A few weeks ago, when it became official, we said our goodbyes to Trezegol, one of the best strikers to ever play football. Today, he said farewell to us.

“I will always be a Juventus fan,” Trezeguet told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Actually, the day in which Juve win the Scudetto, I will go to Turin and ask the Agnellis to create a shirt with the third star. And I will be the first to wear it. The two titles they took away from us were a sensational injustice. I think that. Those who love Juve think that. But I am convinced that some of the Inter players who I have spoken to also think that. Go and look back at the footage of those seasons. Go and look back at our goals. There weren’t any tricks. The only trick is that we were the strongest.

“The most beautiful victory in my 10 years in bianconero was the promotion from Serie B to Serie A. A fantastic life experience. The fans considered us heroes, because we chose to stay. [Sorta, but we'll give you a pass on this one!] We felt love, encouragement. And around us, we saw the kids who now are great players. I think of Chiellini, and of Marchisio. If someone thought they could kill Juventus by throwing us into Serie B, then they are completely wrong. That experience has only made the Juventus world bigger.

“The latest Juve starts again from zero. It’s a courageous decision. But you need courage to tell the Juventus fans that it will take a little time to get back to being the team to beat. As a friend of Juventus, I think that it would be wonderful to get back in the Champions League and focus on the Europa League this season. It would be a season worth 10 out of 10. The Scudetto is down to Inter and Milan. But let’s get back to my Juve. It’s wonderful to see Andrea Agnelli as President. I grew up under the legend of the Avvocato. When he came to the pitch we were all in awe. It was as if he had won 10 World Cups, 10 Champions Leagues and 10 Scudetti. Andrea must recreate the same magic with the youngsters.”

One word for him: Legend.

Look how his teammates celebrated that goal, Melo jumping up and down, Chiellini, Buffon, and Legro running up from defense…his teammates loved Trezeguet. Just as we do. All the best, Trez. See you at the stadio soon.

I have to admit when I woke up this morning and saw this, I almost passed out:

MILANO, 8 settebre – «Kakà all’Inter? E’ una bella idea». Così il presidente dell’Inter, Massimo Moratti, sull’indiscrezione del Corriere dello Sport – Stadio relativa all’ipotesi dell’acquisto dell’ex milanista Kakà da parte dei nerazzurri a gennaio. «L’ho letto questa mattina sui giornali -ha detto Moratti-, è una bella idea, ma non è venuta a noi».

If you can’t read Italian it basically says Moratti doesn’t mind the idea of having Kaka come to Inter…then came Fester’s response…

Galliani non si ferma più “Vorrei Balotelli rossonero” L’a.d. del Milan: “Abbiamo fatto ottimi affari con Raiola, di Mario non abbiamo parlato ma non nascondo che un giorno mi piacerebbe vederlo in maglia rossonera. La risposta dei tifosi dimostra che è tornato l’entusiasmo, ora sarà Allegri a decidere se giocare con due, tre, quattro punte”

Again sorry if you can’t read Italian, but it seems like Fester has gotten rather chummy with Zlatan’s agent, Raiola, a guy who actually is considered a fool and an idiot in footballing circles, and because of this we have an inside track to Mario Balotelli. More alarming is the last sentence claiming Allegri needs to decides if you he plays two three of four strikers…here we go…

OK, so if you are like me at this point you are scratching your head. If you tend to err on the side of fanboyism then you are giddy with excitement, but please, hold your excitment. Not but 8 weeks ago the idea being preached at Milanello was fiscal responsbility and the goal of positioning Milan for a bright and self sufficient future. Where did that all go and what have we done in the process!?

Getting in bed with Raiola was not really the best move in the business, yes his stable of two players, Balotelli and Zlatan, is impressive, but his negotiation tactics and loud mouth make him more of an nuissance than an asset. He also has a way of making sure his players are paid exorbitant wages, which I will discuss further in a second. It is all well and good if Milan have a fast track to Balotelli but do we really want to add the terrible tantrum throwing Italian to the mix of already emotionally challenged egos on this team?? As it stands we are already on a slippery slope of making sure players have ample playing time and “feel wanted.” Isn’t that precarious chemistry dangerous enough as it is?

