BigMac + Injuries= Disaster

What an odd weekend for Calcio. Inter gets thumped by Catania, both Roma and Juventus are held by relegation-battling teams in 3-3 draws, Genoa and Cagliari have a high scoring battle, Udinese sinks Palermo, and Lazio step closer to Serie B having been comprehensively defeated at the Stadio Olimpico by Bari. I love Serie A. I do not, however, like drawing 3-3 with Siena at home.

In contrast to Felipe Melo…

There were two more injuries that hurt us today- Legrottaglie went off (thankfully, as a precautionary measure) and was replaced in the center by Grygera, and Manninger missed the match (does anyone know why yet?) and was replaced by the 39-year old Grim Keeper, who has not played a professional game in 2 years. That said- clearly, the injuries were not the reason we drew. Legrottaglie addressed it in his comments after the game, that it was the fault of the team together and not Grygera individually. Obviously, he’s trying to keep the blame off his teammate, but he’s got a point.

The problem was after going up 3-0, we just simply turned off assuming that was good enough, but Siena knew there were 80 minutes left. I’m sure plenty of the players were already thinking about traveling to England later this week, and that lapse in concentration let Siena back into the game. The injury count, by the way, I believe is up to 58. A friend of mine posted that the last two seasons had a total of 75, assuming it was evenly distributed between the two, we’re currently at a 55% increase, and there’s plenty of the season left.

Look kids, this is how to ruin a great club!

LE PAGELLE:

Chimenti: 5.5- The choice was a young promising 20-year old who just won the Viareggio tournament and a 39-year old who had not played a professional game in two years. Does anyone else remember his performances this summer? Zac was going for his experience, but he didn’t look assuring at all out there. I won’t really fault him for any of the goals, but I don’t see the point in him playing. He’s on the team because the coaching staff and players like him, which is fine, he’s the team mascot, but don’t let him play.

Grygera: 3.5- A horror show. Yet another dreadful backpass to give Maccarone the opener, and then a completely avoidable penalty where he ungracefully knocked Big Mac over. He looked crappy on the wing, and even worse in the center. In the last month, Grygera has been god awful, I am sure his confidence is at rock bottom, and it’s hard to play yourself out of depression as a defender.
Cannavaro: 6.5- Should have closed down Maccarone better for his first goal, but marshaled the nervous defense well in Legrottaglie’s absence.
Legrottaglie: 6- We were relatively assured at the back until Legro went off. After the game, he said it was just precautionary and that he might be ready for the weekend, he’s suspended for Fulham anyways. After he went off, Grygera was moved to central defense and the game went from bad to worse.
De Ceglie: 5.5 A mediocre game, but not a poor one. Didn’t get forward as much as he could have, as Reginaldo looked spent. Less brilliant than he was when he ousted Grosso from his spot, but you know what, he’s young and needs continuity.

Marchisio: 5.5- It was clear Marchisio wasn’t ready for this game- he played heroically against Fulham, but he’s had a fever all week and he looked drained out there. Not surprisingly taken off for Camoranesi.
Felipe Melo: 4.5- Foully, nervous, and clearly not feeling confident. Got into a spat with the tifosi, and while he’s right it’s hard to play well when you’re being jeered by your own fans (Zebina knows well) it doesn’t help your cause by telling them to shut up when you’re already disliked. A crap performance, he needed to come off for Poulsen or anyone else.
Sissoko: 6.5- His passing is still average of course, but given how poor Felipe Melo was playing, for much of the night Sissoko had to play for two men, and he played well, having a hand in Del Piero’s first as well. A solid display.

Candreva: 6.5- Zaccheroni rightfully wanted to give Diego a break, so he played Candreva at his natural trequartista position, and he delivered. He did very well creating plenty of opportunities and Siena had little answer for him in the first half. Like the last few months, he completely disappeared in the 2nd though, a frustrating event that is becoming characteristic of him.

The patch turned gray in only 10 minutes.

Trezeguet: 6- Didn’t get any great chances, but he looked fairly dangerous up front and certainly drew a fair amount of attention from Siena’s defense.
Del Piero: 7.5- It is extremely obvious that Del Piero does not have it in him to play 90 twice a week anymore, but when properly rested, he is still world-class.

Zaccheroni: 5.5- He came out with a great plan and the team dully delivered, but we went to sleep and let Siena back in it. Zac should have been making changes and yelling at the players to maintain concentration- Grygera and Melo both needed to come off. Poulsen could have played in Melo’s role or even at CB covering, and Grosso

Things I think I think:
#1- Team Eats: Didn’t do it this week. 2 losses in the two times I haven’t gotten around to it. Coincidence? I think not. If anyone else did, what did you have? (Siena or Tuscan, I suppose)
#2- We’re screwed for Fulham. Chiellini, Manninger, and Legrottaglie won’t be ready (Legro is suspended anyways) so I imagine Zebina and Grygera will be playing prominent roles, hopefully in the good way. Rumors abound that Zaccheroni wasn’t too impressed with Chimenti (shocking) and that Pinsoglio might get his Juventus debut in London. Good idea or bad?
#3- Felipe Melo may get a permanent listing on the Juventus Offside Shitlist for his disgraceful actions on Sunday. Disgusting- for those who didn’t note, Melo fouled a player, some fans whistled him, and he yelled “Vaffanculo” at the tifosi. Claudio Zuliani said the following- He should deliver a public apology at the stadium over the microphone, he should receive a massive fine, and perhaps, be transfer listed and benched for the rest of the reason. It is completely unacceptable for a player to do that, and completely unprofessional. In the press today he said he wanted to apologize to the fans, but that’s not good enough. A month on the bench, and a public apology and as Zuliani said, we need to seriously start looking for a buyer.

Zuliani’s thoughts on Felipe Melo

#4- Caceres is out for a while, unfortunately. It seems he has issues with an abdominal strain, perhaps a hernia and he’s traveling to Barcelona with a few Juventus doctors to decide on the course of action, surgery might be necessary. With surgery, I’d guess he’d probably be out for the rest of the season, and that would cast serious doubts on whether the Uruguayan will be signed by Juventus this summer.
#5- Caceres was out in early February, and it was supposed to be 15-20 days but we now know the reason behind his longer absence. No such news for little Giovinco, who was supposed to be back by late February, early March but still isn’t participating in training. It’s a real damn shame, because it seems like now is the time for him to grab his chance with fatigue rampant through the side, and a coach who might be willing to play him. Hopefully Seba returns soon and gets a run out in the last 2 months of the season.
#6- Seedorf may be one of my favorite non-Juventini ever, and not because of his goal this weekend. The man exudes class, both on and off the pitch.

The Juventus Offside Shitlist:
-Amauri: (4 Weeks)
-Felipe Melo: (1 Week) For the record for other Juve players, here is how to get onto the list. Play like a bidone, and then tell the fans to STFU and “vaffanculo.” You’ll be here for a while, Felipe, with any luck, until you’re sold this summer.
-Chimenti: (3 Weeks) Didn’t look too assured out there at all, and rumors that Pinsoglio will get his debut. I went to look up how much he was paid in the Gazzetta report from last fall, but he’s not even on our list. Maybe he’s a volunteer!
-Grygera: (4 Weeks)- And we thought the Palermo game was a horror show…looks like Zdenek will be on here for a while.

Some Related Juventus Posts:

• Juventus v. Fulham: Europa continua…
• Progress
• Juventus travel to Amsterdam to take on an Old Foe
• A Summer Revolution?
• The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men…

Category: Team News