This question has been suggested several times in the last few weeks….and I apologize for holding out, but I did want to wait till a bit closer to the end of the season to ask it……who should be our coach next season? We’re at a turning point in our history, a new great manager could bring us back to the top of Serie A, whereas a shit one could doom us to midtable mediocrity for years. For me, this is undoubtedly the biggest question of the summer, bigger of a question than if Marotta will sign (at least for the near-term future) or any players that we might go out and grab. I give to you my personal views on the coaches, then there are two pools, and finally, as always in the comments section I’m interested to hear your views.

Not even going to bother considering Zaccheroni staying. Failing to reach 4th is not really his fault…but he hasn’t given us ANY reason to keep him on.

Massimiliano Allegri: Definite possibility.
PROS- He’s young, ambitious, tactically savvy, and does well to bring out the best in players. Matri, Acquafresca, Jeda, Biondini, Ariaudo, Marchetti, all have taken a step forward in their careers under him. As he was sacked by Cagliari, he could easily join Juventus with no messy negotiations. Personally, I see a lot of 1992-1994 Marcello Lippi in him.
CONS- Lack of experience is the most obvious, as he’s only been coaching in Serie A for a bit over a year and a half. Started his Serie A career with 5 straight defeats, Cellino readied the ax, but he turned it around and finished an impressive 9th last season. Cagliari did very poorly in 2010, picking up 2 points from 10 games. It could be due to his inexperience, or it could be due to him already planning on joining a bigger club this summer, the reason he was fired. Milan is rumored to be interested.
PREFERRED FORMATION- Moderate preference for the 4-3-1-2.

Rafa Benitez: Unlikely
PROS- We’ve been over this quite a bit, so I won’t go too far in-depth, but he’s an excellent tactician who instills defensive solidarity in his teams. Proven experience both in league and cup play, at the highest level with Liverpool and Valencia.
CONS- As I said here, I am quite opposed to Benitez. His chief failing, in my opinion, is a failure to coax the best out of players, or in general, shift transfers and young players into the first team. With the Old Guard retiring soon, we’re going to need to replace them. We also have a bright crop of young talent, and in my opinion he’s not the man to build a team that way. Sometimes overly defensively-minded and plays for draws.

Fabio Capello: Unlikely
PROS- One of the most experienced coaches in the world, who has won pretty much everywhere he’s gone. Won league and CL titles, an excellent disciplinarian who instills defensive solidarity into his teams, he may be criticized for catenaccio but he wins.
CONS- Like Hiddink, I think at his age he’s done with managing club teams, which I have a suspicion is Lippi’s feelings as well. Seems like he wants to stay with England. He has a mixed record with young players, and of course there’s the baggage of him leaving after Calciopoli, although that’s less of a problem for me then most of the players leaving. Weaker record in recent years in cup competitions.
PREFERRED FORMATION- Strong liking of the 4-4-2.

This dude always has some serious specs.

Gigi Del Neri: Definite possibility.
PROS- Has taken Samp on a fantastic run this season, whether they finish in the Champion’s League or not. Kept Atalanta in Serie A and in some years, pushing for a Uefa Cup spot whereas they are relegated the year after his departure. A solid tactician, who’s teams play compact and united. I thought he had problems with getting his teams out of trouble, but he did fantastic with Samp this January, tactically rearranging the team to get out of a 4-game slump. (Dropping Cassano to play more physically, with Pozzi up top) Experienced Serie A coach, though little experience at the highest level. Looks exactly like one of my best friends fathers in 15 years. (Who is Scottish)
CONS- As I said, he sometimes seems a bit too rigid and thus unable to get his teams out of sticky situations, but he did well at Samp. Failed to save Chievo in 06-07, and failed during his brief tenure at Roma, though the capital club was in extreme turmoil at the time so little can be blamed on him. Speaks with a heavy accent, and I, like Cassano, have a hard time understanding his Friulian tone. Big question for Del Neri is, if Samp makes the CL, will he leave for Juventus?
PREFERRED FORMATION- Strong liking of the 4-4-2.

Didier Deschamps: Unlikely.
PROS- Knows Juventus as a player and a coach. Flexible with formations. Young, ambitious, with proven success both at the league level and cup at the highest levels. Took Monaco to the CL final, and just ended Marseille’s 18-year trophy drought by winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de la Ligue. Tactically savvy, good at man management, to me, he’s one of the best young coaches in the world.
CONS- Big “if” to see if the management would take him back…or if Marseille would let him leave. Otherwise, there aren’t any real cons that I can think of.
PREFERRED FORMATION- Slight preference of the 4-3-3 over 4-4-2, though it could be that he thinks French teams are more apt to it. Tactically flexible.

Gian Piero Gasperini: Definite possibility.
PROS- Plenty of Juventus history, as he grew up in the Juve youth team and later coached it. Excellent at developing young players and bringing out the best of older ones- Marco Rossi, Sculli, Thiago Motta, Bocchetti, Criscito, Palladino, Mesto, Papastathopoulos, Moretti, all have done well under his coaching. Attacking-minded.
CONS- As he is attacking-minded (Reflected in his formation) his team tends to be defensively unsound, and that is reflected by the fact that Genoa has the 2nd-worst defense in the league right now. Has difficulty getting a consistent run of positive results.
PREFERRED FORMATION- 3-4-3, with plenty of wing play from the midfield and forwards. Top 3 tends to be two winger-forwards flanking a forward.

“If you ax me from the World Cup, I swear to God…”

Marcello Lippi: Unlikely.
PROS- There are few men in the world that know winning, or Juventus more than Marcello Lippi. Phenomenal coach who has won the Scudetto every year with Juve except the two years of his departure. Fantastic league experience as well as cup experience, given his strong CL runs and of course, the 2006 World Cup. Great at creating cohesive teams and team unity. Does well to get the best out of players, and is no tactical slouch although that takes a backseat to his cohesiveness.
CONS- I, like many others, share some concern in his recent call-ups. Suggested Juve sign Grosso, Cannavaro, and Ferrara and that clearly has not worked out well. Might not want to return to club management.
PREFERRED FORMATION- Tactically flexible, though I’d say he prefers the 4-3-1-2. Played it most of his time at Juventus, though he also played 4-4-2 on occasion and formations like 4-3-3, 4-4-2, and 4-3-1-2 at the 2006 World Cup.

This man is always impeccably dressed.

Cesare Prandelli: Moderate Possibility
PROS- The Wenger of Italy, in that he has a tremendous track record at Verona, Parma and Fiorentina in developing young players or rejuvenating old careers. Launched Adriano, Gilardino, Mutu, Frey, Marchionni, Bonera, Paolo Cannavaro, Bresciano, Ferrari, Jovetic, Melo, Gamberini, etc…clearly a specialist in man-management. Great experience in Serie A, consistently bringing his teams to the top of their potential, and has moderate experience in Europe, a strong Uefa Cup and CL run in the last few years. Has a Juventus history, as he played for the team during much of the 1980s.
CONS- He’s a Viola coach, so it’d be hard to pry him away and I think he has plenty of affection for the team. Has a relatively poor record against the big teams in Serie A.
PREFERRED FORMATION- Tactically flexible, though in recent years has shown a clear preference for the 4-2-3-1.

