming out on top.

Now obviously I’m no going to tell you who to support since I haven’t the slightest clue about Italy’s national issues or her respective party’s stances on them (shame on me). What I can tell you is that in a country that bleeds football it’s no wonder we can draw some footy parallels ahead of this weekend’s massive clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

We all know where Silvio stands. As he reminds us all that “wealth and class have nothing to do with eachother“, he keeps that Rosanero flag hanging out his backside; but only on the left side, yeah that’s the Milan side. However, Veltroni waves that white and black flag and doesn’t mind wearing his colours around other people’s turf. In Rome’s soccer-mad city where he’s been mayor for ten years and whose inhabitants are fiercely split between Roma and Lazio clubs, he has openly professed his love for Juventus. Score!

As Italians Head to the Polls…

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Team News

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tom

at least not at this stage of his career...
tom

I understand what you're saying kat...but cavani is no trezeguet...
kat

I agree with the statement that starting Amauri and Trez together upfront would be not such a good idea, considering how disastrous the Amauri-Cavani CF pairing was.
Marco P.

My 2 cents:

1) No to the "Del Piero = super-sub" idea. Ale won't accept being benched, but if Ranieri keeps doing what he's doing this year (i.e. start him 2/3 matches), fine by me. Stamina-wise Del Piero's been impressive this season, but he can't start every game and play for 90 minutes week in week out, that's for damn sure. Next year it's only gonna get worse.
2) Amauri >>>>>> Nocerino. With that said, I like Nocerino too, I hope we keep 'im (even though he definitely lost his spot to Sissoko). But if we can get our hands on Amauri, we should jump at the opportunity, if only to prevent him going to Inter or Milan, and then bite our nails over it.
3) If Giovinco doesn't feature prominently in Juve's starting line-up next year, I'll personally come to Torino to slap Secco and Ranieri in the face. With a big fu**ing spiked club.
KJ Ventimiglia

I said "Barca Situation"
roberto

Amauri's no-look to Miccoli was more than Iaquinta could ever dream of doing. Iaquinta and Amauri are two different styles. Trezeguet is a poacher, and for all intensive purposes, Iaquinta is one too.

I can see good things coming out of a Trezeguet, Iaquinta, Del Piero, Amauri rotation in two or three spots on the pitch at a time.

Ventimiglia come on, we'll never have the money to become like Barca.
KJ Ventimiglia

I see your point on that Allessio. But I think they'll drop at least Iaquinta. It will be a Barca situation where players are played out of place like Henry.
agiamba

My point was I don't like two strong center-forwards, it doesn't work well often and it's just not joga bonita. Amauri is a good player. I just don't want him with the bianconeri, and I certainly don't want him replacing Alex.
agiamba

KJ, mostly Juve. Occasionally the rest of Serie A. My point was not dissing Amauri, but stating the facts. Amauri is a center-forward, similar to Toni or Drogba. We already have two. And playing Amauri alongside T-rez would not be good.

RJ, two things- Alex has never been reknowned for his speed. He creates goals through his talent. Second, he still does have speed- See lazio/livorno where he burned the offside trap and finished well. Look how good our offense is this year is though...give them better service from midfield and we will be unstoppable.
R.J.

alessio, del piero's speed is gone. the reason he is still good is because he still has a great feel for the field and his touch hasn't left him. he's tricky and creative and puts himself in great position, but he couldn't run past my grandmother at this point in his career. like i said before, though, any way you slice it, our offense will be fine next year. DfuckingFENSE is what we should be arguing about.
KJ Ventimiglia

"Moreso, supersub? Amauri I see as like Iaquinta, a pseudo-Trez replacement with limited skills."

Allessio, no offense, but do you actually watch Serie A, or just Juve... Amauri is a stud and if you think ADP can play a full 90 next season effectively, you're blind. You're a teenie bopper,hero worshipper just like that guy that does the Roma page. Spot on Roberto
Sofia

VOTE VELTRONI! FUCK BERLUSCONI!!!

nedved and pato and nesta and oddo are out for tomorrow
agiamba

Roberto, no offense, but are you kidding? Everyone said Del Piero couldn't play 90minutes this season, and well he has certainly shut their mouths. Let's also not forget he played 90min against Empoli, then 3 days later played 90minutes against Inter. And what happened? Oh yeah, people praised him against Inter as being one of the best performances they'd seen.

The whole "Del Piero too old, can't play a full 90m" has been said in Italy for years, and it is clearly not true.

Moreso, supersub? Amauri I see as like Iaquinta, a pseudo-Trez replacement with limited skills. We have seen this season what happens when Iaquinta and Trez are up front together...it doesn't work. Sure, some of it is inadequate service from midfield but when there's no one up front with the tricks and speed of Del Piero, it doesn't work.

