While Juve’s main concern this season isn’t the Europa league, the European competition is helping Delneri build his team. So now that Juventus has played and won their first competitive match against Shamrock Rovers in Europa League qualification, Delneri will have a lot of positivies to look at. But Juventus hasn’t qualified yet, they’ll need to play the return leg at Modena, and all they need to do is not lose by more than one goal.
Juventus started well right away, in the third minute Amauri combines with Diego to complete a give and go which penetrates the frozen Irish defence leaving Amauri to finish with his left for the first goal. A perfect example of how Delneri wants Diego to work as a “trequartista”, or number 10. Every opportunity Juventus created was filtered through Diego, just like Delneri did with Cassano at Sampdoria and Doni at Atlanta. Amauri was a dangerous presence up front and the wingers, Martinez and Lanzafame, constantly changed sides every five minutes, disorienting the Irish fullbacks, and maybe themselves a little too considering their average performance.
In the second half Amauri scored again, an offensive push which passed through Diego and finished with Amauri. The Italian/Brazilian headed the ball downwards across the goal, to hit the far post and bounce into the back of the net for the final goal. While Juve came close again, and Diego could’ve earned a penalty, the scoring stopped with Amauri’s second in the 74th minute. The Shamrock Rovers were dangerous from set pieces, using their physicality and strength to get close to a goal in their home stadium, but Juve held out well to win 2–0 away from home, hopefully ensuring their qualification to the Europa League.
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The Serie A calendar has been revealed, and like many the first matchday I wanted to check was the one between Inter Milan and Roma. If you’re interested in seeing the entire calendar, you can check it out here. Here are the so called “big matches”:
- Roma — Inter Milan 5th matchday
- Inter Milan — Juventus 6th matchday
- AC Milan — Juventus 9th matchday
- Inter Milan — AC Milan 12th matchday
- Juventus — Roma 12th matchday
- AC Milan — Roma 17th matchday
It’s especially important to note that the title race will take a definitive turn after Inter Milan play Roma and Juventus back to back during the 5th and 6th matchdays, and there will be plenty of excitement on the 12th matchday with the Milan derby and Juventus playing Roma. Here’s the ten matches which will take place the first matchday which officially starts August 28th:
Bari-Juventus
Bologna-Inter
Chievo-Catania
Fiorentina-Napoli
Milan-Lecce
Palermo-Cagliari
Parma-Brescia
Roma-Cesena
Sampdoria-Lazio
Udinese-Genoa
Share your thoughts on the Serie A calendar below by commenting, who do you think will have the toughest season? Comment below.
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The Telegraph this morning confirmed previous reports that Arsenal is discussing a transfer of Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti for around $8.5 million. Marchetti has made it clear that he is seeking a transfer from the Serie A club and Arsenal would seemingly be a good fit. Most Serie A clubs have settled on their starting keeper for the year and Arsenal is desperately seeking help in goal after poor performances last season from starter Manuel Almunia and backup Lukasz Fabianski (the need for a keeper has been very well documented by Arsenal fans).
Marchetti gained a reputation for himself this summer when he filled in for an injured Gigi Buffon during the World Cup. The keeper’s performance was less than stellar, allowing four goals in two games, but not embarassing. As evidenced by his attention on the transfer market, his reputation as a good keeper is intact and I expect him to remain on the Azzurri squad, probably still as the primary backup.
If Marchetti does move to North London, he would be the second potential future Italian national team keeper on the squad. Arsenal already has on its roster Vito Manone, the third-string keeper last season who has seen some action this preseason as the Gunners look to shakeout their keeper rotation. The young Manone had a rocky start last year, conceding two goals in his first start against Standard Liege in the UEFA Champions League. After that start, however, he was solid, even being named Man of the Match after his clean sheet at Fulham in September. Manone has also made a name for himself at the international level; he currently is the starting keeper for the Italian U21 squad and has conceded no goals in three international appearances.