You can take the man out of Italy…..but you can’t take the Italian out of the man

Luciano Spalletti: Unlikely
PROS- Tactically savvy, very experienced in Serie A and the Champion’s League as well. Definitely overachieved with Roma, now in Russia coaching Zenit St Petersburg and doing very well there.
CONS- Teams are defensively and psychologically fragile, and when things go poorly he doesn’t seem to know what to do. Definitely more of a tactician than a man manager.
PREFERRED FORMATION- 4-2-3-1.

Who do you want to be the new Juventus coach?online survey

Who do you think will be the new Juventus coach?online surveys

Ever since Ferrara was sacked, rumors have been spreading around that Benitez would be our next tactician. He is seemingly on the outs at Liverpool, and the LFC management would be happy to see him go, as they wouldn’t have to pay him an enormous amount of money they don’t have to sack him. With Zaccheroni obviously not staying around and Liverpool continuing to suck, the rumors have intensified. Today, there are all sorts of suggestions that Juventus have given the Fat Spaniard a one-week deadline to accept or reject the job. That’s a classic tabloid line…but I do think that our management is eyeing up Rafa seriously. Here is why we should do all we can to avoid him.

“Hey ref, help me out here! I need a reason to bitch and moan.”

Rafa Benitez’s basic strength is his tactics. There is no doubt that he is a master tactician, his excellent European record attests as such. In the league though, where you have “less important” games against opponents you cannot study as thoroughly, his record is well, mixed at best. Liverpool domestically have been nothing short of a failure under his tenure. Valencia he obviously did very well with, winning two league titles and a UEFA Cup. It’s hard to simplify without oversimplifying, but I believe one of the key differences is the team he started with. At Valencia, he was dealing with a weakened Spanish league and a strong Valencia side when he inherited. The Valencia team was the same core that had reached the 2000 Champion’s League final against Real Madrid, with young stars like Roberto Ayala, Ruben Raraja, David Albelda, Vincente Rodriguez, Pablo Aimar, Angloma, and veteran goalkeeper Santiago Canizares. The team was burgeoning with talented players, other ones include Gerard and Claudio Lopez. He was able to capture the league title, while not easy, was significantly easier than now. Real Madrid’s galacticos failures was starting to settle in around 2002, and 1999-2004 were lost years for Barcelona. The first year he won his Liga title, SuperDepor finished 2nd. At Liverpool, he arrived at a team that had been struggling in 4th-5th place the last two seasons and was clearly inferior to Manchester United and Chelsea.

Rafa Benitez is a good coach for taking an established team and taking them farther. He is not good at building a team together, in other words, you can consider him the anti-Ranieri. While Ranieri managed to cobble together a cohesive unit at Juventus, it has since fallen apart and crucially, the glue holding it together, the Old Guard, is aging and we need to start looking at replacements for Trez, Del Piero, and Camoranesi. Along with Buffon and Nedved, they were the crucial performers under Ranieri’s era. And that is why Benitez would be a horrible choice for Juventus- we are a team rebuilding and restructuring, we are not a team ripe for a title or cup challenge. And there are three aspects in which Benitez is a disaster, that are absolutely key for Juventus to return to challenging team. They are listed below.

i. Getting the best out of established players.
ii. Conducting smart transfers and integrating them into the team.
iii. Developing young players, both from our academy and from transfers, into starting XI material.

Oops.

i. Getting the best out of established players-

This one is a bit more positive than some of his other fields, as Hyppia, Carragher, Gerrard, Finnan, and Riise having relatively good form during his management. However, there are plenty of other players at Liverpool that were discarded that had already been established in the team. Chalk it up to them not deserving to be there in the first place, or falling into poor form, or not fitting into his system, however you’d like. He will certainly encounter that if he was at Juventus, and it doesn’t seem like he would react too well.

Secco and Benitez: A Match made in Hell

ii. Conducting smart transfers and integrating them into the team-

Obviously his role in the first portion would be far more limited than in England, in Italy, the Director of Sport (Secco) makes most of the transfer decisions. That said, managers have a fair amount of voice in the matter- Mellberg and Poulsen (instead of Xabi Alonso, damnit) were both requested by Ranieri personally. Not sure if Secco would have gone after Mellberg, but I think Poulsen was more of a joint operation after Ranieri declined Xabi. Either way, Benitez’s transfers have been absolutely horrendous at Liverpool, and it’s funny, despite how much he bitches about money, he’s spent a ton. Here’s a comprehensive list of his signings.

2004-2005:
SUCCESSES:
Xabi Alonso (£10.7 million)- Sold to Real Madrid for £30 million
Luis Garcia (£6 million)- Sold to Atletico Madrid for £4 million after a few decent years.

FAILURES:
Josemi (£2 million)- Returned to Spain after one season in a swap deal.
Fernando Morientes (£6.3 million)- Sold for £3million after a year and a half.
Antonio Nunez (£2 million, part of Michael Owen deal)- Returned to Spain to a newly promoted side after one year.
Mauricio Pellegrino (Free transfer)- One of Rafa’s men from Valencia, signed for 6 months and was not kept on.
Scott Carson (£750,000)- Loaned out, currently playing in the Championship.

2005-2006:
SUCCESSES:
Pepe Reina (?)- A very good goalkeeper.
Mohamed Sissoko- (£5.3 million) For the price, he played pretty well. Then again, look how he ended up get pushed out.
Daniel Agger- (£5 million) Again, for the price, he has done well enough.

FAILURES:
Peter Crouch (£7 million)- Never really settled in, and then Rafa moved to a one-man striker formation.
Boudewijn Zenden (Free transfer)- Injured and played poorly.
Robbie Fowler (Free transfer)- Played alright first 3 months, 2nd season sucked.

2006-2007:

SUCCESSES:
None.

FAILURES:
Álvaro Arbeloa (£2.5 million)- Played ok in his time there, but moved on this summer for the same fee.
Gabriel Paletta (£2 million)- Young defender signed, left 1 year later after 3 league appearances.
Dirk Kuyt (£10 million)- He is an average player and £10 million is a lot for an average player. But as a utility player, he’s not bad. It’s just those types (mediocre, utility) shouldn’t be spent that much money on. (Aka Poulsen, Tiago, etc…)
Craig Bellamy (£6.5 million)- You can blame his failure at Liverpool on his temperament. You can also blame his transfer on Rafa not seeing well in advance he is a nutjob. Actually left for a profit.
Jermaine Pennant (£7.5 million)- Left on free transfer to Real Zaragoza, after a crap loan at Portsmouth.
Mark González (?)- Left for Real Betis two seasons later.