Now to delve into the utter lack of fiscal responsibility at Milan this summer. Yes it is an election year, and it is actually far more prudent for Silvio to spend money on Milan and lock in the tifosi votes, then to spend it on campaign advertising. Typical campaign advertising costs in Italy are upwards of 100-200 Million Euros, buying Zlatan and Robinho cost far less. So most tifosi are convinced, and old Silvio gets a few million votes in return, smart business. But what happens long term? With the purchase of Zlatan and Robinho, Milan now have the highest wages in Serie A, a dubious honor, especially if you don’t win anything. Not to mention that Zlatan, Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Pato, Flamini and Robinho make up some of Serie A’s highest paid players. How can this be sustained, and why suddenly the turn in spending if only a few months ago we were dead broke!? If you haven’t noticed I don’t like being lied to…

As Milan take the field on Saturday against Cessena, consider this. Zlatan makes more money himself, around 9M Euros (Net), then the entire payroll of Cessena. Steven Appiah, former Ghana Captain and International player, will line up opposite Milan Saturday earning a paltry 150K Euros!! How is that for some perspective? Now I can’t fault a player for exorbitant wages, the foolishness rests with the Club that pays them, but now that Milan is top of the spending list, it means this winning some this season becomes all the more important, or breaking the bank and our future will be all for naught.

Credit to Johonna at the Inter Offside for the link

In addition to being a cheaper (in more than just salary) and far younger team, this team has gotten significantly taller in the mercato. Most of the like-for-like substitutions have been a direct upgrade- Giovinco for Martinez, Camoranesi for Krasic, Diego for Quagliarella, Cannavaro for Bonucci, etc. In fact, of our signings, only 3 are shorter than 6 feet (about 1.85m) and they are all only an inch or two off. From the post on Delneri’s vision for Juventus:

There are two things that a tactical 4-4-2 side can do, and certainly did under Ranieri and Capello, that Delneri will aim for [...] The second is a strength at scoring, and defending against set pieces. During Capello and Ranieri’s era, the tactical discipline meant we took advantage of many set pieces, at the same time it is hard to think of many we conceded

I’m a bit surprised to see Inter so low, but they have definitely shifted their game since the Mancini days. In 06-08, they were the tallest team in the league and exploited that well, scoring plenty up top. They were tall enough that they played a strange zone defense on defending set pieces. I don’t think it’s a coincidence Marotta signed a tall team. It might end up ugly, but after last year, I’ll take anything that gets us a W on the ‘ole chalkboard!

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 Berlusconi delivered Allegri two shiny new toys at the close of the transfer window, the hot topic across Milan tifosi has simply been, can Max play them all? So far this has generally divided the tifosi into two camps, the first being of course he has to play them all, and the second being much more rational and logical stating that it would be impossible. We haven’t even factored in old senile Berlusconi’s choice, which will most certainly be something to the effect of, “Allegri is a great tactical mastermind, and while he knows only a bit less than I do, any great tactician, such as myself, can see that playing all four of our great champions is the only way for Milan to move forward!” Senile…CHECK.

All in favor…

Initial reaction of any fan should be that playing all four of those offensive minded player is suicide. To provide balance you would require not one, but two Rino Gattuso’s circa 2005-2007. Now if you consider a 4-2-3-1 as the viable formation this may actually work, but having Dinho and Robino in the wide positions of the offensive line would almost require that the LB and RB stay pinned back and render Pirlo a man without a place because Allegri would have to turn to two solely defensive minded midfielders to play in front of the defense.

Now before you say, oh that would work. Let’s take a closer look. If Allegri chooses Ambrosini and Flamini/KPB, it would require either of those two players to provide consistent high percentage passes to the attacking group of four. Because neither is an elite passer of the ball it would actually force our attackers to drop a bit deeper to receive and give our opponents a bit of breathing room in their defensive third. So much of the success against Lecce in week one was predicated on Milan’s ability to keep the field compact in the opponents half, so losing that would be foolish. It also leaves the team highly exposed against a team that likes to play a horizontal possession game. Can you imagine Ambro and Flamini chasing pass and after pass in the midfield against Barcelona!? It would be like watching men against boys, while we had four players waiting statically for our team to win possession, it is not conducive to the high pressure high tempo game Allegri proved this team was organized and capable of in their first match.

