Juventus 1-0 Udinese: A Black-and-White Affair

By: agiamba | September 14th, 2008

It’s good to be back. Damn, we dominated.

The Good:
Momo Sissoko- Momo was a beast in midfield today, cleaning up as usual but offering much more than normal. He is not a one-dimensional player, he was routinely dribbling through Udinese players and advancing up the field. Had a good rocket palmed away by Udinese’s keeper.
Juve’s Midfield- Everyone in Juve’s midfield today was outstanding. They guarded possession well while moving the ball up the field. Everytime an Udinese player had the ball, 2-3 Juventini were swarming him, usually a defender and a midfielder. Fantastic work ethic.
Buffon- We’re used to his strength and while he wasn’t tested, he was positionally perfect today. Prepared to come out for every ball, alert, there’s a lot more to goalkeeping than great saves.
Grygera- With the absence of Del Piero, Mauro drifted centrally (to great effect) for long periods in the game. He was hardly missed on the right-flank, as the ever-industrious Zdenek Grygera was constantly bombing up the right flank, taking on defenders and delivering good crosses.
Juve’s Administration- Let’s give them some credit on this one. Roma was missing half of their Starting XI and miserably failed in Palermo. Milan had their top XI out (for the most part) and still got beaten 2-0 in Genoa. We had 4-5 starters out, depending how you look at it (Molinaro, Del Piero, Trezeguet, Zanetti, Legrottaglie) and yet you could hardly notice a difference.
Ranieri- Great lineup and while the subs were a bit unorthodox, we kept the lead. Smart to rest so many starters. Giovinco’s absence was glaring, but some have suggested it’s because he’s tired from international duty a few days ago. Ranieri is a terrific coach for our situation, how many other coaches would have played Paolo De Ceglie for the full 90? He’s already given Marchisio a full game, the Mister is doing great work in integrating our young players.

The Mediocre:
Juve’s attack- This is probably a bit harsh, considering how many efforts they had on goal. Iaquinta+Amauri combined well again, hitting the post and having a disallowed goal in addition to the win. They dominated in the air but it’s still a bit baffling how it ended only 1-0.
Marchionni- I was very pleased to see him come on and get some playing time. Of course he wasn’t very good, but considering how little he’s played with his injury-plagued last few years we’ll give him a pass on this one. Hope to see more of you, Marco.

The Bad:
The FIGC- What is the point of football when you have this?
Udinese- They held up bravely, absorbing enormous potential. But Marino, Udinese, and their star attacking trident are known for taking it to the other team. Of course I’m glad they didn’t, as a Juve fan, but I was surprised how withdrawn they played. As Vin said, had Udinese played like they did in the last 10 minutes over the whole game, it could have been a very different result.
The Big 5- Juve picked up the first convincing win (2nd overall) of the Big 5 thus far. This thrills me, any team can upset a big team which makes Serie A more competitive and interesting. It’ll be interesting to see though what effect it has on the Champion’s League. Unlike the EPL’s Big 4, we can’t just field reserve teams in our domestic league and cruise to victory.
Mellberg- Again this is a bit harsh as he’s a high-quality defender and has plenty of time to grow, but he came very close to causing a late-game equalizer, again. These kind of mistakes are awful. Most people assumed Mellberg-Chiellini would become our starting duo partnership, but considering the form Legro has been in and Olof, I don’t see it happening. (As I didn’t a month ago) And with Grygera freaking locking down his right-back spot, Mellberg may be consigned to a sub/reserve role.

Oh and this picture is hilarious. Iaquinta’s been bad, I suppose.

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Amauri, Buffon, Competitions, Serie A, Sissoko, Team News

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Julian

I really wish I could watch the game. I have calc and then an meeting after that though so I'll probably miss the whole thing :(
agiamba

Today is a huge game...a bit nervous here. Zenit is a powerful team, it's time for us to show our credentials. BIG GAME MENTALITY, PLEASE.
Pablo

Where is the game being blogged?
Marco Pantanella

roberto wrote:
guys… i’m live blogging the game

[Cartman] Sweeeeet! :) [/Cartman]
roberto

guys... i'm live blogging the game

come by and comment,

it should be a fucking great game.
agiamba

And on another note, I absolutely love this quote. Great respect between the players and coach. At at time when Roma and Milan are in crisis, and Inter is still the group of superstars, there is a great understanding in the team, both on and off the pitch.

