Over the next week and a half, here at the Juventus Offside we will be profiling Juventini, their characteristics, and what role they play for their national team. It might not be the most useful for regular readers or general Juventus fans, but I think we Juventini are most apt, perhaps, to describe the quality of these players as we watch them week-in, week-out. We’ve done Italy players Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio, and Vincenzo Iaquinta. Brazil enigma Felipe Melo, Martin Caceres of Uruguay, Hans Christian Anderson Christian Poulsen of Denmark, today we profile future Juventus and Italy captain and defensive stalwart, Giorgio Chiellini.

Birthplace: Pisa, Italy (yes, the Pisa) though he grew up playing for Pisa’s local rivals, Livorno.

Nickname: Keyser Giorgio (coined by Marco P.), Giorgio of the Jungle (coined by Nnahoj), Tarzan, Chiello, the Schnoz

National Team: Italy, where over at the World Cup Blog, Julian and Paul keep you up-to-date on Azzurri news. (Sister site to The Offside for national teams)

Personality: Chiellini is not exactly your typical young superstar calciatore. Thanks to a Twitter Chat he conducted (translated on the Juve Offside here), we learned quite a bit about him. First, neat that he is so willing to chat with his fans. Despite being a millionaire athlete, he still attends school and is currently about finished with his equivalent of a US Bachelors, and then plans to work on his Masters. His girlfriend is a childhood friend of his from Livorno, and he doesn’t really go out clubbing or anything, just downtown for some dinner. This is pretty apparent in his off-field personality, he’s a pretty quiet intelligent player.

On the field, however, he is a warrior, and a true leader. He’s not afraid of conflict, battles hard, and doesn’t shy from tough tackles or provocations. Chiellini has gained quite a reputation of a hardman, which is kind of funny that off the field he is such a quiet person. A very hard-working player, not a prima donna, and one who battles for his team.

Present and future captain of Juventus (Giorgio will be captain after Gianluigi Buffon)

Estimated Market Value: €25 million.

Preferred Foot: Left.

Media Status: Famous. Giorgio’s rise to fame really came in 2007-2008, the year Juventus returned from Serie B when he was shifted to a center-back having previously been a left-back. He was a colossus, winning the 2007-2008 Serie A Defender of the Year award, as well as winning it the next year in 2008-2009. His first major tournament with Italy was Euro 2008, which began poorly as he accidentally knocked Fabio Cannavaro out of the tournament. After the disaster that was the 3-0 drubbing to the Netherlands at the hands of Barzagli-Materazzi, Italy coach Roberto Donadoni opted for Panucci-Chiellini in the center, and they would concede 1 goal in 3 games against Romania, France, and Spain. (The one goal was a horrific backpass from Zambrotta) Against Spain, Giorgio was a one-man tackling machine and won Man-of-the-Match awards. This was followed by an excellent season the next year, including powerhouse displays against Real Madrid in the Champion’s League. He’s now widely regarded as one of the top 3 defenders in Italy, and probably one of the top 3 in Europe and the world.

Silverware:
With Juventus: Serie B 2006-2007

Strengths: Giorgio Chiellini is a prototype Italian hardman center-back. Unbeatable in the air, fast on the ground, and brilliant in his slide-tackling, Chiellini is very well rounded. He’s very different than Fabio Cannavaro, who largely plays off of an excellent reading of the game. Chiellini is a much taller traditional center-back, an excellent man-marker, and as mentioned, is no slouch when it comes to pace. In the build-up to the 2009 Confederation’s Cup, it was found in the Italy squad that Chiellini was the fastest sprinter. He’s well known for his excellent slide tackles that often level an opponent, playing tough is part of Giorgio’s game. Yet this doesn’t really weigh on him physically- Chiellini has one of the best injury records at Juventus, which is no small thing. His most serious injury the last 2 years or so has kept him out a maximum of 3 weeks or so.