2007-2008:
SUCCESSES:
Fernando Torres (£20.2 million)- One of the world’s best strikers.
Yossi Benayoun (£5 million)- Decent pickup for the money.
Martin Skrtel (£6.5 million)
Javier Mascherano (£17.0 million)
Emiliano Insúa (?)

FAILURES:
Ryan Babel (£11.5 million)- Signed at age 21 for a lot of money, and a colossal failure.
Lucas (£6.0 million)- I’ve never been terribly impressed.
Andriy Voronin (Free transfer)

2008-2009:
SUCCESSES:
None.

FAILURES:
Philipp Degen (Free transfer)
Andrea Dossena (£7 million)- Everyone in Italy raised their eyebrows when Liverpool signed Dossena for this much.
Robbie Keane (£19.3 million)- Sold for £12 million 6 months later.
Albert Riera (£8 million)- Never really lit it up, and is on the outs.
David N’Gog (£1.5 million)

2009-2010:
SUCCESSES:
None.

FAILURES:
Alberto Aquilani (£17.1M)- Everyone in Italy laughed when he signed the prissy injury-plagued midfielder. I pushed back in summer 2008 for us to sign Aquilani, but after the year he had, hell no. And that fee is laughable. He would have had problems at Juve given his injuries and attitude, to adjust to another league as well and to be asked to fill Xabi Alonso’s boots, well, he was screwed from the start.
Glen Johnson (£17.5M)- That is an enormous amount of money for a defender. For that price, you better be getting a vintage Zambrotta. He has a massive way to go to being valued at that.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Free transfer) Had a great first half of the season, but according to my Newcastle (and EPL fan) he has been “woefully out of it” since the winter break.
Maxi Rodriguez (Free transfer)- For free, it’s not a bad deal. But having lived in Madrid last year, I can tell you there’s a reason Atletico let him go for free. Not that great of an attitude, and a very inconsistent player.

What do I read from this? Two things- Number one, he’s not that good at identifying talent or more importantly, understanding who will or won’t work at Liverpool or in the Premier League. Second, by virtue of the large numbers of outgoing players, he has failed massively to help his transfers settle. Few players seem to have lasted over 2-3 years, and that’s understandable if they are asked to be a reserve or a bit-player. But he’s spent plenty of players like Bellamy, Riera, Keane, Pennant, Kuyt, etc, and they are not world class players. Rafa seems to have judged them poorly from the offset, but also, failed poorly to integrate them. It seems he cannot distinguish between good-players-he-is-signing-to-be-starters, and average-players-I-hope-play-well. Why does this matter when we have Secco? Well, he can still give his input. And can he help our transfers settle? In both cases, it seems like it’d be a further disaster than our last few transfer markets have been.

iii. Developing young players, both from our academy and otherwise, into starting XI material.

It seems I subconsciously chose these points in order of how miserable Rafa is at it. He’s a mediocre man manager, a poor transfer director, and an even worse developer of youth talent. Slam Fergie or Wenger if you want, but they both do a pretty decent job at it. I cannot think of bona fide young starlet that he has developed into a world-class player. Perhaps Mascherano, maybe Insua, but I would say like Fernando Torres, he was already a star when he joined Liverpool. There are dozens of transfers of young players in the above list that I omitted, because they never played or were bought and sold for peanuts. There have been some young players who have gone nowhere, and there have been a fair amount that have played decent enough…but never made the transition to world class under his management, ie- Sissoko, Babel, Agger, Lucas….the list goes on. Not one player has come up from the academy.

This is no good for Juventus. We need a manager who can get the best out of our existing players, integrate transfers well, and develop youth. Our transfers have been a mixed bag, though the talent is there. We have existing players like Poulsen who have shown promise, but need to be given some personal instruction. And lastly, we have an amazing group of young players- There’s Giovinco, Marchisio, and De Ceglie from the 2008 transfer window, of which Marchisio has transitioned to world-class but the other two are struggling. We have Candreva (temporarily), Ariaudo, Criscito, Palladino, all of which we have interest in. Then there’s the academy, that has Rossi, Esposito, Marrone, Giovinco, Immobile, Pinsoglio, De Paola, Bamba, Giandonato, Yago, Belcastro, Alcibiade, all who are brimming with potential following their 2nd Viareggio win in a row. In particular, Yago, Rossi, Immobile, Marrone, Pinsoglio, and Alcibiade are some of the most promising players from our Primavera in the last decade. Pinsoglio and Immobile may be the best from their position. We badly need a coach that can integrate them into the lineup.

The Dark Horse Candidate: Prandelli is my first choice, but I see a lot of 1992-1994 Lippi in him

So who is good with players, transfers, and youth? Well, if we’re looking at the EPL then Wenger of course, but it’d be impossible to pry him from Arsenal. But we’ve got our own in Italy- Ex-Juventino Prandelli has the most proven track record in all 3 departments, and he has plenty of Serie A and CL experience, though getting him to switch from Fiorentina would be difficult. Ex-Primavera coach Gian Piero Gasperini, over at Genoa has integrated many of his transfers excellently, like Thiago Motta and Diego Milito of best example. He’s gotten some of his older players to bring out their best, like Mesto, or Marco Rossi who, dirty player he is, is playing in very good form the last two years. And his record with young players (and specifically, young Italians) is excellent- Bocchetti, Criscito, Palladino, Sculli, Amelia, etc. He’d be poachable. Allegri is certainly attainable now that he’s been fired, and he has done well with Cossu, Matri, Jeda, Biondini, Ariaudo, Marchetti, etc. (Btw- Whoever stated in the comments the other day he got sacked for entertaining offers from Fiorentina and Juve, claim your prize. Looks like you were exactly right.) For me, either of these three coaches should be considered far ahead of Benitez.

In addition to all of this, his tactics and rotation are a bit…iffy at times. You think Ranieri played for draws, how about this?

In sum…..Benitez, mai alla Juve!!

*Rumour round up Italian style. Warning…This will feel a little like the national inquirer at times*

Let’s start with the stranieri rumours…

So Manchester City and Arsenal want Mario Balotelli. That’s what the good people at The Sun are saying , but then again they say a lot of things…

 Arsenal won’t pay a crazy price but like Balotelli nonetheless…Arsène’s Arsenal are also after Palermo’s Abel Hernandez and Catania’s Mr. Morimoto says The News of The World…also Angelina Jolie has adopted Fabio Liverani…

Real, Man City, Juve, Inter, Man United & Liverpool are after either/or Juan Manuel Vargas & Sebastian Frey valued around 20 Million each…

 …you can mix and match the above clubs however you like but Man United only spoke of Frey…If Fiorentina do go all Revolution on their own asses -with all this Prandelli/Della Valle squabble – 9 different sources are talking about ;

 Royston Drenthe if Real Madrid pick up Vargas or Frey then Cristian Llama, Cristian Ledesma, Alexander Kolarov and Andrea Mantovani with Emiliano Viviano mentioned as a Frey replacement…Prandelli would be replaced by Allegri, Giampaolo, Delneri or Conan O’brien.