Ranieri- “I evaluated many things,” explained the Coach. “Above all who is in the best shape, but international experience also counts. “What mattered the most, though, was the fact in these two years the players have suffered so much and fought hard, making enormous sacrifices to get back into Serie A and Europe. “Now I want to give them the chance in this competition that they deserve, that they earned. This is my way of showing all the respect I have for them.”
agiamba

I don't think a loss could have been blamed on Ranieri. Maybe if they scored after he subbed in ADP/Trez, but otherwise we were pounding at the door for 85minutes. If the other team parks the team bus in front of the goal and scores on a counter, that's bitterly unlucky but not necessarily the coach's fault.
agiamba

Ben, he isn't going anywhere. He's Juventino, born and bred. He'll get plenty of playing time this year, when Ranieri feels he's ready.

Adam, I gotta disagree with you. We dominated possession and minus one or two abberations, Udinese had no chances on goal. We recovered most of midfield balls, distributed it well, and we were very unlucky to only win 1-0. And this was with for the most part our 2nd-squad. Compared to Milan, Inter, Roma, and Fiorentina's game this week, we were the only strong and confident-looking squad. I'm satisfied with it, but we do have to improve.
adam

before average = below*** average
Ben

I must say I was impressed by De Ceglie, he and Marchisio are solid young players, good future. But why the hell does SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO not get a chance to play????

That kid is going to leave your club.
adam

Overall we played good, but nothing amazing. Most of our attacks came in from crosses and Amauri proved that he is a beast with headers. Iaquinta wasted alot of opportunities.

Ranieri was poor with his substitutions IMO, he should of subbed out Iaquinta in the 60th min at the latest. Iaquinta was not providing much for the team today his performace was before average.

Todays performance was good enough domestically but no where near what is expected in Europe. If we didn;t come out with a win today there would be no one to blame other than Ranieri.
ursus arctos

Not only is the "Big 5" concept fluid, it didn't exist until this year.

The reality is that Serie A has long been seen in terms of the "Big 3" (generally referred to here as simply "gli big") and the rest. When Parma and Lazio were playing with mononpoly money, there was a brief vogue for the "7 Sorelle" or "Seven Sisters" (the Big 3, plus Roma, Lazio, Parma and Fiorentina), but that didn't survive the crashes of Tanzi's and Cragnotti's houses of cards or the Viola's bankruptcy.

Since Roma's scudetto in 2000-01 they have increasingly been referred to as a "big", and Fiorentina's qualification for the Champions League let them into the club this season.
agiamba

Ah, I didn't doubt you on the "close season." I've just never heard it before. Chalk it up to my EPL ignorance. :)

As of now, and this is why I didn't count Udinese in it, it's quite simple. It's fluid, Inter+Juve+Milan+Roma and of course, Fiorentina. The traditional Big 4, but Fiorentina got one of those coveted spots so unlike normal years, there's a real awkward finish at the top, someone is going to be disappointed this year. I would have expected Roma to slip out except given Milan's dreadful form, I'm not so sure.
MAD

A couple of things:

1. Who exactly are the "Big 5"? I think I can guess three of them: Inter, Juve, Milan... who are the other two? Is this a static club or is it fluid?

2. You asked me about the "Close Season" purchases. Well, to double check my sanity I did a quick google search. It's a British term for the off season. My father learned English in Italy... but it was British English, so sometimes I say things weird because that's how I learned to talk. Anyway, here's the link for proof:
http://www.thefa.com/England/U...
agiamba

Funny stuff. Why limit yourself to two races?
KJ

Allessio, erase that spam...Sally fuck yourself with that shit somewhere else
Marco Pantanella

alessio wrote:
The Big 5- Juve picked up the first convincing win (2nd overall) of the Big 5 thus far.

