Serie A 2009/10 preview part IV (Juventus)

JUVENTUS:

For the first time since rejoining Serie A Juventus has a realistic chance of the scudetto.

But a lot of things have to go right and very things wrong.

The transfer campaign has been promising. Brazilian star playmaker Diego has joined and he instantly becomes one of the best players in the league.

One who was that last year was his compatriot Felipe Melo. Joining from Fiorentina he is a great physical talent with a smooth passing game who with his arrival potentially makes a full strenght Juventus midfield the strongest in the league.
In the back Fabio Cannavaro is back from Real Madrid. Even if he won't be great anymore (from accounts I've read he actually WAS in his debut last night) he should still be able to form one of the better partnerships around with Giorgio Chiellini.

Also brought in from Barcelona is versatile defender Martin Caceres, but it's unclear how much playing time he will recieve. Personally I would think he should get a chance to prove himself as a fullback while at the same time be a good fourth option for the central defense behind Legrottaglie.

The fullback positions is once again where a lot of Juventus fans place their worries.

On the right side Grygera can still make good contributions forward but defensively there is always a mistake just waiting to happen it seems.
Zebina also has some talent going forward but has lost some pace and is often injured. He is definitely not a number one option for a team searching for greatness. Let's just say that.

On the left we have everyone's favorite Cristian Molinaro. The good thing is that you always know what you're gonna get with Molinaro. The bad thing is that it's never really good.
He just isn't particulary talented and what he does best he does just okay, and especially against good teams he can really fall through.
Unless it's on backup salary his recent 5 year contract extension is a little strange.

His main rival for the job is young leftsided player Paolo De Ceglie.
I suppose out of desperation to see someone, anyone, else than Molinaro play, a lot of Juventus fans really wants De Ceglie to succeed.
I think certainly forward he has a lot more potential than Molinaro but as a defender and even technically, like his passing skills, he still has some ways to go before being a starter on a top team.
His stamina, at least when in a 4-4-2 last year where he had to cover large distances also seemed lacking.

In the first game yesterday Ferrara actualy went with versatile veteran Salihamidzic there. Not exactly a vote of confidence.

So there is no doubt the fullbacks are a weakness. The question is just how much influence they'll have in new coach Ciro Ferrara's more flexible systems compared to Ranieri's 4-4-2 where fullbacks played quite a significant role providing in width.
Certainly in Ferrara's recent 4-3-1-2 a key challenge is defending the flanks and that alone could mean seeing less of the fullbacks going forward.
That then raises the question of the attacking width.

Three of the four striker options all have their main strenghts in the penalty area, so taking out crossing would not seem logical.

On the left undoubtedly the most talented performer is the "atomic ant" Sebastian Giovinco.
Very small in stature he is one of the most exciting attacking talents in the world. Few are faster with the ball at their feet and his low center of gravity makes him quite a nightmare to deal with.
On top of that he has dynamite in his boots resulting in great crosses and explosive shots on goal.
But where to play him?
It's hard to see him on a three-man midfield having to do a lot of two-way play and of course Diego occupy the attacking midfielder spot behind the strikers.

One option would be two defensive midfielders + Diego and then a three forward line up front where Giovinco theoretically could take a place on either side.

Another option would simply be the role I'm sure we'll see Del Piero play a lot. Alongside one of the big strikers and mainly operating from the left, still with Diego behind.
I think Del Piero still has a lot to offer from there. In and around the penalty area from where he can really make use of his magic right foot, but I really hope whenever he isn't a 100 percent, and at his age that's far from all the time, that Giovinco will be the one replacing him most of the time.
If he can be first choice backup for both Diego and Del Piero, and Alex won't automatically still play when he is 80 percent or whatever, then maybe just maybe, there is a chance he'll get the games his talent definitely deserves.

On the right side there are even less options and if fullbacks are going to participate anywhere I guess it's there.
Of midfielders, there really only is Camoranesi to provide any quality width from there and in some ways he is facing the same obstacles Giovinco is on the left.
They're different though and unlike Giovinco it's not that hard to imagine Camoranesi, if in top condition, take a right-central midfielder spot on a three man midfield.

No the real strength of this team looks to be central: Diego with great passing and dribbling ability.
Melo's secure passing and strong tackling and then young Italian midfielder Marchisio, something of everything. With an upside.

Then there is also perhaps the best Juventus player last season
Mohamed Sissoko. While still not a good passer, he has supreme physical tools that makes him a really good two-way player. Whether it's crushing tackles while doing defensive work or being an immovable object while making Patrik Vieira style powerful runs forward.
He has had some injury problems recently but if you're into powerful physical midfield displays, watching him and Melo eventually playing together on the Juventus midfield should be great to watch.