Up north, Milan are looking at Franco Ivorian defender Guy Demel, from Hamburg  Werder Bremen’s Claudio Pizarro…and Dzeko of course…Mario Yepes is seemingly coming in for free to try the famous Milan Lab rejuvenation machine

…Flamengo are inquiring about Ronaldinho…Pato to Chelsea for 80 Million, Kaladze is leaving but Rafael Toloi is on his way in…Berlusconi did not have his face smashed or cock photographed by the press this week…

 Juventus are going after Gilardino, Cavani  and Kevin Kuranyi to replace Trezeguet… contending on the  Fabregas  front with Inter & Barça…if they can sell Diego to either Athletico Madrid or Lyon who have ”offered” 24 Million…or maybe Felipe Melo for too much money again…Melo has been linked with Arsenal…

Inter are linked with everyone and Fabregas…Real Madrid want Maicon says AS…They also need a coach soon

Lazio going after Humberto Suazo…Maybe looking at Koln’s Pedro Geromel and Philippe Senderos…Zarate is leaving for Spain, The Premiership or wherever pay more money land is. Kolarov is wanted by everyone…

Roma…funny how a scudetto push squashes a lot of rumours… Burdisso probably won’t go back to Inter, Menez is no longer linked with Mother Russia, William Gallas won’t come, links to Cassani, Simplicio, Clerc, Govou and Masiello. Bayern want to include Doni andor Mexes in Luca Toni deal

Mexes is wanted by Juve, Liverpool, Milan, Bayern as well as your mothers and daughters.

Oh and Bayern want Gargano…Napoli are going to sign Boriello because – He’s Napoletano – says Bigon…Napoli want to plunder Sampdoria by taking Palombo and Pazzini… looking at Darryl Goulon on the Le Mans Parametro Zero front. Cluj’s Lacina Traoré and Fluminense’s Fred are the alternatives if ever Pazzini or Boriello don’t come, you know, to replace German Denis….

And now for the even crazier

 Kjaer to Juve for Amauri + Money ?

Benitez to Juve with Mascherano and Fernando Torres following or Prandelli or Felix Magath now Roberto Mancini 

 Bayern is offering Ribery for Buffon. Manchester City is offering Dubai. Jorge Martinez and Stefano Poli to Man City also

Stefan Jovetic and Juan Vargas to Real Madrid for 53 Million Euros

Mourinho will move to Manchester City or Real Madrid while Benitez will go to Inter and Juventus will get Roberto Mancini and Leonardo will leave Milan if they don’t pick up Dzeko this summer…and Jay Leno wants Alex Ferguson’s job.

Philippe Mexes to Juve for Cash bringing in Fabio Cannavaro for cheap. Roma will then spend that cash on Luca Toni, Burdisso and Andrea Barzagli.

And my favourite ;  Juve buy back their half of Palladino by forfeiting their half of Criscito , then Criscito is sent to Inter with Ranocchia, brought back from Bari with Bonucci who goes to Juventus while Genoa get Rene Khrin and Sebastian Giovinco on loan while the Marassi pitch needs to be covered in gold or something

The comprehensive 3-1 win over Fulham confirmed Juve’s return to form under Zaccheroni. Following a slow start with draws against Lazio and Livorno, the team has won 4 of the last 5 games, with a woeful defeat against Palermo as the exception. An exception, I say, because it was an aberration caused by injuries and fatigue, and oh yeah, against an excellent rising Palermo. Credit to Palermo for the win, they played compact and tactical, but our bench was decimated and everyone on the pitch had played 90 just 3 days before. With a bit of rotation and a few more days of rest, the team was raring to go against Fulham, and it showed. Determined, tactical, everything aspect we hoped went our way, barring a bit of bad luck. Full review after the jump.

Manninger and Zebina practicing their staring-down face

First thought- Legrottaglie should indisputably be starting alongside Chiellini now, for Juventus and the Nazionale. I’ve been saying this for a while now, and yes, I have always been a big fan of Legro, but I think even his doubters are being convinced. Cannavaro had a good game yesterday, don’t get me wrong, but Legrottaglie was better. I was impressed at how the two worked together, the Legro-Canna partnership has failed pretty badly in the past as they are the same old style of defenders, though Legrottaglie is better in the air. (That’s what 4 inches will do for you) I said in 2007-2008 that Legro-Chiellini should be the CB partnership for the Nazionale, and with Nesta out, I think the same way. There are some solid young CB’s out there- Bonucci, Bocchetti, Ranocchia, but they are all a bit green to be starting in the WC this summer.

Legrottaglie and Chiellini have the chemistry- on two occasions, last summer and on his Twitter chat, Chiellini said the words “Cannavaro is a great player but Legrottaglie I can play with my eyes shut,” and whether Legro is individually better than Canna (I think he has been for the last 2-3 years) the fact is Legro-Chiellini together is much stronger than Chiellini-Cannavaro. However, the two could not have any more different histories and that’s why this won’t happen- Cannavaro is the World Cup-winning captain of the National team, the most capped player of all time. Legrottaglie is still mostly remembered as being an epic bust for Juventus, a player who was supposed to be a national team regular but disappeared. In both cases, it ain’t 2004 anymore, but Lippi has his own ideas.

LE PAGELLE: (Gazzetta’s here:)

Manninger: 6.5- Solid save on Hangeland and generally looked assured out there. A few games under his belt, and he doesn’t look rusty anymore. The world’s best #2.

Zebina: 7- This was his first goal for Juventus, and his 2nd goal in the last 12 years, possibly his 2nd of his career if Wikipedia is right, though that doesn’t count cup games. What a freaking goal, I was laughing uncontrollably in disbelief for about 30 seconds after he scored. So was Bettega, it looked like. Not only did he score a brilliant goal, he held his own in defense. A great game, and the Gazzetta named him MOTM. We have officially entered the Twilight Zone.
Cannavaro: 6.5- Zamora is pacey and strong, but between Legrottaglie and himself, they locked him up. There were a few moments where he showed his age, but otherwise, a strong performance that Canna can be happy with.
Legrottaglie: 7- A great aerial threat on set pieces as usual, and defensively was excellent. Nearly a perfect performance, only marred by picking up a yellow for handball that will see him miss the 2nd leg. Other than his goal, the thing I remember about his performance best was an excellent sliding tackle in the box, timed to perfection while running alongside a Fulham player following a cross from Zamora. I’ve sung his praises, though I agree we need to get a top-tier CB this summer. Legro shouldn’t be starting, but as a reserve to step in, he’ll be excellent, and I’m sure he will be a good locker room influence and mentor for some of the young kids.
Grosso: 6 The worst of the defenders, but that is not a bad thing given the others performances. His crossing is still pretty poor, he never seems to lift the ball enough, and if there is one lesson I was taught as a fullback, it’s that your cross/set-piece/etc HAS TO BEAT the first defender. If it doesn’t, it is a complete waste. A good volley-effort on goal that an excellent Schwarzer save denied him from joining the old-man-defense-goleador club. How ironic would it have been if Grosso, Zebina, and Legro had all scored after many of us (myself included) wondered about the age of our defense?