No offense to Udinese, but I don't think the term "Big" applies here. They're a solid team, but to consider Sunday's match as an important win in terms of the Scudetto race... well, that's a stretch.

alessio wrote:
Marchionni- I was very pleased to see him come on and get some playing time.

Really? Surprising, considering the way you jinxed him in your match preview. :P In all seriousness, let's just hope he's here to stay a while this time.

And you're being harsh on Mellberg. Except for that late mis-headed back-pass to Floro Flores, he was solid during the 90 minutes.
Chris

is it just me, or is every single in-game picture of Amauri just completely and utterly badass???
SERIE A FANTASY

Ricci and KJ are on top of the fantasy after week 2

1 Miccoli's eyebrows rickitris 80
2 Romanistas Are GAY KJ VENTIMIGLIA 75
3 Prade's Fantasy Calcio XI Prade's Illegitimate Son 67
4 fc rising stars kevin jones 67
5 Campioni Del Mondo Forza Roma 66
6 Forza Milan Rossonero 63
7 Grande Stronzo Lorenzo 61
8 AS Perkele Danny 60
9 SPqR SPqR 59
10 easy c italy Steven Downs 57
11 MADmen MAD 54
12 Flawless Calciotores SamsonASR 53
13 The Bobby Goblins LorenzoRosanero 52
14 Serie A All Stars Scilacci 52
15 ZOMGSNAKESONAPLANEBBQ! Paoluccio 52
16 Oel til mig Henrik Lippi 52
17 Tballs Tballs 51
18 Ctrl Alt Elite Jakob Slot 49
19 The Fabsters Fabio Ciarlelli 48
20 DeRossi's Raiders forzaitalia 48
21 De Rossi for President Riccardo 48
22 matchfixers Ranjeet 48
23 Sporting Bechil Spaghetti Urrutia 47
24 I.P. Freely PalermoSteve 47
25 SPQR Daniele Omelio 46
26 a hoboz dikcheeze evaldo 46
27 Us.Palermo Pasquale 45
28 CMP Tree Huggers CMP (ASR) 45
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30 iDrughi MikeDGnyc 44
31 AS FlackAttack FlackAttack 43
32 michael arruzzas team michael arruzza 42
33 awesome blossom frankiiieg 42
34 DhawXI Romanista81 42
35 Bona Bona 42
36 Cmare Giro 41
37 Gladiators SmurfDaddyT 40
38 I Puponi mkm 38
39 Cattolica Eraclea F.C Alberto 37
40 inter yer mam siciliano91 36
41 M.B Studios M.B 36
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43 Beebo Bashar 36
44 Cani e Cavalli jdub169 36
45 AlessioBianconero AlessioBianconero 35
46 Stasio STASIO 35
47 AS New York Doug 32
48 FC Kimbo canibus 32
49 Reckless Baby Eaters Gollum 31
50 Goodfellas United FC sopranosmainman 30
51 Forza Roma Mostafa El Beheiry 27
52 CatMeat JulianItalyWCB11 27
53 squadra south bend Colin Ryan 25
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55 Roma this ordeal_rules 21
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57 Il Romanista Ali El Beheiry 19
agiamba

Oh, hell no. But I do think they deserve some credit for assembling this team. Like I said, we had 4-5 starters out but we didn't skip a beat. Our reserves are incredibly strong.
alessandro d'agostino

i watch the match and i have to say sissoko falls to easily and cannot pass the ball forwards at all yet people say hes amazing??
vialli

@alessio

you think the present juve administration is better than the old one ?
Sally

our midfield was indeed brilliant. its pretty scary to see an amauri-iaq combo, a pair of giants. wish they had the technical finishing of trez though.

wonder what went on with gio.
agiamba

Combined? I think it's a damn near a lock.

