Posts Tagged ‘Juventus’
Monday, April 13th, 2009
In Italy we have a saying that goes “the sadness of one makes the happiness of the other”. One being Juventus and the other being Genoa in this case.
For all extents and purposes, the Bianconeri’s Scudetto dream is over. I know I already said that last week but that was my own personal prediction. This week’s loss, which effectively pushes Inter’s lead to +10, pretty much makes the demise of Ranieri’s team official, limiting the usefulness of next week’s Juve vs. Inter clash only to bragging rights.
From a neutral point of view, Saturday’s evening match was an action-packed, entertaining affair, features which have started to become common with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side. It’s still fairly early to be talking about “Champions League football” for Genoa, but surely the Rossoblu and their president Enrico Preziosi must be fancying their chances by now: if the team continues to play like they are currently doing, they are sure to feature prominently in next season’s European scene.
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Tags: Alessandro Del Piero, Claudio Ranieri, Genoa, Gian Piero Gasperini, Juventus, Raffaele Palladino, Serie A, Thiago Motta, Vincenzo Iaquinta
Posted in Genoa, Juventus, Serie A | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
Bye bye Scudetto. Yet again.
There’s no point in denying it: seeing Juventus dig themselves out of their 2nd-place pit, and overtake Inter in a feat of extraordinary sporting grandeur, will not happen. I have ceased to believe in it. As illusory as that concept might have been for the past 2-3 months, I had continued to keep the faith: it was my duty as a Juventino. But after Sunday’s match vs. Chievo I just feel that fate is against us, and that the Serie A standings yo-yo has been going on for long enough. With 8 matches left to the end, Inter only need only 15 points to clinch their title. That’s 5 wins out of 8… you think the Nerazzurri can’t pull that off?
On the upside for Juve, the infirmary ward is slowly emptying itself: Zebina, C.Zanetti, and De Ceglie have all resumed full training and oh yes, there’s that little Ita-Argie guy. One Mr. Mauro German Camoranesi, the player the Bianconeri so crucially missed during their UCL campaign and who can change the face of a match in a flash: three (well, two and a half) assists Sunday, and 70 minutes of healthy playing time. It’s small potatoes, but a good way to recover from Sergio Pellissier’s hat-trick (bravo to him).
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Tags: Chievo, Claudio Ranieri, Domenico Di Carlo, Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus, Mauro Camoranesi, Sergio Pellissier, Serie A, Vincenzo Iaquinta
Posted in Chievo, Juventus, Serie A | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
In this long, tough battle for Serie A supremacy, few teams can make the claim to have been decimated by injuries, at least not like those entering the Stadio Olimpico of Rome Saturday. I won’t bother to go over Juventus for fear of redundancy; Roma, just for this match alone, stepped onto the grass with five bench Primaveras and a big book of prayers in Spalletti’s hands. It is a sad tale of missed potential and full of “what if” hypotheses: what if these teams could have counted on their full roster this season; what if Legrottaglie and Juan had been there to stop the Chelsea and Arsenal strikers; what if Inter was having the same injury troubles as these two… what if.
Thus, it is in this surreal “red cross” atmosphere that Giallorossi and Bianconeri set to face each other Saturday, with the home team, it must be said, in slightly more dire straits than their colleagues. A youth presence on a team is always refreshing, but for Roma that’s about just what it was: refreshing and cold, just like the goal shower Juventus onloaded on them. Iaquinta drew first blood, Loria (yes, you have read correctly) momentarily tied, before big Vincenzo, Mellberg, and Nedved wrapped things up for the visitors. It was a clear message to league leaders Inter, as this never-ending Saturday/Sunday “long distance” battle continues, one team losing ground one day only to see it restored the very next day. In the words of Gazzetta, “Those expecting an early wrap for the Serie A title will be disappointed”.
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Tags: Claudio Ranieri, Juventus, Luciano Spalletti, Olof Mellberg, Pavel Nedved, Roma, Serie A, Simone Loria, Vincenzo Iaquinta
Posted in Juventus, Roma, Serie A | Comments Off
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
It is getting close to crunch time for a few Serie A sides and if anyone wants to catch Inter Milan they’re going to have to get a run together now. Inter won’t be dropping any points this weekend unless something drastic happens though, they face bottom club Reggina at the Giuseppe Meazza and I don’t think anyone would predict anything other than a victory for the Nerazzurri. I’ve had a run through some of the key fixtures to see if I can offer any betting tips and advice along the way.
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Tags: Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Chievo, Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Lecce, Palermo, Reggina, Roma, Sampdoria, Serie A, Siena, Torino, Udinese
Posted in Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Chievo, Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Lecce, Palermo, Reggina, Roma, Sampdoria, Serie A, Siena, Torino, Udinese | Comments Off
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
Post-elimination aftershock? Not for Juventus, no sir! The Zebras have turned into Bengal Tigers, landing straight on their feet after their European fall.
Their Saturday 4-1 win over Bologna demonstrated one thing and one thing only: depression only lasts for as long as you let it (in Juve’s case: 45 minutes). After a rocky first half ended with a one-goal deficit, Ranieri’s boys put on a spectacular turn-around, led by a Salihamdzic/Giovinco pair absolutely on fire and a reborn Capitan Del Piero.
A great way to kick their European Blues (and never-ending streak of injuries) goodbye and put the pressure back on Inter, now temporarily at -4 in the Serie A standings.
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Tags: Alessandro Del Piero, Bologna, Claudio Ranieri, Hasan Salihamidzic, Juventus, Sebastian Giovinco, Serie A, Sinisa Mihaijlovic
Posted in Bologna, Juventus, Serie A | 2 Comments »
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