Marchisio: 7- I’ve given him an extra .5, given the circumstances. For the two days before the match, Marchisio was in bed all day with a fever. You could tell he wasn’t at his physical best, but he distributed well, tackled well, and played excellent as the midfield general. If it weren’t for a heavy 2nd touch, he would have scored an excellent goal as well. Loved seeing him given the captain’s armband, when you think about players like Aquilani and Montolivo who are inconsistent and basically need to grow up, it makes Marchisio’s progress look astounding. If you’d told me back in Serie B (or even when he was at Empoli in 07-08) that only 2-3 years later, he’d be a regular starter, on the national team, and wearing the captain’s armband, I’d have given you the same look as if you told me yesterday morning that Zebina was going to score a wondergoal.
Poulsen: 7- Like Marchisio, an extra .5 for the circumstances. Due to the suspension of Melo and Sissoko being in doubt, Poulsen was drafted in to start, his first since breaking his ankle in early January against Milan. That’s what I cannot understand- How can the recovery time for BREAKING an ankle be the same as twisting an ankle, which Trezeguet did just a few days before Poulsen? Anyways, a tidy and neat display- In the first half, Poulsen played excellently, recovering balls, passing smart and simple (eyes on you two, Melo and Sissoko) and played his mediano role very well. In the 2nd half he obviously tired, but given he hasn’t played football in two months, that is perfectly excusable.
Salihamidzic: 5.5- He’s really not made out to play as a central midfielder, where his games are not poor, but not really that good either. He’s simply not at his best there, but against Fulham it was an adequate display nonetheless, and perhaps most importantly, kept Camo on the bench for the first half.

Candreva: 6- Nice footwork to retain possession for Zebina’s goal, and playing trequartista alongside Diego, he played fairly well, though not spectacular. Pushed out left as the game went on, like Marchisio, he is far less effective as a winger.
Diego: 6- Similar performance to Candreva, relatively subdued but adequate enough. Still, Giovinco needs to come back and hopefully give Diego a break, as today was another 90minute performance. Good dipping shot on goal towards the end of the game, and excellent deliveries from corners.

Trezeguet: 7- In recent weeks, just like the beginning of the season, people have questioned whether Trez was past it. Today’s performance showed what I’ve been arguing…you lose pace with age, maybe strength, but not the poacher’s mindset. Had a very good header on target that Schwarzer pushed out for a corner that Legrottaglie scored on, and he was playing as the target man excellently, trapping passes up top and retaining possession. His goal, the more and more I watch it, is just sheer genius. Watch as the corner is booted in, he positions himself perfectly- he knows where the ball is going to go. Then, of course, he smacks his volley against the post, and somehow, in the milliseconds of reaction time given, as he’s off balance and falling over, volleys it again into the net. Genius goal, and as Roberto said, “The fucker slammed it off the post on purpose, i’m convinced.”

Zaccheroni: 7.5- Juventus looked determined, composed, and tactically sound. It was an excellent team performance, and given it and the win over Fiorentina, there is spreading rumors that Zac will be retained for next year. He’s taking it well, saying- ““I won’t speak about the future because it isn’t part of our current objectives. Now my objective is only to beat Fulham and I hope to be able to look every three days at the next objective until the end of the season.” Marchisio and Diego could have been subbed off, but Poulsen and Brazzo needed to come off as well, and he wanted to give Iaquinta a little run out, so no major objections.

Candreva goes for the less conventional goal congratulation, by sucker punching Zebina when he’s not looking

Things I think I think:
#1- Team Eats- I think the loss to Palermo was because I didn’t participate that game- my friend was in town so I didn’t catch the game until on delay, and I was eating traditional New Orleans food with him, not Sicilian. Other than that, since starting with Genoa, we’ve gotten positive results everytime. English breakfast was solid. How was everyone’s bangers and mash?
#2- Roberto, pre-match: “3-1 Juventus… completely baseless.” Obviously not baseless…
#3- Fulham didn’t play particularly well, and I was a bit surprised given Hodgson’s experience, it didn’t seem like he had given them explicit instructions. As some have mentioned around here though, I find Fulham one of the least objectionable EPL teams. Maybe it’s because of the Yanks that have played at Craven Cottage, or maybe because their fans and players are generally pretty classy, I don’t know for sure.
#4- Fulham’s Goal: That was the definition of a (legal) bullshit goal. Non-existent foul given against Zebina because he outjumped Zamora, so a poor call, followed by a poor set piece delivery, and an even worse shot. That was going horrendously wide before it took the luckiest deflection ever, completely changing paths and leaving Manninger with no chance. Things were going very well, and Fulham had one shot on target before the goal, a weak one. The only thing I didn’t like about the game was the reaction to Fulham’s goal…we looked unsure, shaky, and it was like all those games where after conceding, we look defeated. It was an intense 10 minutes where we weathered Fulham’s best efforts, thanks to Manninger, among others.

“Something stinks.”

#5- The result: Zac said he wished the scoreline was larger, and it should have been. If not for Schwarzer proving keepers are like fine wine, we would have won 5-1 or more. If not for the bad luck goal, it could easily have been 4-0. Does this get us into the quarterfinals? Not necessarily, but I think we have a toe in. It would take a very, very poor game for us to crash out at this stage. My Newcastle co-worker says typically, Fulham are defensively sound, great at defending set pieces, but don’t score too often. The previous two didn’t happen, let’s hope the third remains true. An early goal at Fulham means they need to score 3.
#6- Next up is either Valencia or interestingly for Diego, Werder Bremen. They drew in Valencia 1-1 in a result that favors Werder, but either team is dangerous. Personally, I’d rather face Valencia- Villa, Silva, Joaquin and all are scary, but we own Spanish teams. Chiellini has marked Villa out before, and Valencia lost to Atletico Madrid 4-1 a few weeks ago, they aren’t entirely fear-inspiring. Added bonus for all of you constantly calculating and recalculating Germany and Italy’s UEFA coefficients, that’d be one German team out and an Italian progression.
#7- As Romanista Alto pointed in the comments- thus far this season, Serie A teams have beaten EPL teams 5 times this season, with 1 draw, and two losses, both of which were Milan getting crushed by ManYoo. Not bad.
#8- We won, comprehensively, without these players playing a significant role- Melo, Sissoko, Camoranesi, Iaquinta, Del Piero, Chiellini, or Buffon. That is reassuring. Sure, it’s a midtable EPL team but you know what? We’ve looked far shittier against relegation-battling teams in Italy, it’s not like we routinely play this well against midtable Serie A clubs either. I’m satisfied.
#9- Lastly, JZ’s celebration was hilarious. He couldn’t believe he scored it either, and he had no idea what to do- Watch the ITV video below, first he starts to take his shirt off, then realizes oh that’s a yellow early in the game, then stands there for a second confused, and then either picks his nose or tells the tifosi to be quiet. Brilliant.

