Round 9 (10): Super Sabato Sfida con Sfinter!!!

By: johncas | October 28th, 2011

Another week passed, another four points from two games, another all too quite common string of results, and — another Saturday fixture. Which means another Friday preview. Well, happy Friday everyone, a day which I’ve dubbed while working in a previous job some time ago as “Bang on Drum Fridays!” Let’s get this weekend started right, and let’s kick some merda boo-tay!

(Updated pic — 10/29/11 at 1:12 pm)

Final version. Thanks, Zafar!

A heartbreaking draw against Genoa, followed up with a thrilling 2-1 win which should’ve been 4-1, combined with a little bit of help from a female friend leaves us 1 point clear at the top of the table with a full third of the season complete. I know the past two years have seen a respectable beginning to the season start to unravel by Christmas time, followed by a complete plummet in the second half, but we’re in the best position we’ve been in this late since merdapoli farsopoli calciopoli. Oh, and despite dropping some points needlessly here and there, we’re still undefeated. Besides, in this crazy, competitive Serie A we’re living in these days, show me one team that hasn’t dropped points that it shouldn’t have. You can’t.

And now, it’s time to face off with our oldest, most-hated, scummy rivals. This current Inter crop, from the top down, makes Berlusconi look more clean-cut than a young Jimmy Stewart. Massimo Moratti? If Ron Jeremy, Richard Nixon, and Gary Busey could’ve all gang-banged and somehow impregnated a living Amy Winehouse, that would be him. Thiago Motta? Go screw. The man could fight a Quaker.

To say I hate them would be the understatement of the century. And that’s entirely because of the post-calciopoli fallout, and the new evidence which emerged over the past few months. In years past I would typically root for Italian teams against foreign competition because, hey, they’re Italian. Except for Inter. I would never root for them. Well now, in the aftermath of the aforementioned calciopoli bullshit, I’m to the point where I’m ready to give a big FU to the rest of Serie A as a whole (except for Bari, where my dad is from, and who are in Serie B anyway, and probably will be forever). I’m even close to giving the finger to the FIGC. You can imagine where the esteem to which I hold Sfinter (I’m to the point where I’m even getting sick of saying their real name) is at right now. Even Dante couldn’t imagine levels as low. Besides, they’ve never even really been Italian. Apparently they want Montolivo now? Don’t hold your breath. Yes, his name ends in a vowel but no, he’s not Argentinian.

Le chiavi: Press, press, and press. We need to go into this game with the same strategy we had against Milan, and the same intensity we had for the first 45 minutes against Fiorentina. Sfinter is looking old, slow, and every bit the team put together in the dangerously-financially-stretched-thin manner which they were a few years ago, still relying on a few leftovers past their peak to get by each week. We need to exploit them with our biggest advantages: possession, pace, speed, and tactics. Control the ball, control the game, and don’t give them a chance to know what hit them. Take it to them and punch them. Hard. The goals will come. Unless Vucinic is shooting.

I’d like to see a midfield consisting of Vidal and Marchisio in front of the silky smooth (by that I’m referring to both the hair and technique) Andrea Pirlo once again, much like versus Milan. And for the love of Christ, can we please give Elia a chance to play? The idea of him running down the pitch with the ball straight at Maicon is making me tingle. The lad needs a chance to show what he can do. 45 minutes isn’t a big-enough sample size.

And speaking of the left side, how about backing him up with PDC and shifting Chiellini back to CB where he belongs? I’ve never been a huge fan of Giorgio at LB, but have reluctantly gone along with it in certain times of need. Right now Inter is looking tired and slow. Putting some serious pace on the left side in PDC and Elia could reconjure images last seen when DeCeglie made Zambrotta look like a child a couple of years ago against Milan. With everything that PDC showed in the past, particularly last year pre-injury, give the guy a shot. Even if he is not the longterm solution, there are better options than playing Chiellini there. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from all facets of Estigarribia’s game thus far, and he’s got a history of playing LB. I still insist that Pepe would make a solid wingback, and even Arturo Vidal can deputize when in need, ala Merdanetti Zanetti. Yes, a good solution may very well be in-house, and not at the expense of playing one of the best center backs on Earth out of position. That is, unless we look elsewhere for our solution.

And can we please stop playing Vucinic, but if we need to play with a seconda punta please, pretty-effing-please, give Quagliarella a shot? He at least worked hard against Fiorentina, but his misses made Amauri look like Cavani. I still think he’s a really, really good player, although not the player I dreamed about over the summer mercato. Maybe he needs a a short mental break too.

Good news: Sfinter are without Cesar, Motta, Forlan, Poli, Rannochia, and Samuel. We’re for the most part at full strength, minus Buffon (important, but Storari as a backup makes the blow far less severe) and Giaccherini. I’ll take that.

Oh, and Sfinter are currently coached by Claudio Ranieri.

Bringing homoeroticism and underachieving to levels not seen since Wham!

The bad: The only bad news I see is for Sfinter. If former Merdarista Ronaldo is correct, um, self-service is dangerous for players, leaving Stankovic and Lucio without any hope at all of getting lucky this weekend.

My starting XI: (4-3-3) Storari; Kelso, Chiello, ABZ (like that one?), Forrest; King Arthur, Jon Bon Pirlo, Principino; Dutchie, Matatatatatatri, Quagmire

I know Quags won’t start for the first time in a big tie such as this. Neither will PDC. I’m just being contrarian and difficult.

Merda: (4-4-2) Castellazzi; Nagatomo, Lucio, Chivu, Maicon; Stankovic, Cambiasso, Zanetti; Sneijder; Zarate, Pazzini

All of the media outlets are calling Sfinter’s formation a 4-3-1-2, with Sneijder in his natural gayquartista trequartista position, but I refuse to believe that Ranieri is capable of deploying anything other than a 4-4-2. Much like I will refuse to believe any substitution will occur before the 87th minute. I’ve watched too many games with him as our own coach to be fooled again. Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, Gazzetto/Tuttosport/Corriere!!!

Juve probable XI: Storari (update- apparently San Gigi may be back) Buffon; Chiellini ( :’-( at LB), Barzagli, Bonucci, Lichtsteiner; Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio (so far so good…); Vucinic (FML); Matri; Pepe.

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Team News

« Juventus 2-1 Fiorentina: A Hard Fought Victory To Perfectly Set Up Derby d’Italia | Home | POTD: Impazzire! »

joe

This Fucking Idiot MAD is out of touch with reality, seriously.
Chuks A.

I've given up long time ago on trying to understand the way that guy's pitiful brain functions. It ain't worth your time mate, it really ain't.
joe

You are absolutely right, but I just can't stand it when he talks about Del Piero, who everybody respects.
phantomzz

lol............I got blocked from the merda offside after this comment...........
johncas

and again.
johncas

yup
ian_22

Great post over at Football Italia. Here's part of it: A week of very public moaning about the number of penalties
awarded against them did pay off in the end, as Inter were fortunate not to see
Luca Castellazzi sent off for clattering into Claudio Marchisio. It’s true he
was turning round, so had his back to goal and already chipped the ball off
target, but without all the complaints and directors ringing up live television
shows to lay the groundwork, it’s more likely than not that penalty would’ve
been awarded to Juventus.
I’m very glad the referee did err on the side of caution,
because this way Inter have absolutely no excuse for their home defeat. There
can be no clutching at the straws of a controversial spot-kick, nor did the
officials make any other particularly glaring errors. There were a few injury
concerns, but nothing Claudio Ranieri and the vast squad haven’t dealt with
numerous times before this season. Giampaolo Pazzini was unlucky to hit the bar,
but the Bianconeri also wasted a few sitters.
However you look at it, last night’s match brings everyone to
the same conclusion: Juventus won because they played better. They fought
harder, ran with more conviction, passed the ball around cleanly and took their
chances. No excuses.
thegutterpoet

Prior to this game we have played against inferior
opposition (to Inter). The Milan team we comprehensively outplayed was not the
same Milan team we will see come the end of the season, as an average for this
term of Serie A. They, AC, are slowly getting back to their best, as players
return from injury, new players gel, and I still envisage, regardless of our
own form, the scudetto decided between Napoli and AC. Up until recently,
despite Inter's atrocious form, mainly results wise more than performance wise,
I was expecting our arch rivals to be in the mix with us and Lazio, and perhaps
Roma and Udinese, in the chase for the incredibly valuable 3rd spot finish in the league.
Inter have on paper, easily the second best squad in Serie A.

However, the form book is thrown out of the window, from the
119th floor, then crunched under a steamroller, then spat upon...when it comes
to the derby d'italia.

This fixture, due to the farce that was calciopoli, and also
the comments regarding that incident of several Interisti, has become even more
vicious, hateful and brimming, on our part, with demand for vengeance. Form was
never going to be a major factor, only Heart, Spirit and Vital Zeal would see a
winner emerge from this maelstrom.

As a club, the collective THEY have wronged us horribly, and
THEY all deserve to die, or in the least be beaten on the field fair and square
by our emerging soldiers of righteousness...

Ratings

Buffon-
I was lifted by his inclusion, for whilst he is taking his
time to get back to his best, Santo Buffon at half mast is true quality. He had
no chance on Maicon's deflected goal, and other than that, made no errors,
distributed the ball intelligently, showed confidence, commanded his
area...what more can anyone ask????...6.5/10.

Chiellini-
Made several wonderful tackles, covered his area with
brilliant prowess, tried to make things happen further up the field. I have
never begun a brief comment upon a de ceglie performance like that, and will
likely never do so. In the absence of a proper LB, giorgio has NOT been
demoted, he is simply such an amazing defender, that even at left back he is
hugely more useful than our only official left back. And that is my
point...6.5/10

Lichsteiner-
Mr consistency. Anyone who squeals 'he is swiss, not nazi',
is thankfully wrong. for our MASSIVE signing at right back performs at a
consistency in that position which I have not seen since the days of thuram and
zambrotta. His stamina is nothing short of...German. His tenacity is nothing
short of...German. His ability to maintain a solid level of defensive and
offensive duties is nothing short of ...German. Massively more comfortable
without krasic in front of him. Played a major part in our first goal, skewed a
great opportunity wide, but essentially, was far more useful for the entirety
of the game, than his opposite number Maicon. Quality...yet again, and I doff
my virtual hat towards Beppe Marotta. 7/10.

Barzagli-
Wonderful. Outstanding. I like his name. I love Beppe even
more for signing him so cheaply. I have watched a lot of Serie A already this
season, and the only centre back who rivals him, perhaps betters him, is Lucio,
who to me, has always been, and was last night, world class. HE is one of the
main reasons we are doing so swell. Long may his formidable form continue...7.5/10.

Bonucci-
Fuck all the pea brained goons who wanted him OUT during the
summer. I never lost faith in his ability, and since coming back into the team,
he has repaid COnte's and my confidence, with some glorious performances.
Whether you agree with me or not, i care not, for Leanardo IS fast becoming one
of the best centre backs in Italy. And I am so happy that he forced the issue
during the summer trauma of 'we want Alvez, they want bonucci, but he doesn't
want to go, he wants to stay and prove himself'...And prove himself he has
done. Superb. Covering, tackling, reading the play, and yet again, using the
ball intelligently. Countless gritty interceptions, both on the turf and in the
air. CLass. 8/10.

Pirlo-
Not at his best technically, but his grinta was plain for
all to see. Fucked up a few times when he had the defence to thank for cleaning
up his mistakes, but as has become customary, he was our fulcrum. The strange
thing is...I have never before seen the kind of classy berserker steel that I
have seen of him consistently in a Juve shirt. I would be giving him a 6, but
when he saw Vidal on the floor, and was so angered by Inter's lack of
sportsmanship, that he hacked an opponent down, he moves to a 7 and takes a
worthy place in my heart as a true juventino. Magnificent valour. He is a vero
signore...7/10.

Marchisio-
I have been one of his most consistently vicious critics
over the last few years. Yet have shown him praise this season, when worthy.
Whilst I will continue to contest anyone who refers to him as a future Capitano,
for he has zero natural leadership talents, I WILL praise him for becoming a
man, juve style. He was committed and dangerous. Took his goal beautifully.
tackled hard. covered like a killer bee scored a wicked goal. What more can we
ask???? 8/10

Vidal-
Still finding his feet in this team, in this league, in this
culture, but...he fights tooth and claw, for every ball, gets savaged
constantly, but always gets back up on his feet, brushes himself down, then
heads back to the front line. A hard working showing. more to come...6.5/10.

Pepe-
His biggest strengths are versatility and heart, perhaps
also physical finesse. Did well, kept his head up, largely unable to beat his
man, but generally used the ball efficiently, made space, then opened things up
for more technically gifted players. Like Giaccherini, Simone is already a
COnte favourite, for he takes orders on board without problem, and his work
rate is exceptional. Solid, if nothing else. 6.5/10.

Matri-
He made both our goals and could of scored one of his own
aside from the two assists. Most don't give him the credit he is due, for to
me, he is easily our most quality prima punta since Trezeguet. his movement is
sensational, his finishing sturdy, never afraid to use his weaker foot. A more
than commendable leading of the line. 7/10.

Vucinic-
I have mentioned before, that one of the major differences
to this team, to the team of the last two seasons, is the increase in first
team players comfortable on the ball. Mirko confirms this, in spades...for
whilst he often seems lackadaisical, even uninterested, he very rarely shows
anything less than clever movement and top notch ability on the ball. All that
is failing presently, is his shooting. 'what the hell???' some will say, for he
scored a good goal. My point is that a player of his standard, should have had
at least one more goal last night, and several more in recent weeks. His goal
and delightful footwork lead him to an 7.5 in this game, but i want more, and
know he can give more...7.5/10.

SUBS

Estigarribia-
COnte said after the game that Pepe and our young Paraguayan
were tasked with ending the Maicon threat. which they did well enough. As for
the newcomer to our ranks...he had a one on one with the keeper, which was
saved, other than which, he worked hard, made no mistakes and continued his
progress as an up and coming unknown quantity. 6.5/10.

Del Piero-
His main use nowadays, however hard it is for some of our
numbers to accept, is to come on late in a game, drop the speed of play, win
free-kicks. He managed this task perfectly, even found himself gifted with a
demanding of a better finish chance, but placed his shot woefully wide.
USeful...6/10.

Pazienza- N/A

Conclusion
I feel we played against our most powerful opponent thus far
this season. Had we drawn, or even lost, I would not be writing here and now,
how unfair the result was. We made better and slightly more plentiful chances
than Inter, but...we clearly have work to do, for our midfield trio, whilst astounding
at times, often leads to the defence getting done on the counter. Thankfully
all three of our midfielders get back quick, when we lose the ball and find ourselves
under the pump.

The best player on the pitch from start to finish, was
Lucio...I wonder if Rhodolfo can prove as amazing??? As for Lucio, he IS the
perfect defender. Able to tackle, head, and equally importantly, he has great
pace and is always eager to bring the ball out of defence. A brazilian beckenbauer running full steam...

We won this more on spirit and heart, than quality, and that
brings such an ear to ear smile to my haggard countenance, that I must yet
again, pay homage, to Conte and Marotta.

The Marchisio incident was interesting. Reagrdless of whether a collision is unintentional or not, if it even hints at a definite goalscoring chance, one on one with the keeper, then it must be considered more carefully than what the referee decided last night. That very easily, could, or should have been, a penalty and red card. Thankfully, as Marchisio seemed to do, with great dignity in his post-match press conference, I will say, in my own way, fuck it, we won...

Despite the extremely welcome victory against our most
fiercely hated opponents, I remain, slightly more content to believe that we
can achieve that coveted 3rd spot finish, and with it, champions league
qualification, which will bring us money, confidence, and most importantly, the
opportunity to attract a higher calibre of player.

A superb, hard earned result...

http://lavecchiasignoranet.tum...
JoseR

I also thought Milan, Napoli and Inter were going to get the top 3 places and Juve had to be content with EL this year (which would already be an improvement over last year). As it stands however, Inter are 7 points away from 3rd place, and more importantly 11 from us. Last year, Inter were 13 points behind league leaders and finished only 6 points behind. But remember, Inter had two games at hand and when they won those games they were effectively at 7 points from Milan.

Inter have played Palermo, Roma, Novara, Bologna, Napoli, Catania, Chievo, Atalanta, Juventus. Tough schedule but they have only beat Chievo and Bologna and tied other two encounters. Surely the team can do better. Add to that the Ranieri effect, mental strength in big games (yesterday), and blank-out in small games, that is just a recipe for more dropped points. Lastly, I agree that Inter played well yesterday, but they are getting close to as good as it is going to get for them. Their players are old, tired, and not physically fit.

Looking at Napoli, you see them dropping points in the week preceding CL games, and after CL games. Obviously, their priority is to make it to the second round, and in a group of Bayern Munich, Villarreal, and Man. City the task is nothing short of daunting. The team remains strong but lacks depth. Few of these players are used to 3 games/week, which is what will be required of them until December. I don't know if they will be scudetto challengers anymore.

Juve, have had their fair share of "easy" games but also our tough ones by now. In all our games we managed to beat Parma, Siena, Milan, Fiorentina, and Inter. Not what you would call the easiest teams ever. Tying against Bologna, Catania, Chievo, and Genoa were not our proudest moments, but unlike Inter, our team has been running harder, understanding each other, and understanding the coach. Without seeing Elia, Quags and an in-form Krasic on the field this team has a lot more to offer than what we have witnessed.

I remain calm and I still think our greatest rivals for 3rd place will be Napoli, Roma, Lazio, and Udinese. Our next fixtures are Napoli, Palermo, and Lazio (yikes, I did not realize this until now), Cesena, Roma and Novara. If we are still in the top 3 places after these games finish, then no one can say that Juve has had a simple schedule anymore.
thegutterpoet

cheers for the response, jose...it was enjoyable to read.
XhakaJuve

Has anyone have any Info on what TrezBoY is doin in the UAE
Blanda_Amania

Zafar is a such a talented dude. Awesome work up there. I'm absolutely relieved for this win. I'm not sitting back on my heels though. Each and every match has been, and will be a challenge this season. Anyone else letting thoughts of the "S" word creep into their minds? Just a tiny bit?
Somnath_Sengupta

*** ?
Blanda_Amania

No, I'm certain thoughts of *** creep into your minds more than a tiny bit. The other one. You know, ***** uhhh..***.
Akshu

me ! me ! i always get carried away when we beat a top side ! but wait, we DIDNT beat a top side.we beat a relegation level side ! oh well,i guess we can beat provincial teams on the road now. :)
runekai250

Its there... but the curse is still around...

i am not even talking abt the jan curse yet..

im talking abt the 3 consecutive games curse. we haven done that this season and we only did it once or twice last season..

i still think that 1 win 1 lose is better than 2 draws...but 3 wins is the most important..

time to break the curse...count
JoseR

Against Napoli would be an added bonus.
phantomzz

There was a sewer rat in my room 2 days back.....................

It looked a lot like the guy who was sitting in the Inter president's box yesterday...........
XhakaJuve

There is an albanian Inter fans page on Facebook that says UN JAM INTERIST. Meaning I am a merda fan. But they spelled Une which is a basic albanian word wrong the point of the story is that Interisti aka merda fans aka sewer rats aka moratti lovers are and will always fail in anything taht has to do with your brain and logic
Khaniv13

what a game!
bring on Napoli!
Papai

***BREAKING NEWS*** ALL TELECOM ITALIA EMPLOYEE LEAVES CANCELLED. EMERGENCY WIRETAPPING SHIFTS STARTED
djp4cal

Just got done watching after a long day at work. That was incredibly satisfying.
runekai250

Hmmmm... things i realised...

we haven had a penalty this season.
we haven lost.
we are on top.
and we haven played everyone..

im still waiting for quag,elia to play.
mike

prescriti - JUVENTUS 1-2 Full Match

http://www.zizoufans.com/2011/...

P.S I am so happy I can shit rainbows...
Somnath_Sengupta

People in Pescara, Modena and Empoli, be careful about what you are talking about on phones.
XhakaJuve

Im scared they are gonna find a way to ban Ciro Immobile from playing football......
XhakaJuve

It is such a shame that the italy offside is getting influenced by last nights game.............
Somnath_Sengupta

It's not called Derby D'Italia for no reason ;)
XhakaJuve

Hahahahaha but it is kind of stupid that the Derby as big as it is would influence the usually fair opinion of the Italy Offside
phantomzz

Ok so I went to the Inter offside and wrote this comment:

"Why would Pep Guardiola coach a Serie B team?"

My guess is there is someone high on caffeine sitting in front of his computer deleting comments like crazy!! It was barely up for 5 mins and it got deleted. I bow down to their DEDICATION....LOL!!!
W

Pics or it didn't happen!
GiGi

It's for the best, we won without a penalty. They can't complain now :)
JoseR

You would think, but you'd be wrong. Kind of like I thought that with 91 points, 15 ahead of third place Inter (76 points) we won our 29th scudetto but no. Apparently in Italy the team with the most points must be relegated to let the minions have a taste of glory.
andy

The most interesting thing is how we played.. conte had used 4-2-4, 4-1-4-1, 4-3-3.. we usually played possession football and pressing. But last night, we used counter attack.. and it worked! This is the first time in the last 10 years that we played with so many different tactics.

I am curious what other surprises conte has..
jorid22

Where the fuck have you been?
persianjuve

I wouldn't go as far as saying it was a def red card but the ref could've easily awarded us with a penalty kick with a yellow card going to the keeper. Inter moaning during the whole week about penalty decisions played a big role in referee's decision IMO. Edit : This was a reply to tortbort .... damn you Disqus lol
Juve 1897

MAD just posted the game review LOL that shyt is hilarious that man is an idiot, true merdarista
Papai

We didnt dominate, far from it. But we still won. That gives me hope
Somnath_Sengupta

How wicked was Matri's run for the first goal? He started the move and then ran like hell to meet the cross.

He must start every game. Yesterday he didnt score his routine goal but played huge parts in both goals.
Danni

He is our best striker without a doubt....but I want to see QuagliaMatri just once...!