Christian Poulsen, despite attempts to force him out is also still with the team.
He's been one of the better defensive midfielders in Europe for teams such as Schalke and especially Sevilla. And last season he really wasn't any worse. And certainly not as bad as popular opinion will have you believe, but on a club with lofty ambitions used to always winning but just not good enough to do so yet again, he was seen as such.
Personally I like the depth that Poulsen provides. And even if Cristiano Zanetti did a lot of good for Juve in what were tough times, Poulsen is the younger and stronger. Health is a skill too.

Up front Amauri and Iaquinta have quite a lot in common. Including at this point being better strikers than David Trezeguet (for more on that see my "more football entry" on the Berlusconi Tropy game) but how much I like seeing them both play together at the same time with Diego, I'm not really sure.
I think I prefer one of Del Piero/Giovinco getting playing time in a second-striker role together with just one of them, instead of seeing them both kind of do the same things.
Like hinted earlier I'm not sure there is enough crossing for both of them either, and there will also be situations where it's one of them placed out wide providing width, when that would be so much better if it's Alex or Giovinco.
I think Amauri is the better of the two but Iaquinta has turned into a good striker himself and should get games too of course.

I also think all of Del Piero, Giovinco and Amauri are better at complementing, what will be so new on this team, the quality passing down the middle from the Brazilians, Melo and of course first and foremost playmaker Diego.

Who by the way has a frequently updated youtube-channel!

Worth watching: Giorgio Chiellini: In his prime right now, he has all it takes to cement his status as the best current Italian defender.
When it comes to defending he really does everything well, but in my eyes "just" has to take one final mature step away from Materazzi-like reckless, sometimes dirty, tendencies and into great defender territory.
It will be interesting to watch if he will do that this year.

Serie A 2009/10 preview part II

Btw I've added a "worth watching player" for every team in part I.

Still in alphabetical order:

CHIEVO:

The flying donkeys are still around. People in Verona still prefer... Well Verona, and captain Sergio Pellisser is still the best player.

Coach Di Carlo or maybe rather the club apparently have ambitions of securing Euro League play for the club.
If so, then some of the many draws from last season has to be converted into wins. Only Lecce drew more games, and staying clear once again of relegation looks to be the much more pressing matter, for a team who on paper at least doesn't look very impressive, than any time soon conquering Europe.

Worth watching: Nicolas Frey: The brother of star goalkeeper Sebastian has become a solid defender.

FIORENTINA:

For Fiorentina the goal is once again the top 4 and despite losing Melo to Juventus they still have what it takes to mount a serious challenge to repeat that.

Despite last season, maybe for the first time during his reign, coach Prandelli came under some fire, thankfully no one really panicked and one of the world's best coaches is still at the helm.
Prandelli seems to always make the right tactical adjustments both before and during games and has his team working hard at all times.
He has the players to play both a conventional 4-4-2 as well as more flexible systems like 4-2-3-1.
One worry for both of these systems is if there will enough defensive quality in midfield now that Melo is gone.
There is no doubt there is plenty of skill with the likes of Montolivio, Jovetic, Mutu, Santana, Vargas and Marchionni behind Gilardino up front, so even with that being very good too, it's not exactly Melo's passing that will be missed, BUT defensively, players like Christiano Zanetti and Kuzmanovic needs to have good seasons.
Montelivio and/or Jovetic improving physically would definitely also help fill the void.

For the back-four, veteran central defender Cesare Natali has been brought in for more depth, something needed with (hopefully) Champions League play coming up, and he will battle solid Per Krøldrup and experienced Dainelli for the right to play alongside World Cup aspirant Gamberini.

Always an x-factor is skilled danish veteran Martin Jørgensen who has turned into something of a utility man with flair for all the wide positions. Not just the attacking ones these days but the fullback roles too.

Worth watching: Alberto Gilardino: He is still not the greatest technician but without the ball he makes some of the best runs between defenders of anyone, making him a very dangerous striker.
He just has a gift of awesome timing when it comes to that and it inevitably results in a lot of good scoring chances.
At Fiorentina behind him he has plenty of people who can pass him the ball and with his old Parma buddy Marchionni joining the team, another player who can cross it too.
With World Cup places at stake he should have another excellent season.

GENOA:

Finishing 5th with same points total as Fiorentina, Genoa barely missed Champions League qualification.
Led by former Juventus head of youth, dare I say coaching genius, Gian Piero Gasperini, Genoa were excellent throughout winning many fans with their style of play.
They play, a these days very rare 3-4-3, which is based on just about everyone contributing to both sides of play.
It can be said that on more than most teams, when watching Genoa there is a lot of two-way play to admire, from a lot of different players. Everywhere from the attacking positions to the defensive ones.