SHIRT OFF, NO WAIT, BAD IDEA

WAIT, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

PICK MY NOSE

The Coaching Merry-go-Round:

With Fiorentina crashing out of Europe this week, a lot have suggested that it’s time for Prandelli to move on. Blanc denies being in contact with him, but I am sure we’ve asked him if he’d like the job. Prandelli is a very good candidate of course, and while I wouldn’t discount Allegri or Gasparini, it’s increasingly looking like it’ll be Zac v. Prandelli for the job next year. Of course, Cesare is up possibly for the Nazionale gig and there’s rumors he’s ready to sign a contract extension to quiet all the rumors. Does Zaccheroni deserve the job? He’s done very well to turn the team around, morale is high and we look like we’re forming an identity, though of course there’s all to play for, depending on how far we go in the Europa League and if we finish in the CL places. If he gets us to the Europa League final and in at least 4th place, I think he deserves it.

Alessio’s The Juventus Offside Shitlist:
-Amauri: (3 Weeks)
-Cannavaro: (2 Weeks) Provisionally off the list, with a very good performance, though another poor one will see him get dropped back on.
-Chimenti: (2 Week) Because he’s a muppet, and Grygera and Amauri need some company.
-Grygera: (3 Weeks)
-Zebina: (2 Weeks) In Florence, Grosso and Candreva learned that they had been added to the JOS, and clearly that was the motivation that produced their inspired performance. Last week, I added Zebina and retroactively added a week because as you all know, I don’t like him. Obviously, the same thing transpired and he was driven to play well to get off the list. Job done, sir, but in the words of Yul Brenner, this doesn’t mean I like you.

Zuliani’s narration on the radio, if you’re interested:
ITV Goals: (ITV actually has smart English commentators)
Legrottaglie
Zebina
Etuhu
Trezeguet

Mourinho’s reaction to Muntari losing the Catania game for Inter (not really, this is from last week)

Siena at home this weekend…let’s hope the ragazzi keep the good form going!

Being March and Juventus having a piss-poor season and all, the mercato rumors for next year have been in overdrive, for every position. A brief rundown-

The man is always impeccably dressed.

ALLENATORE: There is a possibility of Zaccheroni staying, and if he does well, he very might well get a longer contract. I don’t think he’s the way forward, but he’s a good coach to get us on our feet again. The front-runner, of course, is Cesare Prandelli of Fiorentina, who we are playing this weekend. He’s also been hotly tipped to succeed Lippi with the Nazionale. There’s no doubt that Prandelli is a fantastic coach, though one observation how Calcio is funny- Had Fiorentina lost one or two games in the CL and missed the knockout stages, their season would be an unmitigated disaster for Fiorentina. His pros of course is he’s a good tactician, and even better at bringing out the best in players. A bit of a hit-or-miss record with developing youth. Big question, of course, is does he want the Nazionale job? If not, would he be willing to cross the Fiorentina-Juventus divide and potentially become hated among his former fans?

Alternatives include Benitez, Conte, Capello, Lippi, Gasparini, and in some circles, Allegri of Cagliari. To me, there are only two I’d like; Lippi and Allegri. Benitez I do not like at all- he’s an excellent tactician, but a piss-poor man-manager, even worse at picking transfers, and has an awful record of developing youth. Plus, he is very whiny and would come on a huge salary, no thanks. Conte is better than Ferrara, his success with Bari last year proved his coaching talent. Atalanta was in a dreadful situation when he arrived, he marginally improved the team, I’d like to see him get more Serie A coaching under his belt first. Capello and Lippi, obviously I would prefer Lippi far over Capello, but I’d rather move to the future…I think these guys are in the past. Gasparini’s work was hailed over the last two seasons, and he has hit a bit of trouble, but I think that’s more due to Genoa selling their best players and having significant turnover.

Which brings me to the last mention, Massimiliano Allegri, Mr. Cheerful. I really like this guy, and I’ve been very impressed particularly over the last few months. Having coached Sassuolo to a historic Serie B promotion in 07-08, he was hired as Cagliari’s coach to replace Ballardini, who everyone agreed had performed miracles to save Cagliari that season. To replace him with a coach who had never coached Serie A or B, was pretty nuts and I thought Cagliari had guaranteed themselves relegation. Critics of Allegri were seemingly justified, as he opened his Serie A career with 5 straight losses to open Serie A 2008-2009. Everyone thought Allegri was too green, and that Cagliari’s owner, the notoriously impatience Cellino would sack him soon. Credit to Cellino, he held off, and Cagliari went on to be one of the surprises of the season. This season, they also opened in relatively poor form and I wondered if Allegri was like fellow ex-Cagliari manager Marco Giampaolo, who managed Siena to an impressive finish and was sacked the next year. Cellino stuck again with Allegri, and they are in a solid 8th place, only 5 points behind 4th. Numerous players have exploded under his management, ie- Cossu and Matri, who are having excellent seasons. He plays attacking football, he’s tactically savvy, a good man manager, and he’s ambitious. What’s not to like?

He looks a lot like Candreva in this picture.

New Azzurri training scheme?

DIFENSORI:

Today, Genoa owner Enrico Preziosi confirmed that Juventus had asked for a valuation of both Ranocchia and Bonucci. This led to a few headlines that we were interested in both, but it’s a pipe dream- we’re simply asking both in case one is unavailable, we can pursue the other. I personally think Ranocchia has more potential than Bonucci, he’s shown more maturity, he’s a bit of a better player now, and he’s capable of playing well alone, whereas Bonucci seems to be the type of player that needs a strong player by his side. The other advantage of Ranocchia is Genoa owns him in full, whereas Bonucci is co-owned by Bari and Genoa so negotiations would be a bit more complicated. The downside, of course, is that Ranocchia is likely out for the season, whereas Bonucci may be going to South Africa.

