OFFICIAL: Santarcangelo Are (Probably) The Worst Team In Italy

It does not matter how poor you think il Bianconeri have been this term, there is now a team who can lay claim to being officially the worst team in Italy, Santarcangelo. On Wednesday evening, Juventus played a friendly against the Serie D side, with each team allowed to make 11 changes.

The game is an annual event & this years fixture enabled Zaccheroni to get some game time into the legs of players like Legrottaglie, Iaquinta and the recently fit Martin Caceres. The coach chose to exclude Buffon, Sissoko, Diego & Trezeguet from action as they have all recently regained match sharpness after injury.

Pinsoglio: Better than Gigi, bigger than Seba...

Juventus goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio kept out every shot he faced, which probably makes the 20 year old the club leader in clean sheets, ahead of Buffon, Manninger & his Great-Grandfather, Chimenti.

But even this is only half the story as the final score in the match was 6-0. That's right, six! But wait, there is yet more shame & sorrow to be poured on the fresh wounds of the Santarcangelo players. Not only did they let in 6, Melo, Grosso & Michele Paolucci were among the scorers.

Still not convinced? OK, here comes the clincher, the final straw, the one simple fact that will show you beyond all doubt that this team of part-time players from Romanga is the worst group ever put together. Amauri scored a hat-trick! And he actually celebrated the goals too.

"Hey, I Should Play In Their League..."

No, he really did, 3 real goals. Against a real-live goal keeper. And defenders. Look, you can see them in the picture, its not photo-shopped or anything. Look at the pride & sense of achievement on his face. The relief is almost palpable. He was still Brazilian the last time he found the net....

The Wednesday Word: Agnelli!

And that truly is the word on every Juventino's lips today as it is announced that Andrea Agnelli will take over as Juventus President at the end of this season. Coming as it does towards the end of one of the worst years in recent memory for the club, it is both a timely morale boost & a clear signal of intent that this slump towards mediocrity is over.

Oh, its a man...

The very mention of the name makes Juve fans remember the success that flowed under the stewardship of Gianni, Umberto & Edoardo. Now a fourth member of the "Royal Family" has taken control hopefully a third star won't be too far behind.

One thing that is for certain is no longer will business men make the football decisions at the club. The fact that the move has been made to link the family name to Juventus almost guarantee's silverware. The brother's Elkann & Andrea himself would not tarnish the legacy built by L'Avvocato. Agnelli means success for Juve is close at hand.

It would also seemingly indicate the start of the necessary revolution has begun, & Alessio Secco's time as Sporting Director will be over by the time the World Cup kicks off. His ineptitude will no longer be tolerated.

The close relationship Agnelli enjoys with Pavel Nedved - the two play football together on a weekly basis - means the Czech Fury is also increasingly likely to return in some capacity. If he shows the same desire, determination & pride that he did as a player, then he will make a telling impact too.

"Hi, fancy a new job?"

Today's Thought: Hits, Misses and Maybe's

In this easily forgettable season for Juventus the finish line is in sight. Fourth place & the Champions League is probably now out of reach, barring a miracle the Europa League will have to suffice for another year.

Thoughts turn to summer & the drastic overhaul of the playing squad that is obviously needed. But who this season has earned the right to wear the Bianconeri stripes for another year & who shouldn't even be allowed in shops selling replicas of our colours?

Hope you kept the receipt!

With a never ending stream of rumours linking players with moves to & from Juventus here is how the squad stands right now;

P: Buffon - Club legend, must stay Manninger - Solid backup, stays unless good offer comes in Chimenti - time to retire (a year too late!)


D: Chiellini - Next Captain, must stay Legrottaglie, Grosso, Grygera - keep as back up unless better options become available Caceres - Sign him, now! De Ceglie - keep, a bright future Zebina, Cannavaro - don't let the door hit you...

CC: Marchisio - the future, simple as Melo - perhaps deserves another year, unless a great offer comes in Poulsen - proven a solid reserve Sissoko - keep, play alongside Marchisio, don't ask to pass! Diego - key choice, keep & build round or ship out Brazzo - let go Camoranesi - sell while still has value Giovinco - keep or use as leverage for a vital addition Candreva - sign, good addition

A: Amauri - bye! Trezeguet - sell to raise funds Del Piero - stay as long as you like Capitano! VI - keep

Bari On The Beach, Three Point Gift

A win, & not only that but a routine, comfortable, easy win at that. The rarest of emotions for Juve fans this season, perhaps last felt in September when Ferrara was still filling us with hope. That Bari's best scoring chance fell to Jonathan Zebina says much about the approach of the Southern team. Safe from relegation & with minds already on summer holidays they enjoyed their day in the Turin sunshine despite the scoreline.