Now obviously no player, including Del Piero, can play 90min 2x a week for 3-4 weeks in a row, which we will be doing next season. That's why we have Iaquinta though. If one of them gets injured, we have Palladino and Giovinco.
roberto

Going back to our topic of Palmero's amore Amauri, from a boardroom or coaching perspective, the <del datetime="2008-04-11T16:45:16+00:00">Brazilian</del> Italian would no doubt add to our attacking presence, but more importantly, he'd be a great addition for our Champions League push next season. We all know about the tribulations of fighting on several fronts around Europe that can reap havoc on your squad. Also to be brutally honest (and R.J. will agree with me on this), Del Piero can't realistically play for 90 mins each game next year. I love the guy, but his role should undoubtedly be limited as a super-sub. There's no shame in coming off the bench. Iaquinta is the perfect example. He knows he isn't gifted with Maradona's technique, so intelligently he focuses on his true attributes as a ball breaking force of determination. Does he deserve a starting role next season for his patience this year? You could argue yes and no. However, we've seem to have seen him at his best this year coming off of the bench- and perhaps he knows that.

Naturally, Amauri would disrupt our current rotation. In terms of a formation, Ranieri would have to do what he's ultimately paid to do. That means experimenting with more systems other than the classic 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever. Another question to ask ourselves is: Who do we build this team around? To me, no one presently on the team can be given that tag- which isn't a bad thing in football either. Giovinco makes a strong argument for himself, but utlimately he'll have to come off now and then and we'll need others in his place. Ranieri will have to pull out something from his bag of tricks, but it can be done i'm sure.

p.s. I'd give up Palladino and Nocerino straight up for Amauri. I have my reasons.
Dario

haha YOU havent paid anything. Berlusconi did
agiamba

SI- Last year, you won your fourth Champions League trophy. How does this one compare to the others?
Seedorf- It was probably the most difficult one. We had to play with all of the trouble. And the injustice.
SI- Injustice?
Seedorf- The fact that we paid for something that was a one-minute telephone conversation.
SI- Sure, but...
Seedorf- The fact is Juventus paid much more than they should have, and probably we shouldn't have paid anything.
roberto

R.J. thank you.

No doubt Amauri is a stud, however we need to improve our defense. You hear me Secco?
R.J.

if they didn't do a 4-3-3 they would have any two of trez, vinny 'quinta, amauri, and adp on the bench. that is retarded to waste talent on the bench like that, but the way i see it, forward players should be the least of our concern. sissoko was an amazing pick up, funny how everyone was crying when we got him, but we need help on the backline. ours is serviceable at the moment, but we need a real stud to become truly elite again. defense first, in any sport.
agiamba

4-3-3 isn't bad, but I don't like it overall, not defensive enough. I like 4-4-2 with a defensive midfielder and a midfielder with vision who can defend. 4-3-3 just leaves me worried most of the game.
KJ Ventimiglia

You have NO idea what you're getting in Amauri...
He has 13 league goals for us minus a midfield..If he were on your team, 20+ goals without a doubt
tom

I'm not sure how it would work either...I keep reading they might try a 4-3-3 with del piero slightly behind amauri and trezegol...in theory it's an interesting idea...but, i'm not sure if it can really work...
agiamba

Forza Veltroni......I voted him not just because he's bianconero (and Berlusconi is Milan president) but more importantly because Berlusconi is an embarassment to Italy. (not as milanista president, as PM before the rossoneri jump all over me)

RJ, I've wondered the same thing. Amauri is not going to want to play second fiddle. Iaquinta has been remarkably patient to do so.
R.J.

i'll be happier than shit if Nocerino is gone next year. No no no no no no to Nocerino.

giovinco, from what little i have seen of him, is legit and should be held onto. if we get amauri, is del piero gone? who would the odd man out be up front?
vialli

because juventus are impatient.
the days where they nurtured young talents are gone :(
Dario

I really dont see how Amauri could help us. Id rather keep Nocerino and $$$. Nocerino is the next Davids and we should hang onto him. Giovinco is the future, how could they even think about selling him.

FORZA VELTRONI
roberto

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say most people would prefer to see Amauri at Juventus instead of Nocerino. That said, aside from the other players involved in the trade plus $$$, will an attacking big man fit in at Juventus with Iaquinta, Trezeguet, and Del Piero already in play? Me thinks not.
roberto

Juventus in Amauri Switch: original source Corriere dello Sport, via C4

Palermo and Juventus have agreed a provisional deal for the transfer of Amauri, according to the Corriere dello Sport. The talented Brazilian marksman is hot property in the peninsula and is widely known to be Juve’s principal transfer target this summer. Recent reports have suggested that Amauri has his heart set on joining the Old Lady, but that Spanish champions Real Madrid could hijack the deal. However, the Corriere dello Sport insists that Juve sporting director Alessio Secco has reached an agreement with Palermo’s transfer chief Rino Foschi. The fee is believed to be around £8.4m plus the rights to Azzurrini midfielder Antonio Nocerino and former Parma winger Marco Marchionni. There are also whispers that Secco is considering offering defender Domenico Criscito – currently on loan at Genoa – to try and reduce the cash payment. A month ago, there were claims that Secco had proposed a part exchange of £12m plus Sebastian Giovinco, Paolo De Ceglie and Claudio Marchisio.But with Giovinco excelling at Empoli and De Ceglie impressing in a Siena shirt, such an offer seems reckless and highly unlikely. It has been suggested that Coach Claudio Ranieri vetoed the original proposal, but that he is happier with the new terms.