It is not a given however that either has a definite future with either Arsenal or the Azzurri. While Marchetti would be the presumed starter for Arsenal if he is signed, he may be a seat-holder for Arsenal’s other young keeper, Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish keeper is widely seen as the future for Arsenal, and his ascendance may eventually lead him to bypassing Manone and surpassing Marchetti as soon as next season.
On the national team, Marchetti has to prove himself to new manager Cesare Prandelli as a competant backup for Buffon. Assuming he stays healthy, Buffon will likely be starting keeper through the 2014 World Cup and Marchetti will battle for the #2. His competition would be Palermo’s Salvatore Sirigu, the former U21 starter and possibly Manone. Thus it is not a guarantee that either will be the starter after 2014.
However, if you can watch Arsenal play this year and the Marchetti transfer goes through, it may be worthwhile to catch a few matches to see the possible replacement for Gigi Buffon after 2014.
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Samuel Eto’o has won plenty of trophies, scored plenty of goals, and played in plenty of different systems. He has often played as a center-forward, finishing plays and scoring lots of goals, but for Inter Milan, under the orders of Jose Mourinho, Eto’o wasn’t used as a finisher, but maybe more as a supporter. Now Rafael Benitez has a new position for Eto’o in mind, instead of sacrificing the player to provide defensive cover, Benitez wants his Eto’o to score more goals.
Eto’o used to be Barcelona’s assassin, quick and precise with his runs towards goal, served by Xavi or Iniesta leaving him to provide the final touch for the goal. Eto’o was Barcelona’s adaptable striker in a 4–3-3, changing positions with Messi and Henry to help his teammates score goals of their own. Eto’o was the perfect striker for Barcelona, providing goals and sacrificing himself for the team, a creative and intelligent player who always knew when to be where. The Cameroon striker was a key player in Barcelona’s treble in the 2008-09 season, but when Barcelona decided to give Eto’o away to receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they lost their hardworking goalscorer, and they got a relatively lazy center-forward.
When Eto’o went to Inter Milan to play under Jose Mourinho, he was introduced to a whole new system: one which didn’t revolve around his attacking movement, but one which required a lot more defensive work from him. While during the beginning of the season Eto’o played in a 4–3-1–2 (next to Diego Milito supported by Sneijder), as the season went on, Mourinho changed formation, slowly shifting Eto’o wider and wider. This eventually became a 4–2-1–3 in attack, with Sneijder behind Pandev, Milito, and Eto’o on the right, and a 4–2-3–1 in defense, with Milito left as a lone striker, and Pandev and Eto’o playing defensively. In this system Inter Milan was a counter-attacking machine, but Eto’o was used in a position which maybe isn’t his best.
Eto’o played almost as a full-back in certain matches, providing defensive support for the entire right wing, letting Maicon charge forward with his rampaging runs. This was especially evident during Champions League matches, for example when Inter Milan played Barcelona in the semi-final at the San Siro: Eto’o had a much more passive and defensive role as Maicon went forward to score in the match that ended 3–1 for Inter Milan. Eto’o sacrificed himself in this way many times, but he retained his goalscoring instinct with his 16 goals for Inter Milan, 12 in the Serie A, two in the Champions League, one in the Coppa Italia, and one in the Supercoppa Italia.
Now, Rafael Benitez has already talked to Eto’o, and he has reassured the player that he will have a more attacking role in the upcoming season. Benitez doesn’t want to change the system, he wants to improve it, a higher defensive line is the basis of the new Inter Milan. This will allow more possession, giving Inter a Spanish style, and it will allow for players like Eto’o more freedom to push offensively, with no need to drop back into the full-back position. Rafael Benitez wants to change the 4–2-3–1 into something more similar to a 4–2-1–2-1, raising the two offensive wingers higher up, creating a system similar to a 4–3-3 or a 4–2-1–3.