Bari's Star Man

A two goal haul marked the return to form & fitness of Vincenzo Iaquinta who's absence has hurt the team probably more than any of the 5642 injuries suffered at various times this season. His movement, work-rate and all round effort make VI the perfect foil for the graft, guile & vision of Del Piero & Diego. Candreva & PDC also made the most of actually playing with a real striker in the second half, after the removal of the Brazilian?-Italian?-Useless?-Number 11 (see its not just the score sheet where he can't get his name!)

Claudio Marchisio was deployed in central midfield alongside Poulsen, and again proved just how much of a waste it is to play him out wide. Full of running, endeavour & a willingness to get forward his ability and potential means next seasons midfield has to be built around il Principino. Putting him at the heart of the team, with Momo to do the dirty work is an ideal combination & can provide the base which a real team can be built on.

"Hi, remember me?"

le pagelle: Buffon 7; Zebina 5, Canna 6.5, Chiellini 7, PDC 6.5; Camo 6.5, Poulsen 7, Marchisio 7; Diego 7; Amauri 2, Ale 7. (Subs) Candreva 6.5, VI 8, Brazzo NM

The full ratings can be read here

All the talk in the post-game interviews was of the chase for fourth place being far from over & the effort being put in to achieve this goal. Napoli losing meant Juve moved into sixth place & now lie 4 points away from the last Champions League spot with 3 games remaining. Del Piero & Zaccheroni did a fine job of playing down their on-field argument which saw the Captain react furiously when his number was called for a late substitution. His fury was understandable given it would be the final change & Marchisio was in the process of being stretchered off! The young midfielder also gave interviews, confirming his withdrawal was due to cramp not injury - to much relief all round.

Fourth remains a difficult prospect given the three remaining games are far from easy, but at least today the Bianconeri put in a performance that lets us enjoy this mornings papers, quite a novelty this season!

Today's Thought: Bored of Summer, In April

So there are still four games of the Serie A season left, then the Coppa Italia and Champions League Final. After that there is the small matter of the World Cup, lasting a month in South Africa.

Only then does the official FIFA and UEFA imposed transfer window open.

Yet here we are, in April, and the list of transfers both in and out of Juventus is growing daily. Pazzini, Dzeko, Zaccardo, Bonucci. That's just today's buys.

Buffon to Manchester City, or even United. €30 million or included in a deal for Vidic. Del Piero is going to New York.

The last one is genius, coming as it did just hours before a friendly between the two clubs was announced. The only thing we've sold so far is tickets.

Hope I'm not the only one fighting off a huge yawn every time one of these rumours appears?

50 Stars Invoke The Spirit

Juventus have this week revealed the names of those players who will be honoured on a "walk of fame" at their yet to be named new stadium. Since buying the old Stadio Delle Alpi the board of directors have made clear their desire to celebrate the club's heritage at the new ground, it will be the first time since 1960 that Juve have had their own stadium and the club intends to make it a true home for the Bianconeri.

A list of 50 legends has been released, and each will be featured on a star around the stadium. Sports daily Tuttosport, based in Turin, understands that the names will be grouped in era's.

John Charles, Gaetano Scirea, Michel Platini, Giampiero Boniperti and Omar Sivori have all been included, as expected. Current stars Del Piero, Buffon, Trezeguet and Camoranesi will all feature. Some have expressed surprise at Polish star Zibi Boniek's inclusion after he was only at the club for three years, but that is countered by the fact he won the Scudetto, a European Cup and Cup Winners' Cup in his three years at the club.

Roberto Boninsegna and Karl Aage Praest missed out, while Moreno Toricelli's inclusion made their absences all the more remarkable to some observers.

While the Platini's, Zidane's and Del Piero's should be expected, that is not what Juventus means to me. It is players like Toricelli, Conte, Ferrara, Tacchinardi, Montero, Di Livio and Cuccureddu who embody what is so sadly lacking in this current team. Before La Vecchio Signora can return to challenge for lo Scudetto it must be recovered. Seeing these names on the list should be the beginning of that recovery, to invoke and inspire the "Spirito Juve".

The Morning After

Ok, not only did we not win, it wasn't even close. From the minute Momo Sissoko got himself sent off Juve stood no chance against a very efficient Inter. This means our season is pretty much done, barring major slip-ups by Napoli, Sampdoria and Palermo the chance of the Champions League theme ringing out ever again at Turin's Olympico has passed.

So, we start again. This morning is reminicent of the day we gained promotion back to Serie A after our year in the purgatory of B. We have a squad containing a few dedicated, loyal and quality players, but the rest is men not good enough to wear our shirt or play at the level we want, expect and demand of our Bianconeri.

