JUVENTUS F.C. - 2008-2009

Calidad wrote:Poulsen is a good player, though I am amazed Sevilla have let their two central midfielders go in the same season, coupled with the loss of Alves of course.

Problem is they lost both Keita and Poulsen to historically big European clubs who paid the buyout clause. So there was nothing Sevilla could really do to stop them, they wouldn't even have accepted a new contract with a higher salary. And it's a catch-22 for Sevilla, because if they didn't put small release clauses, they wouldn't be able to get the players they do.

TarunDang wrote:Somehow the management seems stuck with just one name...Alonso. I hope they don't close shop for a MF after signing Poulsen.

Another counter theory could be that with the arrival of Amauri & strike force strengthening, DP is going to drop back & play as AM protected by Poulsen & Sissoko in a rhombus midfield.

---------------sissoko-------poulsen-----------
camo------------------------------------nedved
-------------------del piero---------------------
----------amauri-------------trez---------------

DS wrote:Well we got the other deep lying midfielder even if it is a DM rather then a DLP , time to move for a AM so we can take advantage of the two DMs we have and be tactically flexible , why are we not in for VDV boggles me or even for Arda Turan the guy looked like he can play AM,CM (box to box) etc.

with 3 at the back?

doesn't seem likely.

Andrade has suffered a relapse, and will not be available next season.... now Juve badly need another top CB!

bluenine wrote:Andrade has suffered a relapse, and will not be available next season.... now Juve badly need another top CB!

fack. used to be class as well. at one point he was considered better than Carvalho. Injury has ravaged his career though

Though I hope not, but it seems like the end of Andrade's career. And now we definitely need a quality CB. We have Legro, Mellberg & Cheillini for that role but I guess we need one more top class signing as I consider Mellberg to be more of a RB though he can play as a CB when required

Its the opposite actually.

He seems to be pretty good going forward on the right...& definitely better than Zebina. Though we have Grygera in that position so probably Mellberg will end up playing in the center.

I think that we need cover for Molinaro as well. He is the only LB in the squad ever since Cheillini moved to central defense

Criscito could play there cant he ?

De Ceglie?

TarunDang wrote:He seems to be pretty good going forward on the right...& definitely better than Zebina. Though we have Grygera in that position so probably Mellberg will end up playing in the center.

I think that we need cover for Molinaro as well. He is the only LB in the squad ever since Cheillini moved to central defense

You need a top CB, the likes of Mellberg and Grygera are at best back ups.

De Ceglie is a LB, and he has been brought in as a cover for Molinaro.

Grygera is a good RB and did prove a point with some fine performances last season. He should be our regular RB this season. I think Mellberg will be a good cover in the center with Legro and Cheillini already available.
De Ceglie and Criscito are still inexperienced and at best a cover for LB.

bluenine wrote:

TarunDang wrote:He seems to be pretty good going forward on the right...& definitely better than Zebina. Though we have Grygera in that position so probably Mellberg will end up playing in the center.

I think that we need cover for Molinaro as well. He is the only LB in the squad ever since Cheillini moved to central defense

You need a top CB, the likes of Mellberg and Grygera are at best back ups.

De Ceglie is a LB, and he has been brought in as a cover for Molinaro.

And now Ranieri has declared that we will not be signing any more outfield players.

The squad at the moment:

Goalkeepers: 1) Gianluigi Buffon, 2) Emanuele Belardi

Right Backs: 1) Zdenek Grygera, 2) Jonathan Zebina

Left Backs: 1) Christian Molinaro, 2) Paolo De Ceglie

Centre Backs: 1) Giorgio Chiellini, 2) Olof Mellberg, 3) Nicola Legrottaglie, 4) Dario Knezevic, 5) Jorge Andrade

Right Midfielders: 1) Mauro Camoranesi, 2) Hasan Salihamidzic, 3) Marco Marchionni

Left Midfielders: 1) Pavel Nedved, 2) Sebastian Giovinco

Centre Midfielders: 1) Momo Sissoko, 2) Christian Poulsen, 3) Cristiano Zanetti, 4) Claudio Marchisio, 5) Albin Ekdal, 6) Tiago, 7) Sergio Almiron

Forwards: 1) Alessandro Del Piero, 2) David Trezeguet, 3) Amauri, 4) Vincenzo Iaquinta

Little understrength for me.

DS wrote:Little understrength for me.

I agree, lots of depth, but not enough strength in the starting 11 to really compete for either the scudetto or the CL.

That's a Liverpool-esque collection of central midfielders

I think the AM issue is the one that is still not addressed. So that's the glaring gap we have. LW is another area where I would have expected reinforcements but it seems like Giovinco is going to play there. Our attack is unarguably one of the best in the league at the moment
IMO the defense looks fine though it would have been superb had Andrade been declared fit.

You need a better LB than Molinaro, plus there's a general lack of creativity in the team, apart from Del Piero, but he's getting old.

Poulsen Shines As Juve Sail Past Borussia
Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Juventus

Sunday's rearranged fixture saw Juventus defeat hosts BVB with little difficulty. Amauri managed the first before Iaquinta added a second half double; only a Kruska penalty could give the hosts something to cheer about...

