Juventus Turin --> Champions League Group Stage
SSC Napoli --> Champions League Group Stage
AC Milan --> Champions League Play-off Round
AC Fiorentina
--> Europa League Play-off Round
Udinese Calcio--> Europa League Third Qualifying Round
SS Lazio Roma --> Europa League Group Stage
Showing posts with label Juventus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juventus. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Same Shitty Display from Juventus Buffoons
Why doesn't buffon just retire?
He's weighing down the teams he plays for.
I don't know exactly how Juventus manages to win such a high percentage of their games in the Serie A. Maybe they're cheating again. (Will that ever stop being an issue in the Italian league?) Or maybe the Italian league is shit, too.
Anyway, getting back to Buffon, the goal that buried Juventus today (- not that they were playing any kind of good football -) bore a striking similarity to the second goal he conceded, away from home, eight days ago.
And they were all playing badly. Pirlo managed to get a good free kick on goal, in the first half, but, much to his dishonour, he put the ball right where Manuel Neuer was placed at the time.
With teams like that, and such weak displays against teams from better leagues, I don't see when Italian football will manage to squeeze into the top three again, and have four teams in the Champions League once more.
"We deserve to be there." (Conte, before the first leg) - What a crock of shit!
He's weighing down the teams he plays for.
I don't know exactly how Juventus manages to win such a high percentage of their games in the Serie A. Maybe they're cheating again. (Will that ever stop being an issue in the Italian league?) Or maybe the Italian league is shit, too.
Anyway, getting back to Buffon, the goal that buried Juventus today (- not that they were playing any kind of good football -) bore a striking similarity to the second goal he conceded, away from home, eight days ago.
And they were all playing badly. Pirlo managed to get a good free kick on goal, in the first half, but, much to his dishonour, he put the ball right where Manuel Neuer was placed at the time.
With teams like that, and such weak displays against teams from better leagues, I don't see when Italian football will manage to squeeze into the top three again, and have four teams in the Champions League once more.
"We deserve to be there." (Conte, before the first leg) - What a crock of shit!
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
What Happened to Italian Consistency?
Why do Italians make such fools of themselves lately?
I can't help but point out again the biggest humiliation in Italy's football history, the Euro final loss from last year.
(And the fact that Prandelli remained coach afterwards.)
Likewise, some of the current Juventus football figures made fools of themselves, too, before and during the Champions-League quarter-final first leg against Bayern. Buffoons, if you will.
If I say "buffoon", the readers' attention might be immediately directed to Gianluigi Buffon. Yes, that's one. But, first, Antonio Conte.
If you're going to go to a pre-match press conference, and brag that your team deserves to be there, Mr. Conte, you better have the team to back that up. After the match against Bayern, it is clear that Conte had better shut the hell up.
Maybe he'll learn his lesson, and in the future become cocky after a match, not before.
'Cause Juve played like shit. Nobody expected Bayern to put 9 goals past Juventus, like they did against Hamburger SV three days prior, but they certainly had the chances to do so against Juventus, too.
You may think Juventus' defending was good, then, if there were more than 9 chances for Bayern, and the Germans only scored twice.
But it wasn't. Juventus was lucky not to concede four or five, and I mean in the first half only. And they didn't have scoring chances, either. They were totally overwhelmed. Even Pirlo was pathetic.
And then there was Buffon the buffoon. For a goalkeeper who's hailed as one of the best in the world, he can certainly let in some howlers.
(Remember the goal he alone created, for Lecce, against Juve, late last season? Well, maybe that was for betting purposes...)
But when Alaba scored, in the very first minute, Buffon was by far the guilty Juventus player. He either wasn't paying attention, or his talent goes in and out in some matches. Really, Buffon should apologize to all Juventus people, because he started the suckiness of the Italian team at the Allianz Arena.
If Conte's the one guilty of not preparing the Italian champions properly, Buffon is the one guilty of screwing up the tactics of the Turin club from the very start. They basically had to start from 0-1, because Buffon couldn't see in time that the opponent was shooting from 40 meters out, or so.
Not that 0-2 is an insurmountable result, but Juventus certainly did not live up to their expectations. And now they're staring elimination in the face.
I can't help but point out again the biggest humiliation in Italy's football history, the Euro final loss from last year.
(And the fact that Prandelli remained coach afterwards.)
Likewise, some of the current Juventus football figures made fools of themselves, too, before and during the Champions-League quarter-final first leg against Bayern. Buffoons, if you will.
If I say "buffoon", the readers' attention might be immediately directed to Gianluigi Buffon. Yes, that's one. But, first, Antonio Conte.
If you're going to go to a pre-match press conference, and brag that your team deserves to be there, Mr. Conte, you better have the team to back that up. After the match against Bayern, it is clear that Conte had better shut the hell up.
Maybe he'll learn his lesson, and in the future become cocky after a match, not before.
'Cause Juve played like shit. Nobody expected Bayern to put 9 goals past Juventus, like they did against Hamburger SV three days prior, but they certainly had the chances to do so against Juventus, too.
You may think Juventus' defending was good, then, if there were more than 9 chances for Bayern, and the Germans only scored twice.
But it wasn't. Juventus was lucky not to concede four or five, and I mean in the first half only. And they didn't have scoring chances, either. They were totally overwhelmed. Even Pirlo was pathetic.
And then there was Buffon the buffoon. For a goalkeeper who's hailed as one of the best in the world, he can certainly let in some howlers.
(Remember the goal he alone created, for Lecce, against Juve, late last season? Well, maybe that was for betting purposes...)