Two years ago when they lost top scorer Marco Boriello to AC Milan they managed to replace him with something even better.
Genoa hero Diego Milito was brought back from Spain and with his skill and speed in and around the penalty area he was the perfect fit for Genoa's quick passing game.
Now he is gone too and is finally getting a chance at a really big club and repeating what they did with Boriello and find even better replacements seems impossible.

However there is no doubt that Genoa is a great team to be the main striker on and whether one in the group gets to become the clear number one option or if the goals will be more spread, everyone of the replacements is good enough to score a nice number of goals for an attacking team as good as this.
Figueora is back from loan at Boca Juniors and can play as a wide forward as well.
Floccari signed from Atlanta and has some of the same qualities of Milito.
Crespo is more of a gamble and I wonder if he still has the movement needed to be really effective in this system, but even that is something that can be adjusted for and Gasperini as always will have everyone complementing eachother's strenghts very well.
Another player who has moved on who was a great succes last season is Thiago Motta.
Motta who had seen much of his promising career ruined by injuries was a real gamble but he stayed healthy and was one of the best midfielders in Serie A.
That they likely won't have anymore but they've still bought very well I think.
Zapater is a rare Spanish player in Serie A. He is 24 but has loads of experience already and from what I've seen is a complete player.
Houssine Kharja who was probably Siena's best player last season has also been bought.
Add them to already in place proven veterans Marco Rossi and Ivan Juric and you have a solid midfield group with plenty of options.

Defensively Genoa also lost a key player last season. Matteo Ferrari wasn't getting any younger but he was someone with a lot of experience and who was comfortable in three man defensive systems.
Luckily though Genoa have some great defensive talent at their club.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos has an impossible name but is recognized as the most promising greek defender.
He actually goes under the nickname "The greek Tony Adams" believe it or not.
He should be even more comfortable in the system this year and has all the qualities to be a good defender for many years to come.
Alongside him is perhaps Italy's most talented defender, Salvatore Bocchetti
He is someone who has drawn comparisons to the young Fabio Cannavaro.
Like Cannavaro he isn't tall or overly strong but outplays defenders through expert timing, superiour athleticism, great tackling ability and classic italian old school defensive instincts belying his young age.

Another permanent fixture last season was Domenice Criscito. He is another young talented player. Someone who on a personal note I definitely wish was still at Juventus. Who in this system can play both as a defender in the three-back line and as the left-wingback.
He is a very complete player who at this point I wouldn't say necessarily is excellent at anything but good at everything with no real weaknesses.
To help him out some this year is another very good addition, because he is such a good fit, signed from Valencia, Emiliano Moretti.
He has the potential to play the very demanding left-wingback position meaning Criscito could play in the back or it could simply be vice versa with Moretti in the backline.

Finally Genoa even managed to upgrade their goalkeeper position by bringing in (read:stealing) Italy number 2 Marco Amelia in a swap deal with Palermo, sending Genoa's Brazilian keeper Rubinho the other way.

Teams this year will now know for certain that Genoa are for real and increasingly try to adjust and create I suspect mainly counter attacking scemes, but it's easier said than done. Unlike Roma when things aren't working optimally there, there is just so much good two-way play on this team that they're hard to outplay, in either end.

Worth watching: Rodrigo Palacio: Tagging along with Figueora from Boca Juniors, Palacio is yet another in a seemingly endless line of great attacking talent coming from Argentina.
He is a bit older and likely without the upside of compatriots Ezequiel Lavezzi and Mauro Zarate who have become Serie A stars, but I suspect by the end of the season Palacio will have joined them when it comes to that kind of recognition.

He will occupy mostly the right forward spot and with his very good technique coupled with a good workrate, creativity and pace, he should be one of Genoa's best players this season and probably the most important when it comes to re-creating the goals gone with Milito.

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Well I have about half the teams still to go, so turns out there will indeed be a part 3 and it probably won't be finished until after the games tomorrow, sadly enough!
Speaking of tomorrow, even more sadly, I have a birthday to attend and therefore will definitely miss, maybe all of the games live!

BOO!!!

More (much more) football

Three matches I want to talk about.

The Manchester City-Blackburn game that I watched at the weekend and forgot about in the last entry.

A very entertaining Berlusconi Cup game between Juventus and AC Milan yesterday.

And finally the Champions League qualifier that finished a few hours ago between Celtic and Arsenal.

How much will be about the actual games and how much will be about the individual teams only time will tell...

