The fact that Amauri is making that much (as 2nd highest earner in the team) is absolutely ghastly, and Secco should be hung upside down and shot in the center of Turin. Players salary that surprised me the most was Krasic- I guess he really did want to play for Juventus.

CalcioMercato added up the numbers of last years salary list, and it turns out by offloading deadweight, Marotta saved 25mil off the wage bill in one summer. Not bad. Coulda added about 10mil to that number if he had sold Amauri, though…

Since the next couple of days will be kind of slow around the club news circuit, I feel like nows a good time to talk about some of the thoughts that I’ve amassed recently about our beloved club. It’ll just be a quick little chat between friends to help this Juventus fan sleep at night. Most of all, I encourage your feedback as my girlfriend often says that sharing your feelings with others is somewhat therapeutic.

Juventus, I fucking hate your guts sometimes. Everyone do yourself a favour between now and the last game of the season. Do not search for Juventus videos on Youtube and surf through twenty pages of content on La Grande Storia della Juventus, or La Vecchia Signora, because that will only make you infuriated with what’s happening to our team. Gone are the iconic members of football’s high society, as they’re replaced with mediocrity; players, coaches, and management alike.

The reality, one that I’m sure many of you are aware, is that we’re more than just a few pieces of the puzzle away from the glory days. We’re about 8-9 men short by my calculations which is mind-boggling considering the shit-load of resources we’ve spent over the last four years. We need to focus on building the team’s spine once again, and Chiellini can be the rock we can build our revival on.

‘And I say to thee. Thou art Giorgio, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ Matthew 16:18, sort of.

Marotta, for my money, was going good until the Diego deal. From now on, he’s got an uphill battle to win back my good graces after the costly Fabio loan, and the move for the Serie A unproven Armand Traore. However, he did manage to secure a capable partner for Chiellini in Bonucci, as well as a potential homerun for our midfield in Aquilani. Now if the Aquaman gamble pays-off, we’ll have finally made a solid start in our re-construction.

From top to bottom, the Serie A is the world’s most competitive football league, and for that I am truly proud to be a fan of Italian calcio today. But the taste in my mouth left after Calciopoli has yet to be purified, and thus, my overwhelming sense of anger looms. It’s agonizing at times being a Bianconeri fan because that bar was set so high decades ago. Not to mention just how tough it is to play for Juventus today as the jersey can weigh so much.

The truth is though; I will stand by my club even when it seems that there is no hope in sight because I’m sure that when we taste that success again, it’ll taste that much sweeter. I guess that’s the difference between a fan and a supporter.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

Defiant.

“The transfer market campaign made by Juve is full of mistakes,” said Diego in an interview with Sky Italia. “They have lost so much money as well as stars. I hope that in the future they will have a winning project with the understanding that the quality not only belongs to Italian players and that you cannot exclude foreign champions. You cannot win like that. Del Neri was very clear with me, he said he wanted me to stay. During the Trofeo TIM, I scored a nice goal against Milan, I was very happy. Delneri called me into his room.” He said “Remember our discussion in May? I said you were part of my project. Now I am more convinced than ever.” “I interrupted. Mister, if you see me as a starter, I’ll stay at Juve, happily.” Delneri smiled and nodded. “Delneri said we’ll play 4-4-Diego-Striker, you are the man of quality in my system. Only if you played 10 bad games in a row would your position come into dispute.”

Marotta told me that per the wishes of Delneri, I’d stay. “However, I looked at Marotta and understood that he was working in another direction. He was doing everything possible to sell me. Then came the deal with Wolfsburg. A few days before the sale, Delneri came up to me with a disappointed face and said I had to go talk to Marotta. When Delneri told me Marotta wanted to talk, from that moment Delneri’s opinion didnt matter anymore. Marotta was not clear. I always said that I wanted to stay and the coach always told me that he would have played me. If Marotta wanted to sell me he could have done it two months ago (instead of three days before the final day of the transfer window) as it would have been simpler. If Marotta had comported himself in a different manner with me, then we both could have worked on a move and Juve would have netted more money The fact is that Marotta did not behave well with me or with other Juventus champions like Camoranesi or Trezeguet. “Marotta decided to sell me because he wants just Italians and that is the wrong road to go down. Juventus have made a mistake with their signings, a lot of good players have arrived but no champions. Juventus should have been much stronger. The players that have left would have been useful to the next technical project.”

D’oh.

“I received affectionate messages from everyone in the team, more or less. Buffon is a true captain, he will demonstrate again that he is the world’s greatest keeper. Felipe Melo needs to be kept close, and he will give his best. Chiellini is a champion defender, and I think Amauri will return to score many goals this year. As a Brazilian, it is strange to see him wear Azzurro, but you play for who loves you, not who ignores you. Del Piero was always very nice to me, he was a friend. He had nothing to do with my sale. With Alex, there was an incompatibility [in a 4-4-2, obviously] of us both being on the pitch, but this wasn’t an issue. There was no problem between us. When I left, Alex was the first to text me. He wrote, “I’m sorry you’ve left, I’ve never had a problem with you. I wished we could play more together. Best of luck at Wolfsburg.”

Strong words. Giovinco commented as well.

Interviewed on Sky Italia, Giovinco was asked to comment on Diego’s allegations that Juventus weren’t clear with him. “It’s true, the director should have been clearer and they should have been so from the first year that I arrived. Instead, it wasn’t like this. Amen, life goes on. I don’t know how the directors behaved with Diego I think about myself. I wasn’t treated as I expected, but I don’t think about it anymore. I am thinking about doing well here. We’ll see about the future. I hope to do well here to make Juventus change their minds with facts. What I have found here is better than Juventus, above all with respect to last year. Things went badly. It was a difficult period for me, for the team and for the club. It was the ugliest period Juventus have been through, so you can imagine what it was like.”

Z3BINA threw his hat in the ring as well. (Hmmm. Z3BINA, Diego, Giovinco, one of these things is not like the other.)

“It’s useless to rant against someone…..[but]… Although, I must say we didn’t expect any kind of recognition when we went to Serie B. But then we saw how they sent someone like Pavel Nedved home, and at that moment, we knew that we could not be able to expect anything from the club. Something at Juve last year didn’t go right [you think?], surely the players had some of the responsibility, but not as much as came out in the media. Why did the fans last year fight only with the typical players? I don’t know, I never understood it. [Giving the fans the finger doesn't help, JZ] I don’t think that there were only a few disagreements, perhaps it was under the influence of another.”

However, I am only looking to be happy. It only took 10 minutes to convince of Brescia’s project. I hope to follow in the footsteps of some other great Brescia players like Guardiola and Baggio.” [WHAT]

Evidently, there’s been some kind of communication breakdown.

Now that the transfer window is officially shut, we know what our team will be for the season. (Or at least until January) The real evaluations of the mercato will come in January, or more likely, by May, but here I will do some preliminary grading. I’ve put a poll for each player as well, so you can weigh in on your thoughts statistically, as well as verbally down in the comments section. For now, we’re going to ignore sales in this factor, so Diego, Giovinco, and Trezeguet won’t factor in.

What Rating Do You Give Marco Storari’s Transfer?customer surveys

Marco Storari: A- Given San Gigi is out until January, we knew we needed a new keeper. The fact that we signed one even better than Manninger, and one who was Serie A’s best performing keeper last year is excellent. The only demerit on my part is 4.5million seems like a hefty chunk of change to spend on a 33-year old reserve keeper.

What Rating Do You Give Simone Pepe’s Transfer?online survey

Simone Pepe: C Keeping Pepe’s rating from being a C- is the fact that he is one of the many that we signed on loan, thus, there is the hope he will not remain, although 2.5million for a loan is more of a “down payment” than a true loan. I understand we need depth, and Pepe fulfills that, but I have been more disappointed that I was expecting to be. Against Bari, seemingly none of his crosses or passes found their man, and he ran a lot, but that’s not good enough. Maybe he’ll come good…but I’m not holding my breath.

What Rating Do You Give Davide Lanzafame’s Transfer?customer surveys

Davide Lanzafame: B For all the talk and lament about Giovinco leaving, there has been little applause for the fact that another Juventus youth product has come home. And he’s grown a lot, too. Lanzafame has been traveling around the peninsula since age 20, when he played a very successful Serie B campaign with Bari. Last year, he had a solid season at Parma, scoring 7 goals in 27 appearances (and only 14 starts) and has returned home to Torino. I’ve watched him since his 07-08 season in Bari, and he has enormous potential. Has a good eye for goal, good pace, and decent dribbling ability. I think he’s been one of the better wingers in preseason, and we’ve only started to scratch the surface of his potential. Let’s just hope he gets playing time.

What Rating Do You Give Leonardo Bonucci’s Transfer?survey software

Leonardo Bonucci: A- His critics will tell you that Ranocchia was better last season, and has more potential. That’s true, and I would have loved to see Andrea come to the good side, but unfortunately Canna’s horror show and looming retirement meant we needed to sign the healthy one. He doesn’t complement Chiellini as well as Ranocchia would (Ranocchia more a ball-playing sweeper, Bonucci more of a hardman like Giorgio) but either way, he’s a very good young player. Bonucci’s had an average start to his Juve career, he makes some hasty/poor tackles, but this is his 2nd season in Serie A, and his 1st at a big club. It will take time for him to integrate. The price tag is high, but I’m f***ing satisfied that finally, we spilled out for a defender.

What Rating Do You Give Jorge Martinez’s Transfer?Market Research

Jorge Martinez: B Martinez has, in my opinion, come under the most unwarranted criticism this transfer campaign. 12mil is a large amount of money, but I would rate him around 10mil, not that bad of a deal for someone who has scored 22 goals in 86 games. Jorge has a nice amount of tricks here and there, and can play both wings. My concerns are primarily the fact that he’s been woefully out of shape at camp and is now injured with a knee problem, but I think he’s a quality “reserve” for the future otherwise. Considering he costs 2mil more than Simone Pepe would eventually cost…well, he’s far more talented. Decent pickup, I think.

What Rating Do You Give Marco Motta’s Transfer?Market Research

Marco Motta: B I’ve always questioned Marco Motta’s skill, it seems like Amauri his entire reputation is riding on a very good 3 months, with his fans ignoring the subsequent disastrous year and a half. I’ve been moderately impressed with what I’ve seen thus far, though. Both his attacking and defending need refinement, I think he’s an upgrade on what we had, and still has potential. It’s up to him to seize it, but paying 5mil for him overall is not a bad deal.

What Rating Do You Give Milos Krasic’s Transfer?online surveys

Milos Krasic: A In a tremendously overpriced market, Krasic is a good signing at 15mil. He’s no Pavel Nedved, but I think Krasic will come good. Adjusting to Serie A from the Russian league will take time, though, so don’t be surprised if he gets the Bidone d’Oro in December and then is widely acknowledged as a master signing next spring. Fast as hell, occasional eye for goal, good crossing, Krasic is a quality signing and one I am very excited about.

What Rating Do You Give Milos Krasic’s Transfer?online survey

Alberto Aquilani: A Of course this grade all depends on his health, but given the 9-hour medical he underwent, can’t blame Marotta for signing him. Very much the type of player we needed to add in midfield, someone with quality and skill, an eye for a shot and a good pass. Marchisio has been in relatively poor form recently, so maybe the Aquilani competition will jog him up, but either way, Aquilani is a creative central midfielder and that’s what we needed this summer.

What Rating Do You Give Fabio Quagliarella’s Transfer?customer surveys

Fabio Quagliarella: B- There’s a lot of questions about this move for me, for example, is Fabio worth 15million euros, and can he finally deliver consistent performances? Or the age old question, can he make it at a big club? Last year was a pretty poor one for Fabio at Napoli, it appears the weight of being the hometown boy and the refusal of certain members of the squad to accept him (Hamsik) hurt his performances. Can he deliver at Juventus, or did we just waste 4.5million euros (and his salary) on a loan?

What Rating Do You Give Leandro Rinaudo’s Transfer?online surveys

Leandro Rinaudo: B I know what some of you will say…Rinaudo is a rubbish player and not Juventus quality. Both are legitimate statements. He’s our 4th CB, which we needed, and on loan with no obligation to buy. Moreso, his poor performances at Napoli can probably be attributed partially to the 3-man defense which he is not cut out for, just as Bocchetti and Moretti look(ed) average at Genoa in their leaky defense. 5mil seems a bit high to sign him for, he’s not worth that much, but again, there’s no obligation and I’d rather see Rinaudo step in to play CB in February than Grygera or Motta.

What Rating Do You Give Armand Traore’s Transfer?online survey

Armand Traore: D Absolutely makes no sense to me. First, why would Wenger let a 20-year old go? Arsenal fans say he is decent going forward, but poor defensively. And that’s in the EPL. I could understand if we had a veteran player, the merits of signing a young inexperienced kid to learn from him, but why reinforce De Ceglie, aka “a defensively raw inexperienced left-back” with another one? Supposedly he played left-wing at Portsmouth to some acclaim, but all in all, this move just makes little sense to me. Not entirely writing this kid off, but from what I’ve been told, we’d probably be better off playing Grosso.

What Rating Do You Give to Our Overall Signings?survey software

Overall Signings: B+ Could the mercato have been better? Sure. But after Aquilani’s signing, I said ideally I’d like a left-back, a center-back, and a striker. We got 2/3, and I’m glad we didn’t sign Borriello in full…in addition to all the previous work Marotta did. The only signings I really do not like are Traore and Pepe, but thankfully both are on loan and should be considered reserves. In rebuilding the team, Marotta perhaps opted for “quantity over quality” but to take a team that finished in 7th place with record amounts of goals and losses, that’s what needs to be done.

What Rating Do You Give Overall to Beppe Marotta?online survey

Beppe Marotta: B- This category kind of meshes with the above, but the above is about signings, this is about overall work. I agree that there are questions over the quality in our squad, but there is no doubt this team should be able to get into the Champion’s League. And I agree that perhaps letting Trezeguet, Diego, and Caceres leave when they could have been influential was a mistake. However, remember Krasic, Storari, Bonucci, and Martinez are the only ones we own, the rest can leave if they don’t cut it this season. The squad is younger (youngest in Serie A), we rebuilt the wings, and offloaded high salary players like Tiago, Z3BINA (finally), Poulsen, Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Cannavaro and (d’oh) Diego, to create a lot more salary space for future signings. Marotta had a LOT of work cut out for him- defense, wings, bring down the age, and offload players, and he did them all pretty well, hard to expect a perfect record in each category. Marotta is in his first season at a big club. He’s got things to learn as well, though I think his negotiating and recognition of the team’s needs are encouraging.

When asked if he’ll stay at the club, Borriello said: “I don’t know, I am at the height of my career. I have to make a decision. A great champion has arrived and so the space for me is limited.” Milan talisman Clarence Seedorf believes his team-mate should keep a cool head. “For me, Borriello must stay calm. There are still a few days until the end of the market. I don’t like this way of doing things. I would like it if the market were closed already in July. It’s not right that a season starts and you still don’t know where you might end up.”

What do I think about this move? Meh. Same as Quagliarella. It is proving that unfortunately, Beppe Marotta does not have a master plan, and we should seriously question his evaluation of some players quality. I don’t think Quagliarella or Borriello are “Juve-quality” players, nor do either of them merit a 16mil transfer fee.

However, is Borriello better than Amauri? Given the last year, in which Marco scored 14 goals and Amauri 5, yes. The biggest question for Borriello should be the same as Aquilani- injuries. In 08-09, Borriello spent nearly the entire season with Nesta on the treatment table. If he can stay healthy, well, Borriello is the best of a Serie A’s most profligate group of strikers. He’s no Pazzini, but considering it appears Marotta is unable to nab Pazzo, he might be the “least worst striker.”

The other question we should have about this move is it’s effect on future mercati. All these loan moves with right-to-buys are great, but between Pepe, Motta, Borriello, Quagliarella, and Aquilani, we’d have about 55mil in signings next summer. Which kind of precludes future signings. All of these players seem to be solid players for the current season of rebuilding, but can we create a future Juventus with these players?

Ideally, I’d take Borriello on loan…and then just not sign him next summer, unless he makes a hell of an impact. Or more ideally, rather than sign Quagliarella and Borriello, two strikers at their peak (and not real champions) we’d have kept Trezeguet, Diego, and our 30million in transfer fees…

Well, that was unpleasant.

Juventus opened our new season with a loss, the first time that happened since 1982. Did we deserve the loss? I don’t think so, Bari were better, but not massively. The game was decided by one genius strike by Bari midfielder Massimo Donati, otherwise a pretty dour game. (Side note, as a simpazzante of Bari, a giant fuck you to Donati. Guy was pretty crap all last season, and saves that for now? C’mon) I am disappointed of course, but I am not hitting the panic button yet. First, Bari is a tough team. They showed it last year, and turned the San Nicola into a fortress. Even with a better team, this is a game we’d be looking at drawing. Second, this team is new, and it needs time. Particularly some players who have been here less than a week. (Ahem, Marotta) Either way, I’d rather start low and crawl up, then defeat Roma 3-1 on the 2nd matchday and have everyone naming us for the title. This game did prove though, that despite some enthusiasm for the mercato, we’re definitely very much fighting for the Champions League this year. The Scudetto is still far off.

It’s finally happened. There were no smokescreens, no Birmingham-style transfer collapses, it happened. Ciao, Diego. We hardly knew ye.

Diego signs with the ‘Wolves’

The transfer of Brazilian playmaker Diego Ribas da Cunha to VfL Wolfsburg has been finalised. Diego signed a four year contract late on Thursday evening, binding him to the club until June 30th 2014. The midfielder returns from Juventus Turin to the Bundesliga, where he was active for Werder Bremen between 2006 and 2009.

Forget the formation he supposedly couldn’t fit into (evidently not deserving a shot at it, or a second year in Serie A), forget the fact that we’re selling him one year later for a 10million euro loss, and forget that an aging Del Piero and perhaps, a wildly inconsistent Quagliarella will be providing the assists this year. I am utterly, utterly disappointed in Delneri, Marotta, Juventus…and perhaps Andrea Agnelli as an extension. One of the most naturally gifted players in the world, and we cannot be bothered to make the effort to accommodate him, hell, we don’t even have the patience to give him another year.

The signs were there from the beginning- I made a comment in early May that “selling Diego will be a colossal mistake.” And I said that because it seemed that Marotta and Agnelli didn’t particularly care for him. Or Delneri, who at Porto in 2004 reportedly said “Diego? Great player, but will not play under me.” All that talk about him playing like Cristiano Doni or his willingness to play a 4-4-1-1, well, obviously they were full of crap. Or the comments just ONE week ago in which they denied Diego was on the way out:

“Diego will remain with Juventus,” said the Coach in his Press conference. “He has proved that he can play in this team and we are happy about that. “The transfer rumours have nothing to do with us. Will he play tomorrow? Seeing as he is a Juventus player, I don’t see why I shouldn’t use him.”

It annoys the hell out of me, but Marotta was just thoroughly out-negotiated by Wolfsburg. At the beginning of the summer, we were putting pressure on them for Dzeko, with Diego as makeweight. And those negotiations continued for some time, being off and on, off and on. And then suddenly, there was a shift. Marotta had apparently accepted that we wouldn’t be getting Dzeko, but out of nowhere Wolfsburg were in Torino, negotiating for Diego. And Marotta initially refused- after all, he started the negotiations to get a great player, not solely to sell one. Then, Marotta was rumored to have negotiated. Wolfsburg started with 16.5million, and Marotta refused, demanding 20million. Two weeks goes by, and he seemingly panics and sells him for LESS than Wolfsburg initially offered. 15.5million, straight cash. And it does not appear there are any performance-related bonuses. Marotta, I’m sorry, but you just got punked. You’re not at Sampdoria anymore, welcome to the big leagues.

Diego can’t shoot or finish, so they say….

Utterly baffling. We’re willing to accept a 10million loss on a talented player who always gave his best, but not either of the other two, far more useless Brazilians who are coming off dreadful years. I’m sure we could find a club interested in Felipe Melo for 10million. Diego’s replacement appears to be Fabio Quagliarella, a Torino youth product (which I don’t mind) but also a man who is more appreciated by Napoli for the fact that he’s a hometown boy, rather than, y’know, his performances on the pitch. Fabio is currently in Torino right now, undergoing a medical. He’s predominantly known for two things: his Playstation-style goals, and his wild inconsistency. Is he good enough to play for Juventus? I don’t think so, but one can always hope that a player struggling for Napoli will somehow improve his game when he moves to a bigger club.

I apologize for being so pessimistic, but Diego is truly a special player. He was very influential last year, and tasked with carrying a side containing dreadful strikers (Amauri in terrible form, Del Piero taking until January to score, Iaquinta permanently injured, Trezeguet injured off-and-on) and an even worse midfield, with no technical proficiency. This was predicted by me (read the comments section there…) and not surprisingly, Diego, who was announced as the coup of last summers mercato, is on the way out after only one year- a pretty poor form of treatment from our management.

In other depressing news:

#14, really?? Everyone remember who was the last person to wear that #?