But when Alaba scored, in the very first minute, Buffon was by far the guilty Juventus player. He either wasn't paying attention, or his talent goes in and out in some matches. Really, Buffon should apologize to all Juventus people, because he started the suckiness of the Italian team at the Allianz Arena.
If Conte's the one guilty of not preparing the Italian champions properly, Buffon is the one guilty of screwing up the tactics of the Turin club from the very start. They basically had to start from 0-1, because Buffon couldn't see in time that the opponent was shooting from 40 meters out, or so.
Not that 0-2 is an insurmountable result, but Juventus certainly did not live up to their expectations. And now they're staring elimination in the face.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Chelsea Out!
People with football-watching experience surely had the foresight to see that Chelsea's chances of progressing were almost zero, even though Juventus had to go to Donetsk, where Shakhtar hadn't yet lost points this season.
Many optimistic fans might have also thought that Shakhtar won both their previous CL matches at home, that they beat Chelsea at home, too, and that they even succeeded in getting a point at the Juventus stadium, so they would have a reasonable chance of beating Juve.
But Juventus is not one of those teams that screws up big at the last moment. At least, not against teams like Shakhtar.
And, let's face it, Shakhtar had very, very little to play for. (Well, they had the top spot in the group to play for, but considering the possibilities of facing teams like Real Madrid, Valencia, Arsenal or Porto, anyway, even when finishing top, that didn't matter much, I'm sure.)
Still, Shakhtar did not play to lose. But they did not play to win, either. They, except maybe for Kucher (- I'm joking, of course -), would have settled for the draw, just as well. A draw that would have still eliminated Chelsea. No sympathy for the West Londoners there.
It's, therefore, no surprise that Juventus dominated the match, and that Shakhtar didn't have a lot of chances, even after going down 0-1.
And Chelsea has been eliminated, despite crushing Nordsjaelland, 6-1, in the other match, and having an overall better record than Shakhtar, except for a silly away-goals side note. (In other words, UEFA is more to blame for Chelsea's strange elimination than the Chelsea team itself, I would say.)
Highlights from Shakhtar - Juventus:
Many optimistic fans might have also thought that Shakhtar won both their previous CL matches at home, that they beat Chelsea at home, too, and that they even succeeded in getting a point at the Juventus stadium, so they would have a reasonable chance of beating Juve.
But Juventus is not one of those teams that screws up big at the last moment. At least, not against teams like Shakhtar.
And, let's face it, Shakhtar had very, very little to play for. (Well, they had the top spot in the group to play for, but considering the possibilities of facing teams like Real Madrid, Valencia, Arsenal or Porto, anyway, even when finishing top, that didn't matter much, I'm sure.)
Still, Shakhtar did not play to lose. But they did not play to win, either. They, except maybe for Kucher (- I'm joking, of course -), would have settled for the draw, just as well. A draw that would have still eliminated Chelsea. No sympathy for the West Londoners there.
It's, therefore, no surprise that Juventus dominated the match, and that Shakhtar didn't have a lot of chances, even after going down 0-1.
And Chelsea has been eliminated, despite crushing Nordsjaelland, 6-1, in the other match, and having an overall better record than Shakhtar, except for a silly away-goals side note. (In other words, UEFA is more to blame for Chelsea's strange elimination than the Chelsea team itself, I would say.)
Highlights from Shakhtar - Juventus:
More About UEFA's Stupid Rule
Again, I just can't shut up about the stupidity of the people involved in making the decision that teams tied on points at the end of the group stage are to be separated first based on the direct results.
Chelsea fans will back me up in arguing just how stupid, dumb, imbecilic, senseless, absurd, foolish, idiotic, harebrained, etc., this rule proved to be. (CFR Cluj fans, too, would say the same thing, by the way. They go to Old Trafford, beat Man. U., have a better goal difference than Galatasaray, overall, but they don't go through because of just one goal scored by Galata in the 78th minute. Just stupid!)
Getting back to the Chelsea issue, which is even more outrageous, how the fuck was Shakhtar Donetsk more deserving of progressing than Chelsea?
Even the direct results showed that. 2-1 and 2-3. Now just why should this pair of results eliminate the team that did not score two goals in each match, I do not understand. Well, I understand it when there's direct elimnation involved, and the only other option is extra time + PKs, but this is a group, and there are way better and fairer criteria for separating teams that play the results 3-2 and 1-2 between themselves and are tied on points at the end.
Chelsea was overall better than Shakhtar, considering especially how Shakhtar performed in the last few matches, and deserved better. UEFA really screwed up.
More people should complain.
Highlights from Shakhtar - Juventus:
Highlights from Chelsea - Nordsjaelland:
Highlights from Manchester U. - CFR Cluj:
Highlights from Braga - Galatasaray:
Chelsea fans will back me up in arguing just how stupid, dumb, imbecilic, senseless, absurd, foolish, idiotic, harebrained, etc., this rule proved to be. (CFR Cluj fans, too, would say the same thing, by the way. They go to Old Trafford, beat Man. U., have a better goal difference than Galatasaray, overall, but they don't go through because of just one goal scored by Galata in the 78th minute. Just stupid!)
Getting back to the Chelsea issue, which is even more outrageous, how the fuck was Shakhtar Donetsk more deserving of progressing than Chelsea?
Even the direct results showed that. 2-1 and 2-3. Now just why should this pair of results eliminate the team that did not score two goals in each match, I do not understand. Well, I understand it when there's direct elimnation involved, and the only other option is extra time + PKs, but this is a group, and there are way better and fairer criteria for separating teams that play the results 3-2 and 1-2 between themselves and are tied on points at the end.