Weaknesses: Chiellini is one of the best defenders in Italy, Europe, and the world right now, so he doesn’t have a whole lot of weaknesses. He does enjoy going forward and joining the attack, he is an excellent goal threat primarily in the air. Generally, he is not caught out of position on this, though it of course does occasionally happen. One thing that could improve is Chiellini’s distribution, he is certainly no defender who builds up play, but that’s not really his job. He’s not quite as good as Cannavaro in reading the game, but he makes up for it with excellent last-ditch tackling. Occasionally, he does make a rash challenge, but that’s to be expected for a player who is so prolific with the slide tackle.

After scoring in the local derby against Torino in the 82nd minute, the game finished 1-0.

Status on Club Team: Building block for the future. Along with Gianluigi Buffon and Claudio Marchisio, Giorgio Chiellini has been one of the most reliable and consistent performers for Juventus the last few seasons, and it’s no surprise that the three have been named as the backbone on which Juventus will rebuild.

2009-2010 Club Season: Juventus were dreadful this season, but Chiellini wasn’t. Abandoned all too often by consistently dreadful wingbacks and an indifferent Fabio Cannavaro, Chiellini is one of the main reasons the season wasn’t any worse. Our defense leaked an unprecedented (for Juventus) amount of goals, but I can’t really think of one that Chiellini was directly responsible for.
Status in National Team: Starter, and probably future captain. Chiellini got first call-up to the national team in 2004 at age 20 (throwaway game against Finland) but didn’t really get regular call-ups until 2007-2008, he was never really in consideration for the 2006 World Cup. I called that Chiellini should be a starter at Euro2008, but it took a 3-0 humiliation for Donadoni to draft him in. Ever since, he has been an undisputed starter and star for the national team, and it’s not an exaggeration to say he very likely could be starting in the next two World Cups as well.

An unlikely duo in 2007-2008 considering Chiellini was a raw left-back and Legrottaglie was on his way to Turkey, but ended up being the best partnership in Serie A from 2007-2009, until Cannavaro came along and ruined it. As Chiellini said, “He [Legrottaglie] helped me a lot, to teach me specific movements when I started as a center-back, we can play now with eyes closed.” (except Ferrara was choosing Cannavaro over Legrottaglie)

Expected Performance for National Team: Hero. Italy’s defense can be a bit on the slow side, with Zambrotta and Cannavaro still starting, but Chiellini is fast. A lot of question marks have been made about these defenders, so expect Chiellini to be bailing them out and in crucial games, have a brilliant performance. He’s never disappointed for the Azzurri thus far. Euro 2008 was sort of his “coming out on the European scene” party, this World Cup could be the time when the whole world sees him as one of the best.
Random Fact: Giorgio Chiellini’s best friend at Juventus is fellow quiet left-back Paolo De Ceglie, who is his roommate on away trips. (Find more interesting facts about Chiellini at his Twitter Chat)

Another random fact is that Chiellini scored 4 goals this season, 1 less than our wasteful Brazilian forward Amauri.

In one word: Colossus.

Send ‘em flying, Giorgio!

YouTube Comp with Questionable Music:

YouTube Comp of Chiellini’s first huge game, Juventus-Inter, November 2007)

Marked the shit out of Ibrahimovic.

YouTube Comp Without Terribly Questionable Music:

World Cup Player Profiles and Other Links:
#1- Gianluigi Buffon
#2- Claudio Marchisio
#3- Felipe Melo
#4- Martin Caceres
#5- Fabio Cannavaro
#6- Vincenzo Iaquinta
#7- Mauro Camoranesi
#8- Christian Poulsen
#9- Giorgio Chiellini

And if you liked this article…
Check out the 2010 Transfer Target Player Profiles
Follow the Juventus Offside on Facebook
Follow the Juventus Offside on Twitter
Juventus Offside Email and RSS Feed

Over the next week and a half, here at the Juventus Offside we will be profiling Juventini, their characteristics, and what role they play for their national team. It might not be the most useful for regular readers or general Juventus fans, but I think we Juventini are most apt, perhaps, to describe the quality of these players as we watch them week-in, week-out. We’ve done Italy players Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio, and Vincenzo Iaquinta, Brazil enigma Felipe Melo, and Martin Caceres of Uruguay. Today, we profile Christian Poulsen of Denmark, no doubt a model professional but one who has never really hit his peak at Juve.