This system would throw away Eto’o’s vertical movement on the wing, and it would allow Eto’o to cut inside the box, exchange with Milito and Sneijder, and be as dangerous as his Barcelona days. Benitez is trying to get the best out of the Barcelona player while at the same time using the other players like Sniejder and Pandev to supply Eto’o and Milito. And if Moratti were to buy Dirk Kuyt, there would be a new “hardworker” to provide defensive cover, allowing Eto’o to play even more offensively and hopefully score more goals.
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Juventus have been preparing for their Europa League qualifier which will be played against Shamrock Rovers with friendlies against Hamburg (0–0) and Lyon (2–1 for Juventus). Juventus will play the Irish club over two legs, and the team with the best results over the two legs will go through. The first leg will be played July 29th in Ireland at the Tallaght Stadium, and the return leg will be played at the Braglia stadium of Modena. But first here’s what happened against Lyon, what went wrong, and what went right.
Juventus played with a 4–4-1–1 starting with Storari in goal, and a backline (right to left) of Motta, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, and De Ceglie. In front of the back line there was Martinez on the right wing, Lanzafame on the left wing, and Sissoko and Marchisio in the middle of the midfield. Delneri decided to start with Del Piero behind Amauri instead of Diego and Trezeguet who replaced the Italian attacking duo at the beginning of the second half.
Lyon went in front in the 22nd minute thanks to Chiellini fouling Ishak in the penalty area, giving the French club a penalty for Storari to face. Ederson had little trouble with the penalty as he scored to put Lyon in front. But Lyon’s fortune took a change for the worse in the 26th minute, Martinez was giving Cissokho trouble down Lyon’s left side, and Cissokho went in hard with the ball far away from the tackle. This resulted in Cissokho’s expulsion with a direct red card, leaving Lyon in 10 men ahead by a goal.
After the goal Juventus attacked more, Lanzafame pushed forward on the left wing, and he was able to filter through a pass for Amauri, and in the penalty box there was contact between the Brazilian/Italian and Lovren, earning Juventus a penalty. Del Piero took the penalty, scoring the equalizer for Juventus in the 38th minute of the first half.
In the second half Juventus was solid, Motta was a wall on the right side as he also provided Martinez with support on the wing. The defense was compact and organized, and the midfield also began to click with Pepe and Diego combining for the winning goal. It was a triangle outside the box closed by Diego’s chip which is finished off by Pepe who scores the final goal of the 2–1 scoreline.
Diego was a dangerous presence for the Lyon defense, and the Brazilian’s creativity and technical skill are beginning to show as he gains more confidence with his team-mates. And as Diego and Trezeguet’s attacking partnership grows, Del Piero and Amauri’s doesn’t shine as brightly. It seems like Delneri has already chosen that it will be Diego and Trezeguet who will start against Shamrock Rovers, but Delneri would like more from the Brazilian. Here’s what the Juventus coach said regarding Diego’s performance,
“He’s doing very well, from him I expect performances like this, even if I would like more consistency. I’d definitely say that I’m very satisfied with everybody.”
Now there are no friendlies left before Juventus plays Shamrock Rovers on the 29th of July, while Juve will be favored, they shouldn’t underestimate the Irish champions. It will be interesting to see whether Juventus will be able to defeat Shamrock Rovers, or whether they’ll have trouble in their first seasonal competition. What do you think? Share your thoughts below by commenting!
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Genoa are a club with high ambitions, and it’s been shown this transfer market that they want to contend for a Champions League spot with big name arrivals. It’s Genoa president Enrico Preziosi who continues to revitalize the club with intelligent signings like Diego Milito and Thiago Motta from last season, and Preziosi is also a president who keeps youth and financial fair-play in mind.
But to buy you have to sell, and Genoa have made some smart decisions in who to keep, and who to get rid of. The two biggest transfers which left Genoa this transfer window were Papasthathopoulos who was bought by AC Milan, and the goalkeeper Marco Amelia, who is on loan at AC Milan. A few other youngsters like El Shaarawy and Lazarevic have left the club, but they will probably return after a season of playing for teams in the Serie B.