Chelsea was overall better than Shakhtar, considering especially how Shakhtar performed in the last few matches, and deserved better. UEFA really screwed up.
More people should complain.
Highlights from Shakhtar - Juventus:
Highlights from Chelsea - Nordsjaelland:
Highlights from Manchester U. - CFR Cluj:
Highlights from Braga - Galatasaray:
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Stupid, Retarded UEFA Rules!
I must say, it seems to me that UEFA decision makers are getting dumber and dumber. And no, I'm not talking about the decision to have the next Euros comprise of 24 teams.
I'm talking about having the main tie-breaking criterion between teams tied on points in the Champions League be the direct results between the teams in question.
How moronic is that?
How idiotic is it, huh, Mr. Platini?
Let's look at it, group by group.
Group A is, surprisingly, unaffected by this rule.
In Group B, Schalke can even lose, no matter by what scoreline, as long as Arsenal does not win in the other match, and still win the group. So, a team that might get crushed - it will not happen, by I'm just saying - 7-0 by someone as weak as Montpellier could still win that group. Stupid!
In Group C, Malaga has already won the group, courtesy of their better head-to-head record against AC Milan. So, then, both Malaga and Milan have nothing to play for in the last matchday. Very stupid!
Luckily, as far as the struggle between Zenit St. Petersburg and Anderlecht goes, their direct encounters ended 1-0 and 0-1, so that will be decided by goal difference. They will have to show up and play, if they wish to finish third and continue in the Europa League. Thank God (for almost nothing)!
Group D also has a decided winner, Borussia Dortmund, because of their better record against Real Madrid. Not that Borussia was not the best team of the group so far, but if they lose at home to Manchester City, on the last matchday, nobody would then say that they were, pound-for-pound, the best overall team if Real beats Ajax and gets the same number of points. (You gotta play well all your matches to be most appreciated!...)
Man. City, likewise, cannot not win their last match, if they want Europa League play, even if Ajax loses 200-0 in Madrid.
Extremely dumb!
But Group E is the worst.
You know, someone watching Juventus - Chelsea (3-0), and not having been aware of these fucked-up UEFA rules, might have thought that Juventus kept pressing, even at 2-0 and with 10 minutes left, because they knew every goal would count on the last matchday and Chelsea would have played Nordsjaelland (a team that is very likely to lose 6-7--nil). Actually, though, NO!
Thanks to any kind of win over Chelsea, and with a point in Donetsk in two weeks ' time, Juventus can then be assured of progressing over Chelsea, last year 's winner.
Even a 1-0 victory for Juventus would have been enough to secure that advantage.
3-0 was a result that brought Juventus no more benefits than a 1-0 would have.
And another unfortunate result of this obvious lack of intelligence from UEFA officials is the fact that Shakhtar Donetsk is already in the round of 16. Yes, they have secured their place, because of their direct results over Chelsea (2-1 and 2-3, away-goals rule) and now Chelsea can only at best tie Shakhtar on points.
So, Shakhtar has only first place to play for, on the last matchday, and clearly a draw in their direct match would satisfy both Shakhtar (who would win the group) and Juventus (who would go through, leaving Chelsea out).
How much do Chelsea fans hate UEFA for these senseless rules?
So, so retarded!!!
In Group F, Bayern leads over Valencia, even though Valencia has a better goal difference. (The two teams are tied on points, yes.) And all Bayern needs to do is match the number of points that Valencia gets on the last day, to win that group.
Also, Lille cannot go to the Europa League, even though they are clearly better than BATE at the present time, even if they win their last match by an astronomical score, and BATE loses theirs by an astronomical score, too, to boot. Why? Well, because stupid UEFA said 1-3 and 2-0 means the team that scored the three goals in that one match will beat the other team, no matter what else happens, if they're tied on points at the end.
Also, retarded!
In Group G, Benfica needs to match Celtic's result, but luckily for the surprising Scottish outfit (who beat Barcelona) Celtic plays Spartak at home while Benfica has to take on Barca away.
Group H contains another team that might be seriously screwed by this deficiency in thinking clearly exhibited by UEFA officials: CFR Cluj.
The Romanians have to go to Old Trafford, needing to beat Manchester United. And, even then, they have to hope that Galatasaray does not defeat Braga in Portugal. (And Braga cannot even finish third anymore. They will be bottom, and might only be playing for pride, if even that.)
Potential scorelines Man. U. - Cluj 0-5 and Braga - Galatasaray 2-3 would allow the Turkish team to qualify. If that happens, wouldn't that be fucked-up, retarded, and unfair to Cluj?
Realistically, all the Transylvanian team can hope for is for them to get a point in Manchester, and for Galatasaray to lose to Braga.
They could score, and score, and score, in England, and still get kicked out. Thanks to some serious incompetence from UEFA!
I'm talking about having the main tie-breaking criterion between teams tied on points in the Champions League be the direct results between the teams in question.
How moronic is that?
How idiotic is it, huh, Mr. Platini?
Let's look at it, group by group.
Group A is, surprisingly, unaffected by this rule.
In Group B, Schalke can even lose, no matter by what scoreline, as long as Arsenal does not win in the other match, and still win the group. So, a team that might get crushed - it will not happen, by I'm just saying - 7-0 by someone as weak as Montpellier could still win that group. Stupid!
In Group C, Malaga has already won the group, courtesy of their better head-to-head record against AC Milan. So, then, both Malaga and Milan have nothing to play for in the last matchday. Very stupid!
Luckily, as far as the struggle between Zenit St. Petersburg and Anderlecht goes, their direct encounters ended 1-0 and 0-1, so that will be decided by goal difference. They will have to show up and play, if they wish to finish third and continue in the Europa League. Thank God (for almost nothing)!
