Photos: ‘That’s More Like It’

By: roberto | October 22nd, 2009

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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

IERI… OGGI… DOMAN… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Amauri, Chiellini, Coach, Competitions, Iaquinta, Players, Previews & Reviews, Team News

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Robee

Jorid lol... Insuline makes the body regulate its sugar level... It doesn't make it fucking grow... He gained 10 centimetres with GH... If that's fair, then the borders are gone.
It's not a disease, he just would've been small, so there was no reason at all to give him those shots.

"It is because of the GH treatments over the last decade or so that he has been able to grow to a more normal stature/body"

That says I'm right... Look at the ethics of this action... They are "making" an athlete just like they want him to be...
agiamba

That doesn't mean he doesn't have the talent, it means he's disappointed. I have no doubt if he moved to Juve he'd be in great form again
Sam

Exactly no point buying him, or being interested in him.
agiamba

Well duh, Sam. It's obvious that he hasn't moved on from the transfer collapse, and that Udinese as a whole is shittier this season. As he said, they sold a key player and didn't replace him.
Sam

Gaetano hasnt been Juventus quality this season in my opinion, he might have the class but isisnt showing enough to go to a team like Juventus.
Papai

Also I have a request. Keeping in mind the awesome incident this week when a juventini handed Moratti a Paper CL to put alongside his Paper scudettos (i freak out even now everytime i think about it LOL) can you do a post on the rise of the juve inter rivalry and the derby de italia.

pleaaaase :) :)
Papai

Alessio, if we buy Dago, who has got some regista quality (obviously not Pirlo class), maybe then we can finally make the 4-3-1-2 work.
Mind you, he is still untested at the highest level, and not as young as we would have liked.
I would be more excited by the arrival of criscito and Rafinha.
agiamba

http://www.tuttosport.com/calc...

Tuttosport (take it with a grain of salt) reports that Udinese has not taken kindly to D'Agostino's comments about the team being a selling club, chiefly his complaint that Quags was sold but not replaced. (true) Supposedly they will discipline him, and maybe that'll push him out.

Preferably to us. Regardless of my man crush for him, we could use a little more depth in midfield.
j

inter cruising...
agiamba

How did Trez get injured...he should be leading the line and GIOVINCO DEVE GIOCARE COME TITOLARE, he must start.
Jorid

Robee: Lol what the fuck are you talking about dude? Leo Messi had naturally low levels of GH ever since he was a kid. His body did not produce the adequate amounts necessary for growth to take place. It is because of the GH treatments over the last decade or so that he has been able to grow to a more normal stature/body. And I say a bit because he's still pretty short and little. Think of it as if he would have had diabetes and he needed Insulin. There are professional athletes that suffer from that too(Jay Cutler from the Chicago Bears), who take Insulin. Plus I doubt Leo Messi is on more than 2-4 IU's of GH a day anyways.
gaetano

Yes indeed why can t our guys play like that up front.. So lame what's up with amauri? That guy needs to stop caring about his hair. If lippi calls him up instead of cassano I ll boycot the world cup..btw robee if what you are saying is true then gio really needs to leave if he ever wants to fulfill his potential!
Nnahoj

What the fuck??? How is it that Sampdoria could dominate Bologna at home (they're up 4-0 and it's barely over a half an hour played) and we couldn't score more than one at home and only picked up a fucking point against them???

Fuck it! I'm going back to bed!
Calisi

Cassano and Pazz playing awesome right now, I'm watching on RAI
o_man

Giovinco needs a couple of CONSECUTIVE games.We are destroying his confidence :@
j

i agree, giovinco has to start no matter what.
Robee

Football-italia.net: "There is a midweek round coming up against second-placed Sampdoria, so Ferrara reveals he is planning to rest several stars in Siena, but stick with the new 4-2-3-1 system.

“This could be a good opportunity to give a breather to a few players, even if we need a victory after some not very positive recent results in Serie A. It is a game that holds many hidden dangers.

“However, it also has great memories for me, as last season I made my debut in this stadium and I haven’t forgotten a moment of it.”

Felipe Melo was in tears when he sustained an ankle injury during the Maccabi game, but he is already fit to start.

Amauri is likely to lead the way backed by Mauro Camoranesi, Diego and Vincenzo Iaquinta.

The injury list includes Tiago Mendes, Alessandro Del Piero, Hasan Salihamidzic, Claudio Marchisio, Jonathan Zebina and David Trezeguet."

Since when is Trezeguet injured ? And why the fuck would he leave out Giovinco again ? If Iaquinta starts in this formation in favour of Seba, then I'm going crazy...
And who is he going to give a breather ? Sissoko and Melo are really untouchable in this formation and the rest looks like the same.

Only Cannvaro and Grosso jump to mind as possibilities. But I hope this article is way off. Giovinco needs another chance to gain confidence.
Robee

hant00: do you really even consider a 4-1-3-2 with this defence... Pure madness...
And Melo was training with the group, so he is completely fit, I guess... If that's the case he will play, but Sissoko - Poulsen is also possible.
idze

4231 is perfect for juve sisoko and melo are great as DMS camoranesi diego and giovnico can make great things together. people who said where del piero is going to play in this formation i think del piero id great player and can play everywhere execpt the place as alone striker and also we can put vincenzo on the right the position he play under lippi at the world cup. forza juve
hant00

nah, if Ferrara's smart he'll rest Melo for next match (Samp!). Play 4132 or give Marrone some playing time.
Robee

Btw, If Melo really plays and we field the 4-2-3-1 with Amauri, we are going to crush Siena at home, like never before...
Robee

Messi shouldn't even be allowed to play football... Great player, but if soccer carried the name cycling: he would be suspended for life... Shooting grow-hormones, shameful. Then I prefer Giovinco with a little less capacities, but playing it "fair". So please shut up about Messi. At least Giovinco does it the natural way.

And the thing about Diego and Giovinco not being the best friends on the field, is of course bullshit, they just need some time to create a good understanding. That's all.
Ivo

Damn, you fellas make some good points on both side. The formations are both very attractive, but in terms of the football we want to, well we need to play, 4-2-3-1 gives us more control and more possession. Thats where my vote went.

I am still not a fan of Giovinco as I think he is a player that will show something "promising" in one out of three games, and get dominated both physically and tactically in the other two. If he is going to play like Messi, he needs to move like Messi. Right now, he doesn't. Messi gets in players paths, defends his ball, and doesn't get zoned out at times on the field.

I just love seeing Melo and Momo play together as DMS - it gives me so much more confidence that our rocky defense won't be put in the position to screw up.

Also, I don't think getting Diego and Gio to be buddies will be an easy task. They are already competitors for the same position(s) (or they have been labeled as such by the meanie media) and its normal to get territorial. Barca's midfield know each other like the back of their hand and also LOVE each other - when our midfield reaches that status, we will be champions no doubt. No Sneijder 90 minute strike or Moratti buying more referees will be able to beat us then.

I say play Gio, Diego & Camo as the trident in front of Ama and when Del Piero comes back play him as a second striker and put Gio as an Henry - an AML. I think in the trident it is super important for the creative midfielders to switch positions with each other so that the defense is incapable of closing them down in a scheme. (one can see my lifelong passion for Championship Manager there)

Btw I have Melo in my fantasy for this weekend. He is gonna start, right?
Jorid

mohd, I think I just threw up in my mouth. La Banda degli Onesti strikes once again!
agiamba

Bentornato, Marco! That's great news, you sometimes here about players who never speak to their coaches, which is amazing to me. It makes me appreciate Ferrara even more, that he wants the team to improve and personally works 1v1 with Melo. It's stuff like that, his willingness to adapt formations and give every player a chance that make me really like his coaching attitude. It's very fresh. Subs and tactics still need a bit of work.
mohd

morratti ask to change inter vs catania referee and they changed it
http://goal.com/en/news/10/ita...
Marco P.

BEST NEWS I've had all week:
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/...

Not only is Melo going to be available Sunday, but Ferrara's teaching him a thing or two on positioning. A-Okay Ciro.

As for the 4-2-3-1 tactics:

CONS:
• With one striker, attack is too light
• When ADP comes back, no spot for him in such a formation
• Since when did Ferrara turn into Spalletti?

PROS:
• When 1/3 of the team is in the infirmary (what else is new?), you gotta play with the hand you're dealt.
• Formation allows Giovinco to play. Giovinco MUST play if he wants to get past the "broken promise" stage.
gaetano

btw it seems. We are looking at neymar...although I d love for us to have an Italian forward...it would be a fantastic addition. Also what's up with andreolli? Everyone is tlking about him.
gaetano

Pablo I agree with what u say about the adaptability depending on the rival. However, unless our strikers start scoring this 4 3 1 2 will not get us the scudetto. Obviously this is a new formation and we beat an Israeli side but our strikers are not finishing with the 4 3 1 2...We should stick to this formation right now. Our defense is much stronger with the 4 2 3 1 and we will concede less. We will press more with gio,camo,and diego. If diego is injured we should switch to a 4 4 2.

Giovinco is genius at dribbling...the only way to stop him
is to foul..he constantly wins free kicks. We really need diego to start hitting those free kick shots like alex and pirlo.
j

it'll never happen, the fans will revolt. maybe a loan if he fail to get more playing time
Pablo

I think we should stick to the 4-3-1-2 system for one reason: this team wasn't built for a 4-2-3-1. For this system to work we need camo, gio and diego to be healty, do you have any idea what are the chances to have them healthy at the same time for the whole season? Not much IMO, and there's no backup.

I agree 4-2-3-1 is an exciting formation and all that stuff, but we don't have the players, sorry. Right now the team was built to play 4-3-1-2 and that's what we should be playing. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have alternatives like 4-2-3-1 and even the "christmas tree", a good team should be able to adapt to different systems depending on the rival, needs and players available, but 4-3-1-2 should be our core formation.
Jorid

Gian, as a Juve fan I say hell no. Zola was a great player and he would help Gio develop, but I think even Alex Del Piero could teach a thing or 2 to Gio. That's not necessarily what the guy needs though. He just needs continuity. Let him play constantly, even if he doesn't give all stellar performances. And fuck no about Valon Behrami. Very overrated as a player. He can play pretty much everywhere on the right, but he never convinced me at attacking, or defending. Good crossing and good physically, but the rest is meh.
Gianfranco

Guys thoughts on this...

http://www.football-italia.net...

As an italian it may be the best for Gio, and who better to teach, instruct, and find him time on the pitch than GZOLA!? Curious to see what you have to say, I would love the little guy at Milan but we all know that will never happen.
agiamba

I was encouraged by the creativity it brought, j. We only scored off a set piece, but we looked far more threatening in front of goal.

I liked it, and I think we should give it a go but I agree with Daniel that once Marchisio and ADP are back, we should revert to the 4-3-1-2. The 4-2-3-1 doesn't really accomodate either of them.
j

I voted no. Not yet anyway. Hey guys, we just won 1-0 against an Israel side, there are still many questions regarding this formation, will giovinco be able to cope against italian opposition, especially the stronger ones like inter, etc? 1-0 from a set piece is not enough, i think we need to see more of the formation, and the players' performance with it before making a decision. Of course if that poll is meant for our immediate future, i would vote yes.

Forza La Vecchia Signora.
georg

agreed gAETANO
i preferred the 4-2-3-1 from the beginning of the season.
because it will simply do more justice to the qualities we have as simple as that,...

melo + sissoko's best abilities= hacking strikers and midfielders in half and thus winning the ball back,... each of them is as strong and working like an ox, but combined together they generate the strength of a goddamn Brachiosaurus!

giovinco,like I said before, has no business in the centre of the field where he has no space and gets out muscled all the time.but put him on a offensive wing(like messi)his best assets *1lightening speed 2playmaking 3dribbling* become the most deadly weapons imaginable

camo's abilities will also do more justice on the wing then in centre.

Diego: has now much more options and can play much creative ,assisted now by 2 also extremely creative players in sted of predictable try a trough pass to one of two static strikers, which are his only options in 4-3-1-2. like we've seen in many games, if the opponents defence are covering the 2 strikers well, juve simply couldn't do ,...anything,...
also his adaptation process is still far frm being over

the more creative players on a field the better, look at barca, this is well compensated by the Brachiosaurus in their back.
besides del piero those 3 are the most gifted players players in the squad, its utterly silly to bench 1 or 2 of them
both tiago and marchisio can be easily subbed in the 2 or 3 line,poulsen only as one of the 2

BUT our strikers definitely must start to finishing off !!! otherwise no tactic or formation will ever work!
Papai

actually the problem was only evident because gio's natural game is to cut in from the left. however, Diego is already there, and cannot go left because Grosso has already overlapped on the left. This leaves both Gio and Diego in the center. Not a big problem IMO, and one that will be easily sorted out with more playing time.
Anton

Im not sure if I agree that they (D28 and Gio) were fighting, and even if that was the case, Im sure Ciro will find an easy way to straighten them out. I mean how hard can it be to figure out who takes what? Look at Barcelona... Xavi, Iniesta, Ibra, Messi and Henry...and they got no problems ...
gAETANO

I feel like we should stick with this formation as we maintained a lot more possession and managed to pass the ball around more fluidly. I think that diego and gio need some time to work out the kinks but they did play well on wednesday. allesssio our strikers are not scoring what they should be..as much as we love iaquinta and trezeguet. I think this formations worked very well for a first start and should be used depending on the formation of the opposite team. As a tactical approach.
al

o-man, daniel, i read that also somewhere.
i hope that ciro can truly manage the lads.