One more point to add this morning; Amauri. He became "Italian" this week, a real shame for both club and country. What we need is the quality Brazilian players we allegedly signed the past two years. Last night for Inter Lucio was a rock at the heart of the defence, Motta held the midfield with Cambiasso and Maicon, well he provided the moment of sheer brilliance to win the game. Our Brazilians meanwhile each spent 90 minutes watching the game pass them by. All three were ineffective, incompetent and invisible. Perhaps the Old Lady suffers a nut allergy...

Il Derby d'Italia: Vittoria Per Noi

Juventus enter San Siro on Friday night with their season all but over. This time, unlike recent encounters, there is no title race to win for Juve, no chance of catching their most hated rivals.

It is an encounter filled with history & histrionics; Juve's record 9-1 win against Inter's youth team in 1961, the non-penalty on Ronaldo by Mark Iuliano, the abuse of Balotelli, Del Piero free-kicks, right up to il Principino's winner last December. The rivalry burst into a real hatred following the 2006 relegation, & the bitterness grows daily with the revelations in the current trial in Naples. Inter's role in Calciopoli goes deeper as most Juventini always believed it would.

We ask nothing else of this Juventus in 2009/10, an ugly 1-0 with the winner going in off Cannavaro's ear, we don't care. Just win for us!

Wednesday Word: Top of The League(s)!!!

So, Juventus are 6th in Serie A today, and have a temporary coach in Alberto Zaccheroni who will no doubt follow Ciro Ferrara out of the doors of Vinovo at the end of the season. Both men should be disappointed at their time in charge of La Vecchia Signora, but if their careers have taken a hit, perhaps they should look up for inspiration.

No, not that up, although Friday's Derby d'Italia has Juventini around the world reaching for the rosary beads. Top of the league is where their gaze should take them, and pretty much any league will do.

Being sacked by Juventus is fast becoming the coaching badge of Champions. Currently top of Serie A? Claudio Ranieri's Roma. In France it is Didier Deschamps' Marseille, while Carlo Ancelotti is top of the EPL, four points clear. All men relieved of their duties by Juventus, all men doing far better jobs than the current regime in Turin. Food for thought indeed.

Today's Thought: "Take Your Vitamins, say your prayers!"

Links to the identity of a new Juventus coach are now like vitamins to every fan, it doesn't matter where you look, what you read, the country you live in, you simply can't escape it. You wake up, there the latest. Usually its not a fresh idea, just a re-hashed one from another days old news. Yet you still have to take it. "One-A-Day"

Rafael Benitez, Cesare Prandelli, Antonio Conte, Gian Piero Gasperini, Massimiliano Allegri, Fabio Capello, Roberto Mancini, Laurent Blanc. The list is as endless and monotonus as some of it is absurd and far-fetched. Too often I close my pink paper thinking "thats another Euro you should've kept!" It reaches a point where the idiocy of the writer is surpassed by the continued gulability of the reader. Basta!

Happy Mondays!

So finally Juve take 3 points from a game, & not only that but they keep a clean sheet too! These are things to be thankful for, even if the performance was woefully short of where it needs to be.

Here's the ratings;

Buffon 7, Zebina 5, Cannavaro 6, Chiellini 8, Grosso 4.5, Camoranesi 7, Melo 5.5, Marchisio 7, De Ceglie 6.5, Amauri 2,

Subs: Iaquinta 5.5, Poulsen 6, Giovinco 6, Salihamidzic NM


The full analysis can be seen here


Seeing Chiellini & Gigi Buffon back out there was a great boost before kick-off, as was the selection of Marchisio in his natural position. That was sadly due more to Sissoko's suspension than Zaccheroni making a good job of the team selection, as he proved with the introduction of Poulsen as a 2nd Half Sub, once again pushing our Number 8 out wide. Another plus is taking the victory while being able to protect Del Piero, who is a yellow card away from a one-game-stop. Still a side playing without conviction and invention, but at least its a Monday morning fans of La Vecchia Signora have no need to dread. The sun is that little brighter, the coffee tastes a little better...

VERGOGNA!

The banner was there this afternoon, telling the players, coaches and directors exactly what the fans thought of recent performances. Literally translated the word means "shame", but it is a strong word, used to portray precisely the level of embarrassment currently being felt by those who carry Juventus in their hearts. A poor, lacklustre 1-0 will do little to appease those feelings ahead of Friday's Derby d'Italia.

All The News Thats Fit To.....

So normally my posts are carefully considered, but this morning is different. I woke up, made the coffee, logged on to the internet and opened the papers, exactly the same thing I do every morning, quickly scanning news of politics, world events and religion, bypassing the lot and looking for the only news that really matters - anything relating to Calcio and more accurately, Juve.