Birthplace: Asnæs, Denmark, a small village about an hour and a half outside of Copenhagen

National Team: Denmark. Over at the Denmark World Cup Blog, Cerberus does an excellent job constantly updating the blog with Denmark news. (Sister site to The Offside for national teams)

Personality: This is a curious section. Before arriving in Italy, due to confrontations with Totti, Gattuso, and Kaka, Poulsen had a reputation of a hardman, a rugby-tackling defensive midfielder who provoked other players. The reputation I thought was kind of an irritating dirty player, similar to a Gattuso role in position and personality. Couldn’t be farther from the truth, he has never really lost his temper on the pitch, never got into a confrontation, and all in all, been a relatively well-behaved player. Perhaps too well behaved, as sometimes I wished he would get a little angry and make reckless tackles.

He’s a great professional, though he’s not the type of person to show emotion even if he is playing hard. Last summer Ciro Ferrara tried to push him out, Poulsen rejected transfers, yet trained hard and acted very professionally. He didn’t take it personally, Ferrara could count on him whenever he needed. A model professional.

Preferred Foot: Right footed.

Estimated Market Value: €7.5million.

Media Status: Well known continentally, though not terribly famous. Poulsen has a relatively quiet persona, plays in a quiet position, and thus, doesn’t really enjoy a whole lot of celebrity. Within Italy he was well known for the confrontations with Gattuso, Kaka, and Totti, and having played successfully in the Champions League with Schalke and Sevilla, a relatively well known European player.

Silverware:
With Copenhagen: 2000-01 Danish Superliga,
With Schalke: 2005 DFB Ligapokal
With Sevilla: 2006 European Super Cup, 2006-07 UEFA Cup, 2007 Spanish Cup
Individually: 2001 Danish under-21 Player of the Year,
Danish Player of the Year: 2005, 2006

Strengths: Poulsen was (incorrectly) signed by Juventus as the alternative to Xabi Alonso, and is clearly not a playmaker, more of a defensive midfielder. Despite this, he is a relatively well-rounded central midfielder. He is strong in the tackle and can position himself well, and has an eye for a decent pass once in a while, though he is no regista. Good endurance and rarely caught out of position.

Weaknesses: The strengths/weaknesses sections are kind of tough to do, because he is a completely different player between club and country. At Juventus, his chief weakness is he’s never really imposed himself on matches. He’s always had “decent” performances, but rarely any “great” ones. It’s curious, as several Spanish friends told me when Juventus signed him that he was one of the best Liga players and midfielders in the two seasons he spent at Sevilla, and this is a league with Xavi. So for Juventus, that’s pretty much it. Otherwise, he’s a pretty well-rounded defensive midfielder.

Status on Club Team: Rotation player. Poulsen wasn’t exactly welcomed to Juventus in the most ideal ways, the management spent much of the summer looking at Xabi Alonso and the deal scuppered over a few million euro, Poulsen was brought in as an alternative. From the start, the fans held up banners saying, “Congratulations, you’ve bought another rubbish player” which can’t be terribly confidence-inspiring. Nonetheless, Poulsen has been a great professional and worked hard in training and offered to play when needed. Last year he was very much on the periphery of the squad, but has improved since.

2009-2010 Club Season: Poulsen actually had a bit of a step-up from last season, which didn’t really happen for most players as Juventus delved into a hellish season. Last year, he was on the outside of the squad, playing very rarely in a 4-4-2, behind Marchisio, Sissoko, even Tiago. This season his performances improved a bit, and with Felipe Melo self-destructing, he got a few chances and played well. His play was simple yet effective, he shielded the backline well and made few mistakes. Despite trying to be booted out last summer, it appears he did well enough to earn another year at Juventus.

Status in National Team: Important first teamer. Christian Poulsen is always one of the first names on the Danish player list, he’s been a fundamental player for them since his debut in 2001 at age 21, making 75 appearances. In the qualifying for the World Cup, he played 882 out of 900 minutes possible.

Expected Performance for National Team: Denmark isn’t looking too great to progress, after the “other Poulsen’s” unfortuante own-goal, but it’s still doable. Poulsen plays better for Denmark than he does Juventus, and he’s one of the very important players for the national team.