Group D also has a decided winner, Borussia Dortmund, because of their better record against Real Madrid. Not that Borussia was not the best team of the group so far, but if they lose at home to Manchester City, on the last matchday, nobody would then say that they were, pound-for-pound, the best overall team if Real beats Ajax and gets the same number of points. (You gotta play well all your matches to be most appreciated!...)
Man. City, likewise, cannot not win their last match, if they want Europa League play, even if Ajax loses 200-0 in Madrid.
Extremely dumb!
But Group E is the worst.
You know, someone watching Juventus - Chelsea (3-0), and not having been aware of these fucked-up UEFA rules, might have thought that Juventus kept pressing, even at 2-0 and with 10 minutes left, because they knew every goal would count on the last matchday and Chelsea would have played Nordsjaelland (a team that is very likely to lose 6-7--nil). Actually, though, NO!
Thanks to any kind of win over Chelsea, and with a point in Donetsk in two weeks ' time, Juventus can then be assured of progressing over Chelsea, last year 's winner.
Even a 1-0 victory for Juventus would have been enough to secure that advantage.
3-0 was a result that brought Juventus no more benefits than a 1-0 would have.
And another unfortunate result of this obvious lack of intelligence from UEFA officials is the fact that Shakhtar Donetsk is already in the round of 16. Yes, they have secured their place, because of their direct results over Chelsea (2-1 and 2-3, away-goals rule) and now Chelsea can only at best tie Shakhtar on points.
So, Shakhtar has only first place to play for, on the last matchday, and clearly a draw in their direct match would satisfy both Shakhtar (who would win the group) and Juventus (who would go through, leaving Chelsea out).
How much do Chelsea fans hate UEFA for these senseless rules?
So, so retarded!!!
In Group F, Bayern leads over Valencia, even though Valencia has a better goal difference. (The two teams are tied on points, yes.) And all Bayern needs to do is match the number of points that Valencia gets on the last day, to win that group.
Also, Lille cannot go to the Europa League, even though they are clearly better than BATE at the present time, even if they win their last match by an astronomical score, and BATE loses theirs by an astronomical score, too, to boot. Why? Well, because stupid UEFA said 1-3 and 2-0 means the team that scored the three goals in that one match will beat the other team, no matter what else happens, if they're tied on points at the end.
Also, retarded!
In Group G, Benfica needs to match Celtic's result, but luckily for the surprising Scottish outfit (who beat Barcelona) Celtic plays Spartak at home while Benfica has to take on Barca away.
Group H contains another team that might be seriously screwed by this deficiency in thinking clearly exhibited by UEFA officials: CFR Cluj.
The Romanians have to go to Old Trafford, needing to beat Manchester United. And, even then, they have to hope that Galatasaray does not defeat Braga in Portugal. (And Braga cannot even finish third anymore. They will be bottom, and might only be playing for pride, if even that.)
Potential scorelines Man. U. - Cluj 0-5 and Braga - Galatasaray 2-3 would allow the Turkish team to qualify. If that happens, wouldn't that be fucked-up, retarded, and unfair to Cluj?
Realistically, all the Transylvanian team can hope for is for them to get a point in Manchester, and for Galatasaray to lose to Braga.
They could score, and score, and score, in England, and still get kicked out. Thanks to some serious incompetence from UEFA!
Monday, 4 June 2012
Italy - UEFA Club Competitions Participants - 2012-2013
Juventus Turin --> Champions League Group Stage
AC Milan --> Champions League Group Stage
Udinese Calcio --> Champions League Play-off Round
SS Lazio Roma --> Europa League Play-off Round
SSC Napoli --> Europa League Group Stage
Internazionale Milano --> Europa League Third Qualifying Round
AC Milan --> Champions League Group Stage
Udinese Calcio --> Champions League Play-off Round
SS Lazio Roma --> Europa League Play-off Round
SSC Napoli --> Europa League Group Stage
Internazionale Milano --> Europa League Third Qualifying Round
Sunday, 20 May 2012
No Double for Juve
All that talk about the third star must have affected the concentration of the Juventus players.
For one hour of gameplay it seemed that Juventus was the usual unbeaten team that Antonio Conte guided to the first title since... 2003?
But, actually, Napoli was more Juve-like than Juve, in this Coppa Italia final, and they got a penalty in the 63rd minute, after a mistake by Juventus' back-up keeper, Storari. Cavani converted coolly, and Juventus' cup challenge was not looking pretty.
Juventus was pressing more, but Napoli's counters were getting more dangerous, too. From one of this counters, Hamsik found himself relatively free in Juventus' penalty area, and he executed Storari with a well-placed shot (83).
2-0 for Napoli, and that was the final.
I guess after the impressive performance in the Champions League, where they eliminated Manchester City, and almost ousted Chelsea, too, Napoli deserved a trophy this season.
Highlights:
Juventus vs Napoli 0-2 Finale Coppa Italia 2012 by Roma-eterna
For one hour of gameplay it seemed that Juventus was the usual unbeaten team that Antonio Conte guided to the first title since... 2003?
But, actually, Napoli was more Juve-like than Juve, in this Coppa Italia final, and they got a penalty in the 63rd minute, after a mistake by Juventus' back-up keeper, Storari. Cavani converted coolly, and Juventus' cup challenge was not looking pretty.
Juventus was pressing more, but Napoli's counters were getting more dangerous, too. From one of this counters, Hamsik found himself relatively free in Juventus' penalty area, and he executed Storari with a well-placed shot (83).
2-0 for Napoli, and that was the final.