All against…

The key to a successful team is depth. With a crowded fixture list and potential for injury it is imperative that the team has players capable to step in and fill key roles while others are hurt or rested Last season the team struggled when Pato was injured, and even more so with the loss of Nesta, losing close games and being embarrassed in others. This season while midfield depth has not been addressed, there seems to a bit a bit more strength on the bench with Sokratis, Yepes in the back and now Robinho in the attack. The versatility of a guy like Robinho means he can play on either flank in the pseudo 4-3-3, with Pippo able to spell Zlatan in games where the big man may need a be rest. With a smart rotation of those five players up top there is no excuse for a drop in pace or tempo of any player. Ronaldinho/Pato is struggling or dogging it in a match, have a seat, Robinho in, it is that simple and now the same goes for everyone in the attack!

Historically strong Milan teams have always had strong benches and while this is not the strongest, it is better than it was just a few weeks ago. With the additions we can now seriously consider compete on two fronts, scudetto and the CL, if not three with our youngsters in the Coppa Italia. The added depth also pushes players to their limits in training, stay motivated, and allows Allegri to have the choice of who is the strongest man for the match. This is very good, in fact, much better than forcing a mix of players that may not prove the most efficient route to a result.

So while it may not be the best option to play all four players, it certainly doesn’t mean it will be impossible to get them all on the pitch. If the 75th minute comes and we are down in a match, there is no reason we can’t chase a goal with all four attackers flying at the opponents’ defense. Maybe Pirlo gets injured or needs a break and Seedorf is not effective deep, so Allegri morphs into a 4-2-3-1. These are all versatile options that make a team both dynamic and difficult to plan against because they have the ability to evolve with a simple substitution.

As a coach, I have a strong admiration for Jose Mourinho, simply because of his tactical awareness and ability to plan for his opponents. There is no better manager on the planet for putting his players in a position to earn a result, with that said I think he may actually be scared of our very own AC Milan. How does a master mind like Jose prepare Real Madrid for AC Milan now? Does he prepare for a 4-3-3, if so Allegri can mix it up and change the shape or tactic, something Leo didn’t have the luxury to do with a lack of players or even the tactical know-how as a rookie coach. Leo’s idea of solving a problem, throw more attackers at it! Things just a got bit more interesting for us and in the process a bit more challenging for our opponents! So let’s not go crazy, especially Mr. Berlusconi, by throwing caution to the wind an attacking like mad men, when keeping “a card up our sleeves” may actually be the ticket to some silverware this season.

I am delighted to announce the creation of the Juventus Offside podcast, possibly the first podcast in the English-language to focus on Juventus, and one of the few discussing Serie A in general. I’m joined by Serie A veterans Adam Digby and Marco Pantanella. In this first episode, we discuss the mercato, the defeat to Bari, and the Vinovo/injury situation. We’ll be generally making them Sunday afternoons/evenings after the game, to recap and discuss the week ahead. At some point, we’ll be getting it on iTunes but for now I’ll be posting episodes on here and over at our (perhaps temporary) free hosting site, and their RSS feed is located here.

(Download/listen here on ZShare)
(Download on MediaFire)

Criticism is always welcome, whether here in the comments section or you can email us at juveshow [at] gmail (dot) com. We’re looking for feedback, thoughts, suggestions, anything, including a new name for the podcast. We’ll be putting it as a separate podcast, whoever suggests the winning idea will get a free plug from us and a big thank you. We’ll also be soliciting questions and thoughts for debate (again, email us at juveshow [at] gmail (dot) com), and in the future, may feature some additional hosts/guests via Skype call-in.

Hope you all enjoy it, and let us know what’s on your mind.

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!!!