What I found this morning is article after article of utter shit. Here's a few highlights (& my opinion on them);

Leonardo to quit after Berlusconi jibes? http://ping.fm

So, after just 8 months in charge, the Brazilian is going to turn his back on a club that has been his home for years? After 8 years of seeing Berlusconi hammer Ancelotti in the same manner does anyone believe he didn't expect the same? If you take the Milan job, you accept you're working for an asshole. Leonardo is an intelligent man who went in with his eyes wide open.

Careful Juve, Arsenal wants Caceres! http://bit.ly/93FOMR

Martin Caceres is on loan at Juve from Barcelona. Part of that deal includes a buy-out clause, set at €11 million, and a guaranteed first option agreement. If Juve want the player, they will get him, no matter what Arsenal offer or want.

Juve target Benzema and Gourcuff http://ping.fm/gktes

Another trequartista? One who's already had a go at Serie A & flopped (mitigating circumstances I grant you, but still!) Then one of the worlds most expensive players, after just one season??


These are right up there with selling Buffon to Manchester City, a gem that keeps cropping up. The club is in a self-imposed Press Silence. The sooner Italy's Dailies get used to the idea the better. Is it really worth wasting the column inches in the faint hope of a denial? What ever happened to the belief that silence is golden?

Rant over.

Juventus Chairman Blanc: Say Hello To The (Not So) Bad Guy

With Juventus enduring as bad a season as most fans can remember, the blame for the state of the team has been laid where it usually is by football supporters when times are hard. After blaming the coach or manager, the rage usually turns upstairs, to the business men running the club.

Ciro Ferrara, the inexperienced coach, was sacked after just four months in charge as results began to go against him. An embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Bayern Munchen eliminated Juventus from the Champions League and all but sealed his fate.

Then Alberto Zaccheroni was brought in, but after an initial improvement, results and performances are as bad as they ever were under Ferrara. Another humiliating 4-1 reverse saw the club out of Europe all together and they are struggling to get back there next season, three points away from a Champions League spot, and falling fast.

Following the Fulham defeat came the inevitable; "Blanc and Secco out" was the general viewpoint of fans tired of seeing their great club tarnished in this manner. But to give the two men in question a share of the blame is to lack understanding of their clearly defined roles at the club.

Jean-Claude Blanc is the Chairman, responsible for the day to day & long-term running of the huge business that is Juventus Football Club. During his tenure Juventus have recovered from relegation, begun building a new stadium, provided huge funds for both wages and transfers, while still being one of the only big European clubs to turn a substantial profit.

Just this week a record-breaking sponsorship deal for next seasons home shirt was announced. The business world have been quick to lavish praise on this innovative move. What Blanc is not, and has never claimed to be, is a "football man". He employs people to make those decisions for him.

Alessio Secco is the Sporting Director, responsible for the football operation, appointing coaches, signing players and transfers. He was appointed to the position in 2006 by previous Chairman Giovanni Coboli-Gigli.

Since becoming Chairman last summer, Blanc has given Secco one transfer window - last summer - to prove himself. Obviously by the winter break the errors were proven. Blanc acted, bringing back Roberto Bettega to remove much of the power and influence from Secco. Immediately issues were resolved.

Two problem players, Tiago and Cristian Molinaro were sent out on loan, and the coaching change was made. Antonio Candreva was brought in, to offer width and invention to a midfield seriously lacking both qualities. All necessary moves, all made by Bettega and all issues that could and should have been seen by the Sporting Director last summer.

Secco remains in his job, although his role has been clearly reduced. Removing him permanently mid-season would make no sense from a business point of view, as he would be paid to the seasons end anyway, and with shareholders to answer to, naming a replacement at the same time as announcing his sacking is the ideal solution.

A competent football man is needed to take control of this important summer for Juventus. To remain among the elite, many changes are needed, and a large overhaul of an under-performing squad is not a task for a beginner. Perhaps this is the main reason behind Bettega's return, to advise Blanc on who to appoint to a position he himself does not understand.

What Juventus also needs is a new figure-head, a leader, someone the fans can look to and believe in, know the future of their club is safe. A President needs to be appointed, a man who the supporters would not question, one who can invoke the spirit of Juventus that is currently missing. One of the Elkann's, heirs to the Agnelli family, or Marcello Lippi are the kind of person needed to oversee the running of the club, to have someone with the club in their heart would instill belief back into everyone.

The business is in good hands, a fact fans would do well to recognise. If everyone else did their job as well as the Chairman, Juventus would be causing concern in Barcelona and Munich rather than Atalanta and Livorno.