I guess after the impressive performance in the Champions League, where they eliminated Manchester City, and almost ousted Chelsea, too, Napoli deserved a trophy this season.
Highlights:
Juventus vs Napoli 0-2 Finale Coppa Italia 2012 by Roma-eterna
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Juve Finishes Unbeaten
Their last game, at home against Atalanta, meant another victory for Conte's team.
Juventus - Atalanta 3-1
[1-0] 10' Luca Marrone
[2-0] 28' Alessandro Del Piero
[2-1] 83' Stephan Lichtsteiner (o.-g.)
[3-1] 90' Andrea Barzagli (pen.)
Final standings:
1 Juventus 38 23 15 0 68-20 +48 84p
2 Milan 38 24 8 6 74-33 +41 80p
3 Udinese 38 18 10 10 52-35 +17 64p
4 Lazio 38 18 8 12 56-47 +9 62p
5 Napoli 38 16 13 9 66-46 +20 61p
Juventus finishes the league with 0 losses!
Amazing.
How many people would have bet on them to achieve this, before the season started?
After this title win, Juventus now has 28 official titles. (2 were stripped away from them after Calciopoli.)
And I have to talk about that bad aspect of Juventus' title celebration, even though the positives of this season are perhaps more deserving of being analyzed.
I understand the Juventus officials want to put three stars on their equipment for next year. That symbolizes 3 x 10 titles won, and would mean that Juventus still does not want to accept the 2006 Calciopoli penalty as legitimate.
That is the wrong way to go, seriously.
The offense has been proven, it probably goes even deeper than what the evidence showed, and the new, hard-working Juventus people might be better off not peeling off old scars that took so long to heal.
Focus on the present, and on the good side of winning this title, I would dare to say, instead of trying to bring up an argument that you can't win!
Anyway, though, leaving that aside, Juve could win the Italian Cup, too. They're playing Napoli, in the final, next Sunday.
Juventus - Atalanta 3-1
[1-0] 10' Luca Marrone
[2-0] 28' Alessandro Del Piero
[2-1] 83' Stephan Lichtsteiner (o.-g.)
[3-1] 90' Andrea Barzagli (pen.)
Final standings:
1 Juventus 38 23 15 0 68-20 +48 84p
2 Milan 38 24 8 6 74-33 +41 80p
3 Udinese 38 18 10 10 52-35 +17 64p
4 Lazio 38 18 8 12 56-47 +9 62p
5 Napoli 38 16 13 9 66-46 +20 61p
Juventus finishes the league with 0 losses!
Amazing.
How many people would have bet on them to achieve this, before the season started?
After this title win, Juventus now has 28 official titles. (2 were stripped away from them after Calciopoli.)
And I have to talk about that bad aspect of Juventus' title celebration, even though the positives of this season are perhaps more deserving of being analyzed.
I understand the Juventus officials want to put three stars on their equipment for next year. That symbolizes 3 x 10 titles won, and would mean that Juventus still does not want to accept the 2006 Calciopoli penalty as legitimate.
That is the wrong way to go, seriously.
The offense has been proven, it probably goes even deeper than what the evidence showed, and the new, hard-working Juventus people might be better off not peeling off old scars that took so long to heal.
Focus on the present, and on the good side of winning this title, I would dare to say, instead of trying to bring up an argument that you can't win!
Anyway, though, leaving that aside, Juve could win the Italian Cup, too. They're playing Napoli, in the final, next Sunday.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Juve Takes Advantage
Juventus became the Italian champion for season 2011-2012 today.
The team from Turin won, 2-0, away, at Cagliari, and was able to celebrate the title win after this second-to-last match because Milan lost and the difference in the standings between the two teams is now 4 points with one match left.
Juventus showed good form against Cagliari, scoring through Vucinic (in minute 6) and Borriello (74), and making their fans forget about the two points dropped against Lecce a week ago.
AC Milan, on the other hand, began by conceding the first goal to Inter in the 14th minute. (That was the first of four they would concede! Pathetic, isn't it?! That was, essentially, the difference between the two title contenders: How they fared against inter: Juventus, 6 points; Milan, 0. And there goes the title.)
Although Ibrahimovic brought Milan level before the interval, and even put them ahead in minute 46, that was all Milan could muster. Inter got two penalties, and the lead again, by the 79th minute. And then, close to the end, Maicon made sure Milan was down for the count (and out of the title race).
So, Juventus finally succeeds in winning a Scudetto after the Calciopoli scandal.
Was it deserved? Probably so.
And the unbeaten run sure is very impressive.
Highlights from Cagliari - Juventus 0-2:
Highlights from Inter - Milan 4-2:
The team from Turin won, 2-0, away, at Cagliari, and was able to celebrate the title win after this second-to-last match because Milan lost and the difference in the standings between the two teams is now 4 points with one match left.
Juventus showed good form against Cagliari, scoring through Vucinic (in minute 6) and Borriello (74), and making their fans forget about the two points dropped against Lecce a week ago.
AC Milan, on the other hand, began by conceding the first goal to Inter in the 14th minute. (That was the first of four they would concede! Pathetic, isn't it?! That was, essentially, the difference between the two title contenders: How they fared against inter: Juventus, 6 points; Milan, 0. And there goes the title.)
Although Ibrahimovic brought Milan level before the interval, and even put them ahead in minute 46, that was all Milan could muster. Inter got two penalties, and the lead again, by the 79th minute. And then, close to the end, Maicon made sure Milan was down for the count (and out of the title race).
So, Juventus finally succeeds in winning a Scudetto after the Calciopoli scandal.
Was it deserved? Probably so.