I’d be pleased with either of them, though, and I think we can strike a deal. We have decent relationships with Genoa, as of two years ago 1/2 of their squad was former Juventini, and we still have co-ownership in Criscito and Palladino that could be used as makeweight. I’d be willing to give up both, even though I like them- Criscito is a great player, but I think De Ceglie is just as promising, and ditto for Palladino and Giovinco. Zaccheroni seems to have put a decent amount of faith in De Ceglie, benching Grosso for him, which absolutely delights me. Negotiations won’t be easy, though; Inter’s interest in both of them is also well known, Inter made a superswap for Motta and Milito last year and have Suazo on loan, and before us Juventini and Interistas forget, Genoa has an interest too. Their defense has been terrible this season, and so they very well might want to keep one, if not both of the players.

Back to Cagliari, we have Ariaudo on loan who is playing fairly well, a few weeks ago he was named in Goal.com’s XI of the week, which surprised me because I didn’t even know he was getting regular playing time. Back a year ago, Ferrara (when Ranieri was still coach and Ferrara headed up the youth sector) gave a nice interview to the Gazzetta, describing Giovinco, De Ceglie, and Marchisio’s progress with the first team. Added at the end, although younger and still largely in the Primavera, was Lorenzo Ariaudo, described as having the technical talent but also the humility to know his place in the team. Will he be recalled for next season? Hard to say. Cagliari have the right to sign him in full, though Ariaudo of course has the right to turn down Cagliari’s offer. We might see him sold on co-ownership to Cagliari for next season.

Clichy of Arsenal has also been linked to us, which is a nice story, but very unlikely. The club has an option to sign Cannavaro for next season, but I don’t see it happening. We will have to settle Molinaro’s situation, of course, though it seems pretty clear he won’t be returning. His agent said it’ll be decided after Easter, but basically confirmed Stuttgart wanted to take up the option for full ownership.

CENTROCAMPISTI:

D’Agostino wants to go anywhere that’s not Udinese, and his agent says there are 3 clubs interested in him, none of which start with J. Likely Napoli, Lazio, and Palermo. The big rumors recently have involved Franck Ribery, of Bayern Munich. Depending on which paper you read, either San Gigi or Diego is going to go to Munich as part of a down-payment. Laughable. There are a lot of reasons why I don’t want Ribery at Juve- He’d cost far too much, he’s injury-prone, he’s a locker room cancer, etc, etc, etc. No thanks. Other laughable rumors include Felipe Melo going to Arsenal in exchange for Cesc Fabregas. Don’t I wish!

Limped off injured against Spain.

ATTACCANTI:

Only one strong rumor over the last few weeks, and that’s of Kevin Kuranyi, who I have already addressed, and responded with a resounding “Blah.” Oh, and supposedly Van Persie for Melo. Ha.

He likes to complain.

Evidently, so does his twin.

Over the last few months, it’s becoming more and more clear: We’re the new Inter.

This picture makes me want to bash my face in. Young talented Italian, v overrated overpriced foreigner.

First, our transfers have been generally awful- Inter pre-2006 was famous for spending a lot of money- ie, Crespo, Seedorf, Jugovic, Coco, Cannavaro, etc, and largely them being busts. Obviously, we have been spending a crapload of money in the recent mercati without much success, over 100million spent over the last few years, and what do we have to show for it? Iaquinta, Sissoko…maybe Diego, that’s about it. We’re still the richest club in Italy, despite being in Serie B and relatively uncompetitive the last few years, but we are failing to spend it wisely. The last few years we’ve been held up by the Old Guard who played in Serie B, as several of them age, fall out of form, and approach retirement, we have dreadfully failed to fill their boots.

Inter was famous for being taken advantage of in the mercato, such as the Carini-for-Cannavaro trade, where we traded our 3rd-string keeper plus 10million euros for the captain of the Nazionale. They sold off several players that failed to settle and succeeded elsewhere- Peruzzi, Baggio, Crespo, etc. Since Calciopoli, we’ve sold Balzaretti, Marchionni, and Zanetti to Fiorentina for under 10million total. We sold players like Nocerino and Criscito, while signing Grosso, Poulsen, etc. Ex-Juventini like Criscito, Balzaretti, Cassani, Nocerino, and Palladino are all having fairly successful careers elsewhere. They may not be amazing, but have Grosso, Grygera, Molinaro, Poulsen, Tiago, or Amauri been much better? Not really, and when you consider the amount spent on them, it is embarrassing. Like Inter, who couldn’t develop young Italian stars like Andrea Pirlo, our record has been pretty poor as well. I can see Giovinco exploding at any other side, if given faith.

We’ve failed to replace the Old Guard…imagine how it’ll be when San Gigi retires.

Second, we are rotating through coaches as fast as the Perdienti- Inter had over a dozen coaches in a decade, proving that managerial instability does not yield silverware. Since Calciopoli, we are on our 5th coach in 4 years. Just as worryingly, at least 3 of those can be considered “temporary coaches” brought in to save the season, with little plan of staying- Corradini, Ferrara (his start), and Zaccheroni. I think Zac is a decent coach, but anyone who think he’s going to take us to a winning cycle is insane, and I don’t see him hanging around past this summer. That means whoever we hire will be our 6th coach in 4-5 seasons, approaching Inter-style levels.

I’m not saying every coach deserves 2-3 years to prove himself, and I’m not saying Ferrara or Ranieri deserved 5 more years. I think we’ve been a bit hasty to sack, but more importantly, very poor in choosing coaches. We need to think long and hard about who our new coach will be- Personally, I’d like a young, experienced, ambitious Italian coach. Gasparini is a good name, but Allegri has really caught my eye the last few months.

Lastly, we have lost the grinta and spirit that characterized Juventus pre-Calciopoli. For those of you who have been fans of the Vecchia Signora for a while, you’ll remember that Juventus was the team that “never gave up” (non mollare mai) and fought to the whistle. A lot of points were earned by late comebacks, and those draws and wins converted from losses and draws go a long way towards winning the Scudetto. Other challengers got angry at our ability to grind out wins or improbably take the points without deserving it.

Since then, we have been known for our inconsistency. In big games, we’ve often resurrected the Bianconero spirit, ie- against Inter earlier this year, where we defeated them 2-1 at home despite being in a death spiral. Only a few weeks later though, we got humiliated at home by Milan. You can see that “never-give-up” spirit has often left our squad, and we look like Inter pre-Calciopoli who threw their arms in the air when the team went down. Too often this season we have seen other teams score a goal, and then our team seemingly give up. The old Juventus was psychologically stronger, and that is a key thing we have lost since.

In a lot of these cases, we have been directly swapped by Inter. Many of their transfer dealings have been shrewd and smart, like signing Ibrahimovic (and then selling him), getting Eto’o for dirt cheap, signing Motta, Milito, and Lucio for relatively cheap, though there were a few throwbacks to the 90s with Quaresma and Mancini signings. They’ve become the dominant team that grinds out wins, and whether they are down 2 goals or 2 men, they manage to get points. They’ve also had 2 coaches since Zaccheroni was sacked 6 years ago, Mancini had a 4-year tenure and Mourinho has since been at the helm. All of this sickens me.