Juventus continued their pre-season preparations with a highly impressive 3-1 win at Westfalenstadion, with Christian Poulsen shining on his debut with a magnificent assist.

Claudio Ranieri employed a strikeforce of Amauri and David Trezeguet, while Chiellini, Camoranesi and Sissoko made their seasonal debuts.

Within five minutes Juve were ahead, as Grygera and Camoranesi linked up well, allowing Amauri to steer the ball home.

The Old Lady controlled the game and Trezeguet, Nedved and Sissoko all had attempts in the first half, with Buffon only forced into one save.

Into the second half and Ranieri immediately made wholesale changes, introducing Zebina, Legrottaglie, Knezevic (for his debut), Marchionni, Ekdal, Del Piero and Iaquinta. The former Udinese man continued his fine start to pre-season by heading home a perfect cross by Nedved on 51 minutes to make it 2-0.

Iaquinta missed a one-on-one to score his second, before he did indeed find the back of the net with the goal of the game. Poulsen, on as a substitute to make his debut, executed a brilliant 40 yard pass over the defence, and Iaquinta controlled the ball and lobbed over the keeper.

Dortmund pulled a goal back on 78 minutes through Kruska’s penalty kick, but all in all it had been an excellent victory for Juventus.

On Tuesday Juve take part in the Trofeo TIM with Inter and Milan, and next weekend they travel to London for the Emirates Cup with Real Madrid, Hamburg and hosts Arsenal.

Buffon (Chimenti), Grygera (Zebina), Mellberg (Legrottaglie), Chiellini (Knezevic), Molinaro (Salihamidzic), Camoranesi (Marchionni), Sissoko (Ekdal), Zanetti (Poulsen), Nedved (Rossi), Amauri (Del Piero), Trezeguet (Iaquinta)

Who is Ekdal? I've never heard of him.

As for Poulsen; like I said before, he is a good player, and I think he'll be a success at Juve. I imagine he's more creative than any of your other DM's, but I guess you were/are still hoping for an-out-an-out AM.

Albin Ekdal is a 18 year old rising star from Sweden & seems to have caught the attention of the Juventus scouting team. He is an attacking MF should be getting some first team experience this season.

I am really hoping for the club to sign Aquilani. Roma have still not reached agreement with the player on his contract & I think it is a great opportunity to get him.

TarunDang wrote:Albin Ekdal is a 18 year old rising star from Sweden & seems to have caught the attention of the Juventus scouting team. He is an attacking MF should be getting some first team experience this season.

I am really hoping for the club to sign Aquilani. Roma have still not reached agreement with the player on his contract & I think it is a great opportunity to get him.

Don't do this to me Tarun, I'm too young to commit suicide.

Don't even speculate about him coming to Rubentus.

HE.WILL.NEVER.PLAY.FOR.YOUR.$h!t.TEAM.IN.YOUR.$h!t.STADIUM. WEARING.YOUR.$h!t.KIT.

Rosella, Prade and Conti would rather sell Alberto to Torino for a quarter of his price than see him go to you lot.

Hey BM...I am just hoping for the best for my favorite club just like you do. And what you consider as a $h!t club is probably one of the most successful & followed clubs in the world. So I guess Aquilani would also be tempted by the prospect of playing for Juve.

I would not use the same adjectives for your favorite club as you did for mine but I sense that you have some deep-rooted hatred for Juve. I will rather enjoy it when I see Juventus beat Roma again like last season

And my friend, don't think of suicides etc.

Black Magic wrote:

TarunDang wrote:Albin Ekdal is a 18 year old rising star from Sweden & seems to have caught the attention of the Juventus scouting team. He is an attacking MF should be getting some first team experience this season.

I am really hoping for the club to sign Aquilani. Roma have still not reached agreement with the player on his contract & I think it is a great opportunity to get him.

Don't do this to me Tarun, I'm too young to commit suicide.

Don't even speculate about him coming to Rubentus.

HE.WILL.NEVER.PLAY.FOR.YOUR.$h!t.TEAM.IN.YOUR.$h!t.STADIUM. WEARING.YOUR.$h!t.KIT.

Rosella, Prade and Conti would rather sell Alberto to Torino for a quarter of his price than see him go to you lot.

Don't worry, I know how successful Juventus have been, and I've been reminded of that by some of my best friends over the last couple of years.

My post was nothing personal against you, yourself that Inter fella (I forgot his name Redten? I is that what his name was? ) Bobo and the Milan posters are wonderful, I enjoy reading your comments greatly. So anything negative that I say about your clubs has nothing to do with the posters personally. I hate Juve and Lazyo, but that couldn't be any further from the truth about what I think of you and Bobo Vieri. I know I sometimes cross the line when commenting on a said club, I can only hope that no one takes it as a personal swipe against them.




Seriously though, my heart skips a beat whenever someone links Alberto to Juventus.

It wasn't the loss to Juve as much that annoyed me, more the Iaquinta equaliser in Rome.