And the unbeaten run sure is very impressive.
Highlights from Cagliari - Juventus 0-2:
Highlights from Inter - Milan 4-2:
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Juve Not So Infallible
Gianluigi Buffon caused Juventus to drop two points, at home, today, against Lecce.
A simple pass back was fumbled by the experienced Juventus goalkeeper, and Bertolacci was agile enough to counter Buffon's moves, ending up with the possession of the ball, alone, with the empty net in front of him. This was in the 85th minute.
Up until then, Juventus had taken the lead, through Vucinic, in the 9th minute, and they were apparently playing calmly, waiting for the final whistle.
You can't always play like that, though. Sometimes, you have to look for extra insurance or you risk getting punished.
And Lecce did it again, just like they did it at Lazio, a few matchdays ago.
Milan won, 2-0 at home against Atalanta, and are now just one point behind Juventus. But they have to play Inter next.
Highlights from Juventus - Lecce 1-1:
Ювентус - Лече 1:1 by FootballKing2192
Highlights from Milan - Atalanta 2-0:
Mil 2-0 Atl tvgoals.net by tvgoals1
A simple pass back was fumbled by the experienced Juventus goalkeeper, and Bertolacci was agile enough to counter Buffon's moves, ending up with the possession of the ball, alone, with the empty net in front of him. This was in the 85th minute.
Up until then, Juventus had taken the lead, through Vucinic, in the 9th minute, and they were apparently playing calmly, waiting for the final whistle.
You can't always play like that, though. Sometimes, you have to look for extra insurance or you risk getting punished.
And Lecce did it again, just like they did it at Lazio, a few matchdays ago.
Milan won, 2-0 at home against Atalanta, and are now just one point behind Juventus. But they have to play Inter next.
Highlights from Juventus - Lecce 1-1:
Ювентус - Лече 1:1 by FootballKing2192
Highlights from Milan - Atalanta 2-0:
Mil 2-0 Atl tvgoals.net by tvgoals1
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Milan From Bad to Worse
Not per se. Drawing against Bologna is not worse than losing against Fiorentina. But being three points behind Juventus is worse than being just one point behind.
What's going on with Milan?
A month ago, they couldn't stop winning. Now, they can't stop dropping points.
After Ramirez's goal, in the first half (in minute 27), Milan should have had an equalizer late in the second half, when Ibrahimovic was wrongly judged to have been offside.
So, Milan had a goal disallowed erroneously. Would that have turned the game around? (Maybe...)
The same player, though, Ibrahimovic, finally found the back of the net almost at the death, when he tapped in a ball that completely wrong-footed the Bologna goalkeeper.
And Milan also did have a header go just slightly past the goal post, in the very last seconds of the game.
But the fact was they dropped two more points, and Juventus seems to be unstoppable at the moment.
Milan is on 68 points now, while Juventus managed to reach 71, by crushing AS Roma, 4-0, at the Juventus stadium.
The Scudetto race is not over yet, but it seems more and more like it would be won by The Old Lady (Juventus).
See highlights from Milan - Bologna 1-1 here.
Highlights from Juventus - Roma 4-0:
Juventus 4 - 0 AS Roma footyroom.com by Futbol2101
What's going on with Milan?
A month ago, they couldn't stop winning. Now, they can't stop dropping points.
After Ramirez's goal, in the first half (in minute 27), Milan should have had an equalizer late in the second half, when Ibrahimovic was wrongly judged to have been offside.
So, Milan had a goal disallowed erroneously. Would that have turned the game around? (Maybe...)
The same player, though, Ibrahimovic, finally found the back of the net almost at the death, when he tapped in a ball that completely wrong-footed the Bologna goalkeeper.
And Milan also did have a header go just slightly past the goal post, in the very last seconds of the game.
But the fact was they dropped two more points, and Juventus seems to be unstoppable at the moment.
Milan is on 68 points now, while Juventus managed to reach 71, by crushing AS Roma, 4-0, at the Juventus stadium.
The Scudetto race is not over yet, but it seems more and more like it would be won by The Old Lady (Juventus).
See highlights from Milan - Bologna 1-1 here.
Highlights from Juventus - Roma 4-0:
Juventus 4 - 0 AS Roma footyroom.com by Futbol2101
Saturday, 7 April 2012
What a Huge Fuck-Up by AC Milan!
This was very unexpected.
A couple of matchdays ago, Juventus blew Fiorentina away, 5-0, in Firenze.
Who would have thought Fiorentina would come to the Giuseppe Meazza and beat Juventus' rival, AC Milan, away from home, only two weeks later?
Milan led at half-time, thanks to Ibrahimovic's penalty (in minute 31).
But, in the second half, Jovetic (47) and Amauri (89) showed great composure to put away two fine goals as the Milan defense was crumbling down around them.
A stunned Milan stadium thus witnessed an AC breakdown not often seen in recent seasons, and the Milan fans had yet another unpleasant surprise to deal with, 3 1/2 hours later, when it became clear that Juventus would beat Palermo and reached top spot in the Serie A again. (The final score in Palermo was 0-2.)
Highlights:
AC Milan 1 - 2 Fiorentina All Goals & Highlights by Anatolly7
A couple of matchdays ago, Juventus blew Fiorentina away, 5-0, in Firenze.
Who would have thought Fiorentina would come to the Giuseppe Meazza and beat Juventus' rival, AC Milan, away from home, only two weeks later?
Milan led at half-time, thanks to Ibrahimovic's penalty (in minute 31).
But, in the second half, Jovetic (47) and Amauri (89) showed great composure to put away two fine goals as the Milan defense was crumbling down around them.