Smart signing for Inter, and an even smarter sale.

The problem is simple, yet complex- we have an inexperienced, weak management that is not football-savvy. As we’ve all said, Blanc is excellent with finances and the fact that we have the most income in Italy (and unlike our close competitors Milan, Inter, and Roma, few debts) means there is no reason to sack him entirely. Secco has been extremely hit-or-miss, and should be reassigned or fired immediately. Bettega is an important step to bringing back the old Juventus, but he’s only one portion of the Triade. To complete it, we need a competent President and a wise transfer director. It’ll be hard to get Blanc to give up his presidency, and perhaps even harder to sack him, and he seems to good friends with Secco, meaning Pazza Juve, unfortunately, may be here longer than just a few years.

Cagliari come to town to try their luck at the San Siro tomorrow. They have done well this season and, at eighth place, may well have visions of Europe dancing in their heads. Three points would do them nicely. Inter, on the other hand, have that home record to think about. Cagliari was a tricky opponent for us last year, and that together with our spate of suspensions/injuries and grueling schedule mean that Inter are going to have keep on their toes, dig deep, and behave like the champions they would like to be. This is potentially a 9-point week for us and we need every single one of them.

What: Inter v Cagliari
Where: San Siro, Milan
When: Sunday, February 7, 3pm local time (6am pacific, 9am eastern)
Weather: Dry and a bit warmer; low of 32F, high of 39F. I dont think this one will get snowed out.
How to Watch: No TV but it will be on ESPN360 or you could try a stream: MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net
BTW, if anyone has other streaming locations, please share so that I can add them to the list. Thanks.

Overall, Inter has a pretty good record against Cagliari: of the 70 total times the two teams have met, Inter has only lost 12 times (6 at home, 6 away). Still, last year Cagliari was one of the few teams we just could not beat. This fixture finished a very frustrating 1-all draw last year. For whatever reason, Inter just could not score. Highlights (if you can call them that):

THEM

Not much to do here as Jeremy is doing a fine job over at the Cagliari board. Pay him a visit for an islander’s view of the game.

Cagliari have been enjoying a fine run of form and have not lost a game since a trip to Palermo way back on the 6th of December. They have managed 2-all draws against Roma and Fiorentina, and a 3-all against Napoli – although all those results were at home. Away, they are a bit less prolific, usually only scoring 1 goal (except against Milan – they got 3 there).

Coach of the year Massimiliano Allegri has called up 20 players:

Portieri: Agazzi, Vigorito
Difensori: Agostini, Ariaudo, Astori, Canini, Marzoratti
Centrocampisti: Barone, Biondini, Brkljaca, Conti, Dessena, Nainggolan, Lazzari, Parola
Attaccanti: Jeda, Larrivey, Matri, Nenè, Ragatzu

La Gazzetta thinks Allegri will play them thus:

Agazzi
Marzoratti Canini Astori Agostini
Lazzari Conti Biondini
Jeda
Matri Larrivey

Matri, Jeda, and Nene have all been spectacular for Cagliari this season. Matri has 10 goals and is starting to attract the attention of some larger teams. Similarly, Nene with his 6 has caught the eye of Milan. Jeda has one less goal but with three assists is also indirectly deadly. This is no pushover team. They are well-run and hungry; their only real weakness is that they tend not to score much away from home. Still, they have only been held goalless in two games, both way back at the beginning of the season.

With all the snow Milan has gotten this past month, I bet Moratti is glad he sprung for all those pitch improvements at La Pinetina.

US

Everyone is in retreat tonight as all available players have been called up:

Goalkeepers: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni.
Defenders: Cordoba, Zanetti, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel, Santon.
Midfielders: Quaresma, Thiago Motta, Muntari, Krhin, Mariga, Cambiasso.
Strikers: Eto’o, Milito, Pandev, Balotelli, Arnautovic.

Stankovic and Chivu are still injured. I thought Lucio would be available for this game because Parma would be the game he was disqualified for. I guess not. On the up side, Sneijder will be definitely be back next weekend for Napoli (thank goodness).

For this game, though, we are in a bit of a pickle. Our only vice Sneijder is still Deki and he has yet to find his way back from injury (although he is close, it seems). With two midfielders and two defensemen out, Mou is making noises like we may see a 4-3-3 tomorrow, although he was a bit noncommittal. All he said for certain is that: “Four players who will certainly be on the field tomorow? Julio Cesar, Cordoba, Samuel and Milito.”

The journalists asked a number of times after Julio Cesar – which was worrying. I didn’t know there was ever any question about JC’s fitness, I just thought Toldo was playing for rotation’s sake. Well, Mou said that JC was fine (whew) so I guess crises averted. Toldo was ok against Fiorentina, though…

Er… handball? See, JC is just fine – they really shouldn’t scare me like that!

So that leaves us 7 to fill in. Provided Mou doesn’t mean for Cordoba to be a surprise leftback (shudder), it could go something like this:

Julio Cesar
Maicon Cordoba Samuel Santon
Zanetti Cuchu Muntari/ T.Motta
Balo/Pandev Milito Pandev/Eto’o

Now here is where I admit my secret shame: although I am glad to have Mariga, I dont really know what position he plays. I mean, I know he is a midfielder (duh), but I dont really understand where he would slot in. Maybe I will find out tomorrow.

Much of the press conference today was also about Balotelli. Mou very clearly pointed out that despite what the press may think, there is no rift between Mou and Mario, and that neuron quote from Mariga’s presentation had nothing to do with Balotelli. Moratti even got in on the act pointing out that Balotelli was a great asset to the club and everything is hunky dory. And I am sure it is.

These are all manufactured controversies – much like the outcry when Mourinho gave his crucifix to a disabled child last season. Everyone was too quick to judge and they all assumed the worst. Everyone picks apart everything he says and does with an eye towards spinning it to maximize the drama. My SO and I often joke that if Mourinho said his favorite color was blue then the headlines the next day would be: “Mou Slams Red!” The trick is, not to fall for the hype and read the quotes for yourself. As Mou himself said, if he had a problem with Balotelli, he would leave him off the squad. The fact that he is playing means there is not a problem.

—–

To recap – tomorrow is a tricky game against a team with nothing to lose and Europe to play for. On paper, there is no question we have the better team, but papers dont play – humans do and humans are not so predictable. If we can get through these next three games with full points, we will be in great position in the championship and can maybe think a bit more about Europe ourselves. A little help from Fiorentina and Bologna wouldn’t go amiss this weekend, either.

FORZA INTER

A nice youtuber has thoughtfully uploaded the whole Inter v APIA Leichhardt Viareggio game in 10 minute chunks. Here is the first one: