Fitness An Issue Ahead Of Lech Poznan?

By: roberto | September 15th, 2010

“They are a very physical side with interesting technically gifted players, such as Krivets, Stilik and Peszko. The fact this team was eliminated from the Champions League by a slender result against Sparta Prague means something. It’s our most important test since July, as we are facing a side of quality and temperament.”

Oh yea, and they’ve got a couple supporters too coach.

Potentially, the biggest concern ahead of our Europa League fixture against Lech Poznan could be the team’s conditioning. With two players already cup-tied, and several others questionably match fit, Del Neri might come to regret some of the substitutions he made during Sunday’s game against Sampdoria, as mentioned in the second podcast.

“I’m glad to note most of my players are already accustomed to a packed fixture list and are highly motivated for this competition.”

Let’s hope Luigi’s right. Nonetheless, here’s an overview of a few fitness issues we might face against Lech Poznan that could perhaps spill over into our game against Udinese on the 19th.

Seeing as Quagliarella’s already played with Napoli for their Europa League efforts this year and will be unavailable to Juventus for the rest of the competition, Luigi will have to rely on Del Piero as our only second striker. Although his talents are legendary, he’ll be coming off a 90 minute performance last weekend so his legs can’t be very fresh. He’ll be paired with Vincenzo Iaquinta upfront, who looked very quick during his debut on Sunday and could pull off a full 90 minute run. In fact he’ll have to with both Amauri and Martinez still unavailable.

Interestingly, Del Neri decided to keep both Marchisio and Melo on for the entire match against Sampdoria, whilst utilizing the apparently fully fit Aquilani for only 12 minutes (in the weird 4-3-3 of course). This could be a problem if Sissoko isn’t really 100% fit tomorrow since Alberto is cup-tied having already represented Liverpool in this competition earlier this year. Also, chances are we won’t see the young midfielder Manuel Giandonato get some playing time so our options look pretty limited in centre midfield against a Central European side that are notoriously hard-running like their neighbours to the East.

In defense, we will most definitely see Legrottaglie take the place of Chiellini from the start which will be Nicola’s first appearance in recent memory. Personally, I’m very excited to see him play as I’m sure he’ll be full of enthusiasm and positive energy being the model professional that he’s turned out to be. Bonucci should partner with him in the centre to start, however Rinaudo could take his place at some point with Marco Motta probably starting on the right. At left-back however, there is now a little bit of an issue with Paolo perhaps suffering from a bit of exhaustion:

“We must evaluate Paolo De Ceglie’s fitness, but there are options down the left, from Zdenek Grygera to Giorgio Chiellini.”

If by “options” you mean ultimatums then yes, we have options. Looks like Chiellini might not get the rest he needs after all. It’s kind of funny and a bit pathetic that we can’t rest our talismanic centre-back because we need him for another position. In any case, Del Neri will have to do the best with what he’s got and take the necessary risks. Bottom line, Juventus needs a strong performance and a favourable result against the Polish side at home. Check the comments for the match links and line-ups on gameday. Also, check out this video I found of the traveling Sturm Graz fans that came to Torino for the final leg at the end of August. They lost 1-0, but you couldn’t really tell. Fucking Impressive.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: 2010-2011, Amauri, Aquilani, Bonucci, Chiellini, Coach, Competitions, De Ceglie, Del Neri, Del Piero, Europa League, Grygera, Iaquinta, Legrottaglie, Marchisio, Melo, Motta, Players, Previews & Reviews, Seasons, Sissoko, Team News

« VotD: What He’s Capable Of | Home | Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Juventus 3-3 Lech Poznan »

juve1

FUCK YOU!
jorid22

http://www.boston.com/sports/c...
Jose_f

you allright?
juve1

Chiellini and marchisio = losing seasons for years!

no, I'm not blind, I'm a realist. I couldnt give a rats ass if he scored two goals today.
Robee

It's just pretty funny to see how people are blaming Delneri and Marotta for this. Take a good night of sleep, regain your calm and think it over.
agiamba

I put why GDN is at fault in the newest post.
jorid22

To the same people I directed my very first post to, here's a challenge. Give me 2, just 2 realistic, possible substitutes that are minimally of the same quality for each of GC, Marchisio and ADP, if not an upgrade.

That's it, just 2 alternatives to each. And again, they have to be REALISTIC, don't write some "Oh, well, the club is rich enough to buy Sergio Aguero as an ADP replacement if they really tried but they don't want to!!!1" type of drivel.

2 players that could be alternatives to each role and are attainable with the current Juve's philosophy and resources.

I'm seriously interested to hear what you have to say.
agiamba

Duh.

Buffon
Maicon Sergio Ramos Chiellini (SR is two people, obv)
Krasic Gerrard Lampard (works for England!) Nedved
Aguero, Forlan (Then again, Atletico owe us no favors for taking Tiago)
dwicarta

Buffon
Thuram--Cannavaro--Montero--Zambrotta
Krasic--Deschamps--Nedved
Baggio
Vialli--ADP
jorid22

For all the dipshits who think Juventus' problems on the pitch over the last few years have originated from Chiellini, Marchisio and ADP starting on a consistent basis: get the fuck out of here, now.

And sign up for therapy as soon as possible.
JoseR

Jorid, you couldn't be more right. Chiellini saved us today and destroyed many more plays than anyone can ask for, if anyone has doubts rewatch the game and see that Chiellini tackles on the left wing, on the right wing and in the center of midfield. The guy is multiplying by 4. If we had a clone of Chiellini we wouldn't need fullbacks, and if we had two we wouldn't need a partner for ADP.

If you don't think Chiellini is good, heck, if you don't think Chiellini is a great defender then go watch poker on ESPN, you have little chance of understanding football.

The problem is team playing, Chiellini has three new players around him. Bonucci can be good but he is not great, at least not yet, and mostly he doesn't understand Chiellini yet. Motta, wow, I have faith in the kid but I am running out of arguments, he is bad, never mind bad, he is scary. PDC??, in the game against Sampdoria he started to look a little better, mostly because Cassano picked the right not because PDC scared Cassano from his wing.

Don't blame Chiellini because the team hasn't bought a competent defender since Calciopoli (Bonucci is a promise far from a reality yet).

Marchisio is another story. If some of you choose to call him overrated, sure, but he showed to be a great box-to-box midfielder when played properly and consistently. You can't expect Marchisio to be something he is not, and he is not a winger, unfortunately he has played just as many games as a winger than as a CM in recent times. I still have faith in the kid, but Delneri needs to play him consistently where he belongs, and today, he didn't do that.

Juve has quite a way to go to become a great team, many more players need to be bought and many more need to be sold. But I assure you that placing the blame on Chiellini and Marchisio for our poor showing will not solve our current situation.
Guest

yep. that about sums it up.
jorid22

No need for me to add anything to that.

Perfectly put.
Jose_f

i hardly remember the last game i felt proud or good or happy afterwards, do you?
depressing,

but,
we gotta keep supporting, hoping, dreaming, praying; no matter what.
Rinaldo2882

Lots of heart and determination, a lack of quality. Simone Pepe and Momo Sissoko are the true personifications of today's Juventus.
Jose_f

i wouldnt even say heart and determination, pepe makes me just sad.
squad personality: 404, not found
TeamGREASE

anyone have a link to download the game? I want to see what I missed.
Marco

Another solid performance I see. It's nice to see that we're not turtling like last season but honestly, do we have really anything going for us this season?

Our CDM's are the sloppiest messes of their kind
Our attack is impotent and far be it for me to say the following, but may God have mercy on us if ADP gets hurt this season. Iaquinta has morphed through his career from a speedy RW into a static CF. Has Amauri rubbed himself on Iaquinta? and Pepe, goodness me, how does this guy find work!

What we can take from this game is simple, we scored three goals and were at one point down by 2 goals. This is a work in progress, but I do agree with some comments on Del Neri, originally I was excited about the Marotta Del Neri marriage with Juve, Im not going to completely cut these guys off, but so far not so great. We still have a lot to improve. Let's see what happens when Gigi returns.
agiamba

Iaquinta's coming off 2-3 months of injury. Give him a break on this.

Still think there's much to be excited about in today's draw.
Marco

Exactly, it's a work in progress. It'll take time, there are some positives and still some negatives, things won't be solved overnight. But we seemed to be heading out of our mess of last year.
Leo

“The problems are always the same: lack of concentration and confidence in what we’re doing on the pitch. Today I didn’t see the quality of our opponents, but rather our own mistakes.

“In the Europa League when you make a mistake, you pay a heavy price. It’s strange, as our goalkeepers have had to make very few saves in these matches.

“We have to work on the team ethic and learn to be more clinical. We struggle to keep the tempo for 90 minutes and must work on our concentration.”
rhaaj

the same game last season would have ended 4-1 in favour of the poles. omg, i still have nightmares of that scoreline!
Jose_f

for next game, try this:

storari
motta - leggrotaglie - bonucci - de ceglie
krasic - melo - aquilani - marchisio - pepe
chiellini
InterFan

So you guys tie 3-3 at home to the Polish champions. Not bad for the 7th placed italian team XD
juve4life

your sad to think your inter will win anything under this benitez.. wats sad is i already know what to hear coming out of a dirty inter fan..." its ok we already won a treble so we can just chill "

ey FUCK YOUR BLUE AND BLACK
Jose_f

i dunno if i should say "go die" or "thanks"....
dwicarta

Yes we deserved it.
FoolOnTheHill94

GO FUCK YERSELF INBRED CUNT ATLEAST WE DONT HAVE RAFA BENITEZ
Kidofjuve

go f**k yourself intermerda
Guest

vattene interastro.
FoolOnTheHill94

defence looked poor,seriously any team with good wingers will crush us,the fullbacks suck.we also need a competent DM,but how many players who are world class and think of joining juve in our current state
Guest

i think there would still be plenty of wc players who would love to come to juve, but we need to buy 2 world class players per season rather than 158362 average players, some of them bought in the last week of the transfer season. people still respect juve; the legacy of more than a century is not forgotten with a few bad seasons.
FoolOnTheHill94

true,but lots of players always want to join teams that promise instant silverware,and atm even arsenal are more likely to win something important before us and thats saying something
roberto

Only could catch the last 15 minutes of the game... What a scoreline. Glad we're able to fight back when down early. Shame to lose so deep into injury time, but there was nothing anyone could do about there last goal.
Marco P.

Except, you know, mark down the shooter. Midfield allowed him & co. way too much space Roberto. And it all started with a hasty sliding tackle into nothing (don't remember who it was... Melo?)
dwicarta

Agreed. The goal was superb but someone should cover him. Again, shitty def midfields...
quidellini

pretty sure it was pepe...
agiamba

yeah it was Pepe. Not sure who was guilty of the non-marking at the end, have to rewatch it.
JoseR

My two cents: I only watched the second half

The good:

- This team shows that they have more character than last year, they do not give up nearly as easy as last year and seem to be getting the coach's ideas better.
- King Giorgio is a beast, if his defending wasn't as good as it is he would make a better striker than Iaquinta, Amauri and probably Quagliarela.
- Del Piero, what a strike, devoted to defense and attack but not the Del Piero from two years ago, his years are showing.

The so so

- Krasic, lots of running but lacks vision sometimes, he needs more time to adjust, certainly lots of work on his wing but nothing spectacular, far from the next Nedved of course, but he has only played 3 games with our team.
-Melo and Sissoko. They have been long enough with this team specially Momo and their performances hover around mediocre to descent, far from the world class center midfield that most winning teams need and have
- Iaquinta, some good movement, the wings need to know what he is doing and where he is going, the understanding between Krasic, Pepe, and the forwards can only get better.
- Del Neri brought in Marchisio for Iaquinta, all that caused was great confusion in our team. With time they will understand more what he wants them to do but the problem is we are running out of time. Bringing in Marchisio for Iaquinta was logic in the sense that we needed to hold to our lead.

The bad, ugly, and disastrous

- The wings, Motta had a couple good plays but generally he was very poor, the fact that most of the attacks came from Motta's wing and not Grygera's shows how bad defensively Motta can be. I hope he gets better soon, the January transfer window might be too late to fix our right wing, oh Caceres, how much do I miss you!!!
- Our center midfield was horrible with three players. Melo, Sissoko, and Marchisio or Krasic whoever was playing in the center did not work at all. I am pretty sure that Marchisio was playing on the wing, why???... I don't understand, he is a CM and that is all he can do, a year ago he was labelled the next great CM of Italy, not the next winger, forward, or goalie... for crying out loud play him where he belongs and nowhere else, he is not a versatile player and that is fine. We gave the ball away more often with 5 midfielders than we did with two, simply ridiculous.
- The last goal is our midifields fault, simply ridiculous, at that point in the game we should have the ball as far away as possible from our goal.

Conclusion from this game? One of Melo and Sissoko must go next summer and be replaced by a defensive midfielder who can PASS THE BALL. We are going to have to improve significantly if we are to qualify for CL next year, if we don't make that objective then the harderst and longest our recovery will be.
Guest

i think that our expectations from someone at del piero's age should be adjusted. the man played an incredible game for his age/shape. he tackled with spirit, he made assists, he scored a ridiculous goal at a crucial point in the game. no human being who has ever lived or will ever live can do better than that at that age.

most importantly, however, del piero is someone who UNDERSTANDS the juve spirit. so does chiellini, and i think, krasic will, too. the rest seem completely unaware of who they are.

the tactical/technical issues can be debated, we obviously have a lot of work to do, but the spirit is key. without, it, we're lost.