Random Fact: Poulsen was selected by coach Claudio Ranieri because Xabi Alonso was “too slow.” Also, apparently Poulsen goes by the secret identity of Samson from the Bible.

In one word: Quietlyeffective. (It’s one word if there’s no space)
YouTube Comp with Questionable Music:

YouTube Comp Without Questionable Music:

World Cup Player Profiles and Other Links:
#1- Gianluigi Buffon
#2- Claudio Marchisio
#3- Felipe Melo
#4- Martin Caceres
#5- Fabio Cannavaro
#6- Vincenzo Iaquinta
#7- Mauro Camoranesi
#8- Christian Poulsen
#9- Giorgio Chiellini

And if you liked this article…
Check out the 2010 Transfer Target Player Profiles
Follow the Juventus Offside on Facebook
Follow the Juventus Offside on Twitter
Juventus Offside Email and RSS Feed

Buffon, Marchisio, Iaquinta, Camoranesi, Criscito, make us proud.

Pepe, Cannavaro, don’t fuck up.

Forza Mister Lippi.

Over the next week and a half, here at the Juventus Offside we will be profiling Juventini, their characteristics, and what role they play for their national team. It might not be the most useful for regular readers or general Juventus fans, but I think we Juventini are most apt, perhaps, to describe the quality of these players as we watch them week-in, week-out. We’ve done Italy players Gianluigi Buffon and Claudio Marchisio, Brazil enigma Felipe Melo, and Martin Caceres of Uruguay. Today, we profile Juve diehard Vincenzo Iaquinta, who never gives less than 100%.

Iaquinta greeting Camoranesi on his first day of Juventus training back in summer 2007

Birthplace: Cutro, Italy, in the Province of Reggio Calabria, though at a young age his parents migrated to Emilia Romagna for work, coincidentally to the town that Carlo Ancelotti is from.

Nickname: The Calabrian Cannon, Vincenzone, apparently also Jack, although I’ve never heard this.

National Team: Italy, where over at the World Cup Blog, Julian and Paul keep you up-to-date on Azzurri news. (Sister site to The Offside for national teams)

Personality: Hard worker. His personality is largely what got him into this World Cup squad, as he had a very disrupted club season. Vincenzo is very much a team player, he never complains about being played as a substitute or being played out of position, this is seen for example when Amauri replaced him, he frequently went to celebrate his goals (back when Amauri scored goals) with Iaquinta. In addition to his team player status, he is an extremely hard worker. Vincenzo runs his socks off every game, running onto loose balls and keeping the other teams defense honest. His positional flexibility and hard work are proof of his sacrificial nature.

Preferred Foot: Right-footed.

Media Status: Well known. Iaquinta has been one of Italy’s better strikers for some time now, and while he’s never really been considered one of the best or a guaranteed starter for Italy, he’s always been an important substitute. Outside of Italy, he’s somewhat known, he occasionally gets linked with squads like Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, or some English Premier League teams.

Silverware:
With Italy: FIFA World Cup 2006

Unfortunately, he’s spent far too much time injured.

Strengths: Iaquinta is a strong, powerful, versatile striker. At 1.91m (6′3″) he has a considerable amount of height and is strong in the air, yet at the same time is very fast, considering his stature. His pace allows him to play as a winger, though it is definitely not his ideal situation. He can play as a target man, or as more of a supporting striker, though he is not particularly creative. Powerful shot, strong in the air, a very rounded striker.

Weaknesses: As far as his playing characteristics, there are only a few. He is occasionally wasteful in front of goal, and while he is a very rounded striker, he doesn’t have the best of first touches or dribbling skills. Unfortunately, over the last few years Iaquinta has been plagued with injuries, this year he was out for over 100 days with a meniscus problem. We saw last spring, when given some continuity and free of injury problems, Iaquinta was one of the most in-form strikers in Serie A for 6 months or so, however every season he has been set back from injury. It makes one wonder what kind of striker he perhaps could have been if he wasn’t constantly injured.