A stunned Milan stadium thus witnessed an AC breakdown not often seen in recent seasons, and the Milan fans had yet another unpleasant surprise to deal with, 3 1/2 hours later, when it became clear that Juventus would beat Palermo and reached top spot in the Serie A again. (The final score in Palermo was 0-2.)
Highlights:
AC Milan 1 - 2 Fiorentina All Goals & Highlights by Anatolly7
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Milan Stumbles
Catania did not let AC Milan leave with all three points from Sicily.
The team from the southernmost place in Italy that claims the honour of having a Serie A team managed to tie the score at 1-1 early in the second half, and kept it as such till the end.
Robinho scored expertly, in the 34th minute, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic held off two Catania defenders and tricked a third.
But, in the 57th minute, some bad defending by Milan allowed Nicolas Spolli the opportunity to score from 1-2 meters, following a corner kick.
Milan had some chances to win it, afterwards, including one where the ball was cleared off the line, but they only got the draw.
They could watch Juventus pull to within two points of them, unless Napoli has something to prove at the Juventus stadium on Sunday.
Highlights:
The team from the southernmost place in Italy that claims the honour of having a Serie A team managed to tie the score at 1-1 early in the second half, and kept it as such till the end.
Robinho scored expertly, in the 34th minute, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic held off two Catania defenders and tricked a third.
But, in the 57th minute, some bad defending by Milan allowed Nicolas Spolli the opportunity to score from 1-2 meters, following a corner kick.
Milan had some chances to win it, afterwards, including one where the ball was cleared off the line, but they only got the draw.
They could watch Juventus pull to within two points of them, unless Napoli has something to prove at the Juventus stadium on Sunday.
Highlights:
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Juventus Wins the Derby D'Italia
Inter Milan stumbled to another defeat.
Juventus maintained themselves in the race for the Scudetto by winning at home, 2-0 against Ranieri's team.
After a first half that was very close, Juventus dominated the second half.
Martin Caceres opened the scoring, with a close header, on a corner kick. This was in minute 57.
14 minutes later, Del Piero scored with great finesse, sending Julio Cesar, the Inter goalkeeper, the wrong way.
Towards the end, The Old Lady could have easily made it 3-0.
Juventus remains four points behind Milan.
And Inter remains in eighth.
As an interesting factoid, Claudio Ranieri said after the match that Buffon, the Juventus goalkeeper, was the difference between the two teams. Personally, I think that better composure in front of the opposing goal was the difference. Juventus had that for most of the second half.
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Juventus 2-0 Inter Milan... by all-goals
Juventus maintained themselves in the race for the Scudetto by winning at home, 2-0 against Ranieri's team.
After a first half that was very close, Juventus dominated the second half.
Martin Caceres opened the scoring, with a close header, on a corner kick. This was in minute 57.
14 minutes later, Del Piero scored with great finesse, sending Julio Cesar, the Inter goalkeeper, the wrong way.
Towards the end, The Old Lady could have easily made it 3-0.
Juventus remains four points behind Milan.
And Inter remains in eighth.
As an interesting factoid, Claudio Ranieri said after the match that Buffon, the Juventus goalkeeper, was the difference between the two teams. Personally, I think that better composure in front of the opposing goal was the difference. Juventus had that for most of the second half.
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Juventus 2-0 Inter Milan... by all-goals
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
CL yes, Coppa Italia no
AC Milan is out of the Coppa Italia.
And they were ousted by their bitter rivals, Juventus Turin.
(Hmm, out of the Coppa Italia, but still in the Champions League...)
Although Juventus opened the scoring, through Del Piero (in minute 28), Milan came back in the second half, with two excellent goals, courtesy of Djamel Mesbah (50) and Maxi Lopez (81).
Because Juventus had won in Milan, 2-1, at the beginning of February, the game went to extra time.
But the game was in Turin, and probably that counted for something because Juve scored the decisive goal, that was enough to take them through, in the first half of extra time.
Vucinic was its author, with a spectacularly powerful shot, from way out, in the 96th minute.
Juventus then hung on, for the next 24 minutes, to eliminate Milan out of the Coppa Italia.
They will face the winner of Napoli - Siena, in the CI final. (Siena leads, 2-1 on aggregate, after the first leg.)
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Juventus 2-2 AC Milan ALL... by all-goals
And they were ousted by their bitter rivals, Juventus Turin.
(Hmm, out of the Coppa Italia, but still in the Champions League...)
Although Juventus opened the scoring, through Del Piero (in minute 28), Milan came back in the second half, with two excellent goals, courtesy of Djamel Mesbah (50) and Maxi Lopez (81).
Because Juventus had won in Milan, 2-1, at the beginning of February, the game went to extra time.
But the game was in Turin, and probably that counted for something because Juve scored the decisive goal, that was enough to take them through, in the first half of extra time.
Vucinic was its author, with a spectacularly powerful shot, from way out, in the 96th minute.
Juventus then hung on, for the next 24 minutes, to eliminate Milan out of the Coppa Italia.
They will face the winner of Napoli - Siena, in the CI final. (Siena leads, 2-1 on aggregate, after the first leg.)
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Juventus 2-2 AC Milan ALL... by all-goals
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Finally...
It's a big day for Juventus.
Finally, they get a win.
And what a win, too! 5-0, way from home, in Firenze.
Everything went perfect for Juve. 2 goals in the first half, 3 in the second half, and Fiorentina had absolutely no response on the pitch.
Five different goalscorers: Vucinic, Vidal, Marchisio, Pirlo and Padoin.
At long last, there's one team over which Juventus did the double this season.
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Fiorentina 0-5 Juventus... by all-goals
But Milan also won, so Juventus does not gain any ground as far as points totals are concerned. (It's more of a moral victory.)
Finally, they get a win.
And what a win, too! 5-0, way from home, in Firenze.
Everything went perfect for Juve. 2 goals in the first half, 3 in the second half, and Fiorentina had absolutely no response on the pitch.
Five different goalscorers: Vucinic, Vidal, Marchisio, Pirlo and Padoin.
At long last, there's one team over which Juventus did the double this season.
Highlights:
[www.online-soccer.ru] Fiorentina 0-5 Juventus... by all-goals
But Milan also won, so Juventus does not gain any ground as far as points totals are concerned. (It's more of a moral victory.)
Sunday, 11 March 2012
More Draws Than Wins
Juventus drew again. 0-0 at Genoa.
The Turin team now has 13 wins and 14 draws, in Serie A 2011-2012!
Oh, man, is this ever getting ridiculous for them and their fans!
Of course, Genoa is not exactly the team that does not perform too well at home, but when is Juve going to win again?
Maybe the actual question is are they ever going to win again this season?
AC Milan is probably the new Serie A champion, because I cannot see Juventus recuperating these four points based on how the entire season has gone.
See the uninteresting highlights here.
The Turin team now has 13 wins and 14 draws, in Serie A 2011-2012!
Oh, man, is this ever getting ridiculous for them and their fans!
Of course, Genoa is not exactly the team that does not perform too well at home, but when is Juve going to win again?
Maybe the actual question is are they ever going to win again this season?
AC Milan is probably the new Serie A champion, because I cannot see Juventus recuperating these four points based on how the entire season has gone.
See the uninteresting highlights here.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
The Kings of the Draw
Is Bologna - Juventus 1-1 a surprise?
Not really.
You know what's a surprise?
...When Juventus actually wins; that's a surprise.
I'm beginning to wonder, therefore, if Juventus will be able to retain second spot till the end of the season.
If they keep getting draw after draw, Lazio and/or Udinese, and maybe even Napoli, should reach them soon.
And Bologna was the one that scored first, too, again, in minute 17, through Marco Di Vaio.
Mirko Vucinic drew the guests level, in minute 58, with a nice lob over the Bologna goalie.
Juventus gains very little ground: they're two points behind Milan, with the same number of games played now(, and only four points above Lazio, by the way).
See highlights here.
Not really.
You know what's a surprise?
...When Juventus actually wins; that's a surprise.
I'm beginning to wonder, therefore, if Juventus will be able to retain second spot till the end of the season.
If they keep getting draw after draw, Lazio and/or Udinese, and maybe even Napoli, should reach them soon.
And Bologna was the one that scored first, too, again, in minute 17, through Marco Di Vaio.
Mirko Vucinic drew the guests level, in minute 58, with a nice lob over the Bologna goalie.
Juventus gains very little ground: they're two points behind Milan, with the same number of games played now(, and only four points above Lazio, by the way).
See highlights here.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Juventus, Not Again?!
Juventus messed up yet another two points at home. Out of their 12 (!) draws, 5 came at home, including the latest mishap, against Chievo Verona.
And Juve has not beaten Chievo this season. (If they were to go head-to-head, as a matter of fact, based on the results in the league, Chievo would eliminate the Turin team on away goals.)
After going up one goal early in the first half, through De Ceglie (minute 18), Juventus saw that advantage cancelled by a late goal from Boukary Drame, in minute 76.
Juventus tried to get the winner, but they just still do not seem to have enough strength to keep getting good results. I would have said "to keep winning", but the draw in Milan last week, although not a win, was still a performance worthy of praises.
But this draw, however, was not.
Chievo is not really the team to create serious problems to title contenders.
Most important, though, looking at AC Milan 's impressive win in Palermo, it has become clear that Milan should win the title, unless something really weird happens and they start doing much worse.
And there's only so much not losing to the big rivals can do for Juventus.
Highlights from Juventus - Chievo 1-1:
Highlights from Palermo - Milan 0-4:
Palermo 0-4 AC Milan by goalsarena2012-2
Now I'm really curious to see if Juventus, seeing as how they really need this, will be able to match Udinese's result in Bologna (- winning 3-1, away from home). I bet that's what Juve fans are saying to themselves: If Udinese could do it, so can we!...
That match, by the way, is coming up on Wednesday.
And Juve has not beaten Chievo this season. (If they were to go head-to-head, as a matter of fact, based on the results in the league, Chievo would eliminate the Turin team on away goals.)
After going up one goal early in the first half, through De Ceglie (minute 18), Juventus saw that advantage cancelled by a late goal from Boukary Drame, in minute 76.
Juventus tried to get the winner, but they just still do not seem to have enough strength to keep getting good results. I would have said "to keep winning", but the draw in Milan last week, although not a win, was still a performance worthy of praises.
But this draw, however, was not.
Chievo is not really the team to create serious problems to title contenders.
Most important, though, looking at AC Milan 's impressive win in Palermo, it has become clear that Milan should win the title, unless something really weird happens and they start doing much worse.
And there's only so much not losing to the big rivals can do for Juventus.
Highlights from Juventus - Chievo 1-1:
Highlights from Palermo - Milan 0-4:
Palermo 0-4 AC Milan by goalsarena2012-2
Now I'm really curious to see if Juventus, seeing as how they really need this, will be able to match Udinese's result in Bologna (- winning 3-1, away from home). I bet that's what Juve fans are saying to themselves: If Udinese could do it, so can we!...
That match, by the way, is coming up on Wednesday.
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