I enjoy reading your posts too BM. And I have not taken anything personally else I would have let you know & I don't mind the jabs at the club at all.

Let's keep a healthy rivalry going at the club level otherwise the message board will be no fun

Black Magic wrote:Don't worry, I know how successful Juventus have been, and I've been reminded of that by some of my best friends over the last couple of years.

My post was nothing personal against you, yourself that Inter fella (I forgot his name Redten? I is that what his name was? ) Bobo and the Milan posters are wonderful, I enjoy reading your comments greatly. So anything negative that I say about your clubs has nothing to do with the posters personally. I hate Juve and Lazyo, but that couldn't be any further from the truth about what I think of you and Bobo Vieri. I know I sometimes cross the line when commenting on a said club, I can only hope that no one takes it as a personal swipe against them.




Seriously though, my heart skips a beat whenever someone links Alberto to Juventus.

It wasn't the loss to Juve as much that annoyed me, more the Iaquinta equaliser in Rome.

Some of the players who have performed well & are showing good promise before the start of the season:

Iaquinta - very happy that Juve have not sold him. With him Amauri, Trez & Delps we have a very formidable attack

Amauri - hoping that he justifies his price tag & becomes our best signing this season

Poulsen - good signing. And he has shown that he can pass the ball as well. And nevermind the reputation.

Marchionni - injury free & back in action on the wings. IMO he is the answer to the Juve's creative midfielder problem. If he takes the right wing then I hope Ranieri plays Camoranesi in the center where he has shown good performances last season.

Ekdal - Looks like we have bagged another rising star. looks very promising.

Knezevic - Has put in decent performances in the central defense.

Giovinco As Good As Messi - Ballardini
Cagliari coach, Davide Ballardini, believes Juventus starlet Sebastian Giovinco is as good, if not better, than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

Giovinco returned to Juventus this summer following his loan spell at Empoli, where he took Serie A by storm.

The pint-sized playmaker has raised a number of eyebrows around Europe and Ballardini believes Giovinco is as good as Messi.

A sensational claim by the big man and many Juve fans are likely to agree with his comments.

“Juventus are the kings of the transfer market as Sebastian Giovinco drives me crazy,” Ballardini told Tuttosport.

“He has amazing qualities, he is unpredictable and he works well in the team.

“He has to be patient at the start and I believe Giovinco is Juve’s answer to Milan’s Ronaldinho.

“I saw Giovinco last year at Empoli and I may be crazy, but he is just as good as Lionel Messi.

“There is not much of a difference between the two.”

Giovinco was recently named player of the Toulon Football Festival and he is now in China, ready to take on the rest of the world in this summer’s Olympics as he leads the Azzurri assault.

Secco: Juve may buy again Saturday 2 August, 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juventus director of sport Alessio Secco hints they could be making a few more signings before the summer is out.

“As our President said, Juve’s transfer activity is pretty much closed, but we are leaving the door open just a crack,” he confessed in Tuttosport.


“At times there can be strange situations, unexpected events that give you the opportunity to make a swoop at the last moment.”


Among those rumoured to be the cherry on the Bianconeri cake is Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic, who could arrive in a straight swap for Tiago Mendes.


“I swear I know nothing about it. This story is all dreamed up by journalists.”


The fans were not happy with the midfield developments that brought in Christian Poulsen, but his pre-season friendly performances have begun to win some of them over.


“They did exactly the same thing with Momo Sissoko. He was given a frosty welcome, but now is the fans’ favourite,” continued Secco.


“Fausto Rossi has also done well this summer and he will be one of the two youth team players who will consistently train with the senior squad this season. It’s a chance to mature, experience top competitions and possibly face prestigious opponents.


“We want to follow Barcelona’s lead, as they would give Leo Messi, Dos Santos and Bojan some space at a very young age. If someone if talented at 17, why not give him the chance to shine?”


Juventus are likely to begin their Champions League adventure against Artmedia Petrzalka, who lead Finns Tampere United 3-1 from the first leg.


“It was a fortunate draw, we cannot deny it,” continued the Bianconeri director of sport.


“We all agreed that we wanted to avoid Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray. The draw went the right way for us.”

Lots of talk about RVP joining Juve. On a personal level i dislike RVP but can't question his talent. Just a shame he is made of milk and twigs.
DOnt think they should swap Gio for him though even if it does make sense from a financial position. If Gio lives up to half the hype then he could be a Juve legend and i think it suits Juve to have an Italian 10.

Completely agree LA. I don't think that the management would be foolish enough to even consider the swap. But without any swap deal if they are looking to bring in RVP to back-up Nedved then it is not a bad proposition. Personally I would still like to see VDV at Juventus. Can't understand why they are not going for him

Lordanger wrote:Lots of talk about RVP joining Juve. On a personal level i dislike RVP but can't question his talent. Just a shame he is made of milk and twigs.
DOnt think they should swap Gio for him though even if it does make sense from a financial position. If Gio lives up to half the hype then he could be a Juve legend and i think it suits Juve to have an Italian 10.