Iaquinta scoring against Ghana on a mistake from Kuffour

Then again, look at the “numero” Toni did to Ghana. If he can “salta un uomo…”

Status on Club Team: Important substitute- Iaquinta has varied in and out of the starting XI during his career, but generally has remained as an impact substitute. There has been constant rumors that other teams are interested in him, and indeed in most teams he would be a lock to start, but Iaquinta has rejected all of them to stay at Juventus, earning himself the status of fan favorites. He bleeds bianconero, as famously shown when he personally wrote a letter to VecchiaSignora.com confirming he would stay at Juventus. With Trezeguet and Amauri potentially leaving this summer, Iaquinta may see more playing time in the future, but it probably depends on his injury status.

2009-2010 Club Season: The last season was one to forget for Iaquinta, as he was out injured with a meniscus injury for over 3 months. He started brightly, scoring goals against Chievo, Livorno, Genoa, etc, until the knee injury occurred. Originally, he was supposed to be back in 45 days, but it more than doubled as he incurred more and more setbacks. He returned at the end of the season and scored a goal or two, but looked very rusty and wasteful in front of goal.

Will we see this again in South Africa?

Status in National Team: Substitute. A year ago, Iaquinta was in tremendous form and played most of the Confederations Cup, but a year of injury and the emergence of Pazzini means he probably won’t start, although his versatility as a winger in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 might push him for the starting nod.

Expected Performance for National Team: It of course depends on how much he plays, but don’t expect him to pull a Paolo Rossi this World Cup. He’s never exactly found his fit with the National Team, 5 goals in 37 games isn’t tremendous for a striker, though he has often been used out of position or as a substitute. He scored once last World Cup, against Ghana in the group stages, and I wouldn’t put it past him to bag one this year, though I’d advise against putting money on him to win the Golden Boot.

Random Fact: After winning the 2006 World Cup, Iaquinta got a tattoo on his forearm that says World Champion.

In one word: Sacrificial.

YouTube Comp with semi-Questionable Music:

YouTube Comp Without Questionable Music:

Iaquinta’s goals in 2009

World Cup Player Profiles and Other Links:
#1- Gianluigi Buffon
#2- Claudio Marchisio
#3- Felipe Melo
#4- Martin Caceres
#5- Fabio Cannavaro
#6- Vincenzo Iaquinta
#7- Mauro Camoranesi
#8- Christian Poulsen
#9- Giorgio Chiellini

And if you liked this article…
Check out the 2010 Transfer Target Player Profiles
Follow the Juventus Offside on Facebook
Follow the Juventus Offside on Twitter
Juventus Offside Email and RSS Feed

Over the next week and a half, here at the Juventus Offside we will be profiling Juventini, their characteristics, and what role they play for their national team. It might not be the most useful for regular readers or general Juventus fans, but I think we Juventini are most apt, perhaps, to describe the quality of these players as we watch them week-in, week-out. We’ve done Italy players Gianluigi Buffon and Claudio Marchisio, Brazil enigma Felipe Melo, and Martin Caceres of Uruguay. Today is “il Capitano” (of the Nazionale at least), Mr. Fabio Cannavaro.

Birthplace: Naples, Italy

Nickname: Canna, il muro di Berlino (the Berlin Wall)

National Team: Italy, where over at the World Cup Blog, Julian and Paul keep you up-to-date on Azzurri news. (Sister site to The Offside for national teams)

Personality: Fabio Cannavaro is the definition of leader. Since Maldini’s retirement in 2002, he has been the captain of the Nazionale. I am not a fan of him due to his Juventus history, but he is one of the most likable people in Italy.

What am I going to do against pacy attackers??

Preferred Foot: Right-footed

Media Status: World-famous. Fabio Cannavaro is one of the most well-known defenders of his generation, thus far the only defender to have won the Ballon d’Or. Cannavaro has been playing at the highest level for almost a decade and a half, and has been the captain of Italy since Paolo Maldini retired internationally after the 2002 World Cup. He is also the most capped Italy player of all time. For a defender, it is impossible to be more famous.

Silverware:
With Parma: Coppa Italia of 1999, 2002, Supercoppa Italia 1999, UEFA Cup 1999
With Juventus: Serie A 2004-2005, 2005-2006
With Real Madrid: La Liga 2006-2007, 2007-2008
With Italy: 2006 FIFA World Cup
Individually: 2006 Ballon d’Or, 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, 2006 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball Award, Serie A Footballer of the Year 2006, Italian Footballer of the Year 2006, Serie A Defender of the Year 2005, 2006, Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament, FIFA 2006 World Cup Team of the Tournament

Something for the female readers out there.

Strengths: Cannavaro doesn’t look ideal for a central defender, he is only 1.75meters tall. (5′7″) Nevertheless, Cannavaro has built his career on excellent positioning and his sheer desire allowing him to compete against taller, stronger defenders. His leadership is another key attribute, as he inspires the players around him. Typically excellent as a stopper, as a last ditch tackler.

Weaknesses: Cannavaro’s weakness is simple- he’s too old. At age 36, he has lost much of his pace and 3 years in Spain seem have dulled his defending prowess as well. I don’t think he should be starting for Italy, but I don’t think he’s the weakest point either. He’s vulnerable to pacey players, and his defending has definitely dulled in the last few years.

Status on Club Team: Gone. After a very incredibly mediocre season with Juventus, the club decided not to extend his contract and Cannavaro has signed a lucrative contract with Dubai FC.

2009-2010 Club Season: Subpar. The wrong choice from day one, he was too old, and had a poor past with Juventus. He started out brightly, and many of us thought he had shaken the rust of 3 years at Real Madrid, but as Juve’s season spiraled downwards, so did Fabio’s. For much of the season, Legrottaglie was indeed better and under Ferrara and Zaccheroni, was chosen to start ahead of him, before the pressure from up high came down. His worst moment was the Fulham game, as the only center-back available for Juventus, he got sent off early in the game, making Zebina-Grygera our center-back partnership. Towards the end of the season his performances picked up again, and it seemed that he was merely putting on a good performance all season when Lippi was paying attention.

Status in National Team: Undeserved starter. He’s starting because he’s the national team captain and the most experienced, but he’s been poor since the World Cup ended, 3 shit years at Real Madrid and another one at Juventus.

Expected Performance for National Team: Average. I think given that he cares about the Azzurri, he’ll play much better than his history at Juventus, but the real truth is he’s been on the decline for years now. I don’t think he’ll be a very weak point, but he won’t be a protagonist either.

Random Fact: Cannavaro wanted to finish his career in Naples, but was snubbed the last two summers by De Laurentiis at Napoli. His brother plays at Napoli and many, including this writer, think he deserved to go to the World Cup this summer.

In one word: Veteran.

YouTube Comp with Questionable Music:

World Cup Player Profiles and Other Links:

#1- Gianluigi Buffon
#2- Claudio Marchisio
#3- Felipe Melo
#4- Martin Caceres
#5- Fabio Cannavaro
#6- Vincenzo Iaquinta
#7- Mauro Camoranesi
#8- Christian Poulsen
#9- Giorgio Chiellini

And if you liked this article…
Check out the 2010 Transfer Target Player Profiles
Follow the Juventus Offside on Facebook
Follow the Juventus Offside on Twitter
Juventus Offside Email and RSS Feed

Over the next week and a half, here at the Juventus Offside we will be profiling Juventini, their characteristics, and what role they play for their national team. It might not be the most useful for regular readers or general Juventus fans, but I think we Juventini are most apt, perhaps, to describe the quality of these players as we watch them week-in, week-out. We’ve done Italy players Gianluigi Buffon and Claudio Marchisio, as well as Brazil enigma Felipe Melo. Today, we profile Martin Caceres, the young Uruguayan defender owned by Barcelona who showed far more heart in a few months than defenders who had been here for 7 years.

Birthplace: Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay

National Team: Uruguay, alongside Serie A star Fernando Muslera of Lazio, as well as 2-time Golden Boot winner Diego Forlan. Lugo keeps you up to date on Uruguay National Team news over at the Uruguay World Cup Blog.

Personality: Juventus has had a decent history of Uruguayan players, unlike the recent influx of Brazilians. There have been some important role players, like Zalayeta and Montero, and some flops like Fabian O’Neill. Naturally, as an Uruguayan defender, Caceres was immediately compared to the great Paolo Montero, the fiery Uruguayan known as much for his defensive prowess as much as his anger and poor disciplinary record. Caceres didn’t seem like he had the temper Montero did, and he doesn’t. However, he did win over Juventus fans with his Montero-style grit and determination. In a year when Juventus was floundering and looking weak, one could always count on Caceres to play his heart out for the club. As a young player, he is occasionally rash to poor tackles, but that is natural. He is a relatively calm player, one who doesn’t seem to cause any problems within the squad, and one who gives him all. His personality is one that every club would like in their young players, a player full of spirit and grinta who dedicates himself to the team.

In the Derby d’Italia against Inter, Sulley Muntari yanked Caceres hair. Martin didn’t just take it.

Preferred Foot: Right foot. While he played center-back in Spain and often with Uruguay, at Juventus he has almost exclusively been used as a right-back.

Media Status: Moderately well known in Italy, and the same in Spain. He’s status is probably that of a “talented young player with moderate experience.” Made his senior team debut in 2006-2007 back in Uruguay, signed by Villarreal the following summer. He was immediately sent on loan to Recreativo, he made his name there and was then signed for a significant 16.5million euros at age 21 by Barcelona. He endured a mediocre season there, despite the silverware, as Guardiola preferred Yaya Toure to him as a center-back in the Champions League final. This summer, he came to Juventus on loan. Despite his young age, he has shown plenty of talent and played for some big clubs, and already locked up a spot as a starter for his national team.

Silverware:
With Barcelona- La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and Champions League, all in 2008-2009.

Excellent Champions League tackle from Caceres.

Strengths: Caceres is a very rugged player, that is to say despite his very thin frame, he tackles strong and hard. In his first month or so in Italy, he was often caught out of position but has significantly refined his positioning since. Defensively, he is rough around the edges, but generally a good defender, against Inter he was named Man-of-the-Match due to his battling defensive display. As mentioned in the personality section, he plays with a lot of grit and steel, which is a major positive to his defensive abilities, he works hard and never gives up. Offensively, he has decent crossing and dribbling abilities. He does well to get forward in support of the attack, and has plenty of endurance and pace to be effective up top as well as back in defense.

A “not-so-good” Champions League tackle from Caceres

Weaknesses: Caceres is a very promising young player who not only offers a great future, but a solid enough present as well. It is expected that all his skills will grow as he progresses. The only real weakness Caceres has is his inexperience and his consequential “rough-around-the-edges defending.” He is a defender that is strong in the slide challenge (unlike his opposite Paolo De Ceglie, a young Italian wingback who rarely slidetackles), and as such, he occasionally mistimes it, leading towards penalties or dead ball situations close to goal. This happened in the critical Champions League match against Bayern Munich, at home Juventus went up 1-0 through Trezeguet, needing only a draw to progress. Caceres had a mistimed challenge in the box conceding a penalty, and Juventus capitulated at home 1-4. It would be wrong to pin the heavy defeat on Caceres as Juventus looked plenty likely to concede before, but it was obviously a significant setback. The only other note I’d say regarding his weakness is like Italy international Domenico Criscito, I’m not sure he has the physical stature to play center-back in Italy. In La Liga he certainly could, it’s a bit less rough-and-tumble than Serie A.

Status on Club Team: To define this, you’d have tto first define what his club team is, as he is on loan from Barcelona and it appears Juventus will try and negotiate down his buyout price. For these posts, I’m working on their past season at Juventus, so it would “young player challenging for a first team spot.” Due to the inadequacy of the other right-backs, Jonathan Zebina and Zdenek Grygera, Caceres quickly locked up a first-team spot at Juve. Unfortunately, a few injuries and a serious hernia kept him out for most of the Spring, though he recovered to be available for the last two Juventus games. I believe most Juventini want Caceres to stay, and as Barcelona has no need for him, it’s possible, though Barcelona wants 11mil for him.

2009-2010 Club Season: Caceres arrived at Juventus on loan, Barca didn’t want him anymore and Ciro Ferrara was unsatisfied with his set list of fullbacks. (he later went out and signed Fabio Grosso) He was often compared to Paolo Montero, though it appeared he was going to play more as a right-back than as a center-back. Caceres had a relatively successful club season, aside from the injury turmoil that plagued him in the Spring. He quickly displaced Jonathan Zebina and Zdenek Grygera as the preferred right-back, and in the incredibly disappointing season that it was, he was one of the few bright lights. Caceres is not a world-class defender yet, he makes position and defensive mistakes from time-to-time, but Juventini saw the potential for a world-class player. Given that he was thrown into a tumultuous club and moved from a relatively offensive league to a tactical, defensive one, I think most Juventus and neutrals approved of his performance.

Status in National Team: Important cog. He made his debut at age 20, in September 2007. Though Caceres isn’t one of the superstars of the Uruguayan national team, he has won himself one a starting shirt, as he played most of the qualifiers he was healthy for. The blemish on qualifying for Uruguay was Caceres getting sent off against Argentina for a relatively stupid handball, which allowed Argentina to beat Uruguay and claim an automatic berth.

Caceres signing autographs for some lucky young Uruguayans

Expected Performance for National Team: Between Caceres mistake against Argentina and his mistake against Bayern, one could say he makes errors in high profile games. That’d be a harsh judgement, as one of his best performances came in the Derby D’Italia. I think Caceres will be one that you hear little about in South Africa, and for a defender, that’s not a bad thing. I doubt he’ll be scoring screamers like Maicon, but I don’t expect him to be committing any major errors. One thing to note is that he is coming off a very injury-plagued 4 months or so, in which he only played one or two games.

Random Fact: With his first club Defensor in Uruguay, Martin Caceres played not just as a fullback, or a centerback, but also in central midfield.

In one word: Grinta.

YouTube Comp with (the definition of) Questionable Music:

Nice dribbling, doesn’t give up, then a perfect cross

World Cup Player Profiles and Other Links:
#1- Gianluigi Buffon
#2- Claudio Marchisio
#3- Felipe Melo
#4- Martin Caceres
#5- Fabio Cannavaro
#6- Vincenzo Iaquinta
#7- Mauro Camoranesi
#8- Christian Poulsen
#9- Giorgio Chiellini

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Marching up the hill for portraits.

Photo portraits are serious business.

Buffon attempts to maintain his seriousness.

Training, however, is not serious business for Superman.

Buffon- “Did Pepe just really attempt another backheel?”

Buffon running with his flock.

Excited about Dubai.

Wait….did I just seriously sign up for Middle Eastern football?

Oh well! Hand gestures are the universal language!

Camo ambles into the team portrait.

If there is a pothead on this team, it is most definitely Camo.

When uninjured, Camo is magic.

Even when Iaquinta is telling him dirty jokes.

Iaquinta showed up to training camp with his tennis gear.

And thus was forced to stretch in front of the Yodel police.

Eventually, Lippi gave him a jersey and he got to take a portrait photo.

Giorgio is a badass.

Except when given Panini stickers of himself.

The training diet has given the players some incredible gas.

Iceman.

Rino looks a little pudgy.

Taking some shots on goal.

Criscito is disgusted by Marchisio’s inability to tie a tie. Marchisio is enjoying every minute of it.

Had to add this picture. The caption on DayLife to this photo was- “TURIN, ITALY – MAY 29: Italy head coach Marcello Lippi with your wife Simonetta and your daughter Stefania (R) during the Italy Training Session on May 29, 2010 in Sestriere near Turin, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

Andrea Agnelli and his pal Pavel Nedved decided to visit the Azzurri training camp

Zambrotta- “So what have you been up to the last 4 years…”

Andrea Agnelli and Cannavaro exchange “pleasantries”

Finally, a real Juventino comes over to say hello to Nedved+Agnelli

But Nedved hasn’t just been busy hanging with his family, playing golf with Camoranesi and Del Piero, playing 5-a-side with Andrea Agnelli and visiting the Azzurri, he also had time…….for a half MARATHON, in Prague.

The man is insane.