National team coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Azzurri’s roster official, and communicated his list to UEFA.
Compared his previous version, the manager has left out Andrea Ranocchia and Mattia Destro. Doubts remain on the eligibility of Leonardo Bonucci, currently under investigation in the massive betting scandal surrounding Italian soccer this week.
The list also made the squad numbers for the final phase of the tournament official.
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.
Inter score three, Juve win it at the death. In the end it’s all the same: three points in the bag, and the Serie A standings unaltered.
And so, because points are more important than goals or scoring chances, several facts go unnoticed at the end of Sunday’s match. Two of them are that despite their win, Juventus played one their worst games of the season, and that Lecce, despite their evident technical inferiority, fought hard to come from behind and would have at least deserved a tie at the end of the night.
Instead, what people will remember out of Lecce-Juventus are mainly two things.
The first, is that Sebastian Giovinco scored his first Juve goal. In the absence of Alessandro Del Piero La Formica Atomica finally got his chance to shine and, emulating his idol captain, did not pass it up. His beautiful free-kick provided the Bianconeri’s first goal; his moves, his touches, and his accelerations gave Juve supporters a glimpse of what may very well be the Black & White future of the next decade. This is how champions are born people.
The second thing people will remember, exemplied by Amauri’s goal in the 90th minute, is more of a reminder of sorts. It embodies a team spirit that, in months of uncertainty, courtroom frustration, and Serie B agony, has still remained intact: La Juve non molla mai.
Go and ask your Italian friends what it means…
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