Genoa have reinforced with some great signings which replace the losses and provide more tactical depth for coach Gianpiero Gasperini to utilize. Luca Toni was bought from Roma to give last season’s 3–4-3 a big center-forward with experience and height. And as backup for Toni Genoa were also able to get on a loan deal Inter Milan’s 18 year-old striker Destro, who is currently playing for the Italy under-19s.
Genoa also paid attention to the World Cup in South Africa, and they spotted 27 year-old goalkeeper Eduardo who was playing for Portugal, the perfect replacement for Amelia. Genoa bought Eduardo from Sporting Braga for about 4.5 million Euros, concluding what seems like a smart deal right now considering that the player had a positive showing in the World Cup.
Genoa also got a replacement for Papasthathopoulos to play in the middle of the defense, Ranocchia who was playing for Bari is now partially owned by Inter Milan and partially owned by Genoa, and will play for the rossoblu this season. After the promising Italian defender, Genoa got Franco Zuculini, a young Argentinean on loan from Hoffenheim who plays as an attacking midfielder.
The cherry on top of the cake of Genoa’s signings has to be the central midfielder acquired from Sporting Lisbon, Miguel Veloso. While the transfer hasn’t been officially announced, the deal is done, Sporting will receive 6.5 million Euros from Genoa along with Zapater. Miguel Veloso is just 24 years-old and is one of the most promising center midfielders around, he was being tracked by Inter Milan and other big clubs from around the world, but in the end Genoa were able to get the Portuguese international’s signature.
With these signings, Genoa looks to fight for a spot among the top clubs in Europe, but they don’t want to be thought of as a team who bought their position, here’s what Enrico Preziosi said regarding Genoa’s transfers,
“I’m not working to make star signings, and I don’t want the medal for Genoa as king of the summer market. For some fans it might seem incomprehensible, but I only want to secure Genoa’s future… Our work seeks to reinforce the spine of the team: goalkeeper, central defender, midfielder, and striker.”
Genoa seem to have covered all of the positions with their signings, now all that remains is that the players do well and fight for a spot among the best in Italy. What are your thoughts on Genoa’s trnasfers? Share your thoughts below by commenting!
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After the disappointing results in South Africa from the senior Italian team, the Italy Under 19s were looking to give the future a winning start at the European championships in France. The U-19 competition is slightly different from the senior level European championships, here’s how the competition works:
- There are two groups of four teams
- Each team plays all other teams in its group once
- First two teams from the groups go to semi-finals
- U-19 Euros also count as qualification for the U-20 World Cup
- The first three of both groups qualify for the U-20 World Cup
Here are the two groups:
Group A
France 6
Holland 3
England 3
Austria 0
Group B
Spain 6
Portugal 3
Italy 1
Croatia 1
Already two matches have been played, and Italy were unable to to score in both, losing 2–0 to Portugal, and drawing 0–0 with Croatia. The statistics for Italy’s U-19s are some of the worst I’ve seen, two matches played, one point, two red cards, zero goals. And now that Italy have played Portugal and Croatia, the Azzurini now have to play Spain, the masters of cultivating young talent who have already won three U-19 European championships in the 8 years it’s been around.
The strange thing is that there’s plenty of promising talent in the Italy U-19 team like Caldirola from Inter and Albertazzi from Milan, who both play in defense; Sala and D’Alessandro, both midfielders who play for Chelsea and Grossetto; and in attack there’s Destro from Inter Milan and Borini from Chelsea.
But plenty of misfortune has tainted the Azzurini’s hopes of qualifying for the U-20 World Cup, and Italy needs to win against Spain, and hope that the other match of the favours them. So while things may have gone badly at South Africa 2010, the U-19s might not even qualify for their World Cup.
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