Add in the Coppa and I'll mail some non-American $100 to pony up for me.
KJ

over/under Amauri -20 goals (Serie A/UCL combined)
agiamba

Official match report from Juventus.com-

Amauri gets the three points

The European atmosphere does good to Juventus. Zenit, Bate and Real Madrid all won, and the Bianconeri did too, getting their first League win this season. At the Olimpico, Amauri gave joy to the fans scoring the goal that beat Udinese in what was a clear and deserved win, much more so than the final 1-0 result may suggest.

The Bianconeri's second night game in a row was influenced by the imminent Champions League debut. Ranieri rested Del Piero and Trezeguet (but also Legrottaglie, Molinaro and Giovinco) and gave a chance to the Amauri-Iaquinta partnership up front. Sissoko and Chiellini were back in the team, and De Ceglie earned a place in the starting eleven for the first time.

The experiment worked from the start and Juve dominated the entire first half. Camoranesi and Nedved's attacking efforts, Sissoko's forays forward and De Ceglie's and Grygera's runs were all aimed at feeding the two up front, who were often reactive and prompt. The Amauri-Iaquinta duo duelled extensively with opposing keeper Handanovic, but the latter often won the duel, also thanks to a post hit by the Brazilian with a header.

On the other side, the much-feared Di Natale and his fellow striker Quagliarella were kept under check without any problem by the defensive duo made up by Mellberg and Chiellini. The teams went on break with the score still at 0-0, but Juventus really would've deserved to be winning already at that point.

Things didn't change in the second half, also because Ranieri didn't swap any of his players. Marino made a change after 58 minutes when he replaced his team’s star Di Natale. Juve kept dominating and Handanovic was helped by the woodwork again when a thunderous Poulsen shot hit the crossbar. But at last, after numerous attempts, the Friuli team's bunker finally fell. It happened in the 67th minute when Sissoko tried breaking through from the centre and the ball rebounded towards Amauri who was quick to shoot in the bottom corner and celebrate his first League goal in the best possible way, scoring a beautiful and important goal.

Marino replied by putting on Isla and Floro Flores and Buffon was called into action at last. He saved splendidly on Quagliarella but play had already been stopped. Ranieri made his first change after 80 minutes when he put on Marchionni in place of Iaquinta. And five minutes later he put on both Del Piero and Trezeguet at the same time, replacing Amauri and Camoranesi. Udinese had one last chance when Floro Flores appealed for a penalty that referee De Marco denied. The result didn't change and it ended with a much wider win than the final 1-0 result shows. In any case, it's the best possible omen in view of the return to Europe. And this time it's going to be the real Europe, the one called Champions League.

2008/09 Serie A – Day 2
Turin, Olimpico Stadium
Sunday September 14th 2008

JUVENTUS-UDINESE 1-0 (0-0)
GOALS: Amauri 67 mins.
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Grygera, Mellberg, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Camoranesi (Del Piero 87), Sissoko, Poulsen, Nedved; Iaquinta (Marchionni 77), Amauri (Trezeguet 87). Subs not used: Manninger, Knezevic, Salihamidzic, Marchisio. Manager: Ranieri.
UDINESE: Handanovic; Ferronetti, Coda, Lukovic, Pasquale; Motta (Isla 71), D’Agostino, Ilner; Pepe (Floro Flores 75), Quagliarella, Di Natale (Sanchez 58). Subs not used: Belardi, Domizzi, Sala, Tissone. Manager: Marino.
REFEREE: De Marco from Chiavari.
YELLOW CARDS: Ferronetti 11.
NOTES: attendance 20,320, takings € 436,502.
agiamba

Gasbarroni and particularly Criscito played well for you guys, from what I hear. At least we can bring back Criscito, if he wants to.
j

wonderful match in my opinion. Very disciplined, tactical play and a joy to watch. I found some pics of the match I'm using in another blog. If you like just send me an email and I'll forward.
Matthew

Man were we ever solid today. Our goal wasn't the greatest but it was bound to happen. I'm happy it was Amauri. I mean I would have been happy if anybody had put it in but I was rooting for him to get a goal today.

That last picture is pretty awesome.