Blackburn - Manchester City:

As everyone knows Manchester City have become filthy rich and have been more than happy to hand out tons of cash to secure (mainly attacking) talent.
Ignoring what came in last season this season alone in has come players such as Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Kolo Toure.
All to certain degrees world class players and they join what on paper was already a strong squad.
The overwhelming question is of course if Mark Hughes with all that talent can create a world class team so strong it can challenge the traditional dominating top four.

Personally I think they already underachieved quite a bit last season and this year with these players dramatic improvement is simply a must and I think there can be no excuse not to finish in the top 5.
Villa, Everton and Tottenham mainly, have good squads too but when it comes to world class talent and depth thanks to their enormous spending Manchester City have pulled away and is now up there with the four strongest teams.
When it comes to players. But what about the manager?

Mark Hughes has recived quite a bit of credit over the years. First as Wales manager with his team often performing gallantly and later what was seen as generally overachieving when in charge of Blackburn.
It was rather limited how much I saw those teams play and even more limited how much I actually remember...
But my general impression was one of a team rarely well organized and sometimes with a rather misguided game plan. For what its worth, limited sample size, bad memory and all, it was just one of those teams that sometimes didn't look all that well coached when looking at them, mainly without the ball.

For Manchester City the picture has been similar. Very up and down and Hughes record of 26 wins, 8 draws and 24 defeats so far, is far from impressive.

To be honest I'm not totally sure what system Hughes was playing against Blackburn and its pointless to get caught up in the numbers too much anyway since they change around so much.
The backline was obviously four people and they played very well I thought.
Then Barry and Ireland (out of need in a more defensive role) as central midfielders, and depending on where Wright Phillips, Robinho and Bellamy were located the system was either 4-4-2 or 4-3-3ish.
I actually think Bellamy and Wright Phillips did an admirable job working extremely hard both ways but they aren't exactly great defensive players and Robinho's usual lack of workrate prevented what was probably meant to be a 4-4-2 when defending sticking together and being effective, basically giving Blackburn very favorable conditions to almost at will move the ball to the final third of the pitch, where thankfully for City, both the defense and Shay Given played very well preventing goals.
Hughes putting Wright Phillips and especially Robinho on the wings of a 4-4-2 just will not work longterm and better attacking, more ball secure teams than Blackburn will likely pick it apart.

What should give City hope is the signing of Tevez who outside of Wayne Rooney could be the best two-way forward in the world. He is the kind of player who with his work-rate can complement the likes of Robinho and Adebayor so they can concentrate on what they're actually very good at. Attacking!
Meanwhile someone like Tevez will get it done both ways.

But in a 4-4-2?
A three forward line of Tevez - Adebayor - Robinho would seem more logical and get the best of out those players. Robinho is almost wasted as a wing in a 4-4-2. All Robinho should be asked to do in a game is to attack, to create, and further behind someone like Ireland is also much better with two more defensive midfielders. Gareth Barry being one. Nigel De Jong probably the other.
As well as they actually played yesterday, Bellamy and Wright Phillips with this competition are very good depth players getting games here and there. Starting either over someone like Tevez is a disaster.

Forward of course City looked very good. They can give any team problems with their pace and excellent skill up front and Adebayor, if Santa Cruz at some point doesn't come back and seriously challenge his starting spot, should have a monster season.

But this was a flattering score line I thought. Blackburn had the more chances. Way more shots and a midfield actually consisting of more than two players!
Individually though with everyone playing relatively well the quality gap was large enough in City's favour in order for them to secure a win.
As a team they and Hughes still has some way to go though I think, but put Tevez in a 4-3-3 with Adebayor and Robinho and I think we have a serious top 4 challenger!


AC Milan vs Juventus

For the glorious Berlusconi Cup:
Glorified friendly anyone?

But this was actually a really good game I thought with both teams competing hard seemingly with something to prove.

One very positive thing was seeing Alessandro Nesta finally back and looking pretty solid too.
It's very likely he won't remain consistently healthy but all the credit in the world to him for coming back after one injury nightmare after another.
Back when he was healthy he was the best defender that I ever saw. Simply an immense player.
Even as a Juventus fan I felt my heart stop a little every time he, and he didn't seem to hold back at all, went into hard tackles. Stay healthy Alessandro!

Another player who also did this was of course Gattuso who looked much better than in the Confederations Cup and almost got into a fight with new Juventus signing Felipe Melo.
Melo himself saw the red card plenty last season and I definitely expect fireworks from these two when they cross swords later this season in Serie A.
Melo I hope will be a monster. He is a great physical talent with very smooth passing skills.
For Gattuso everything will be about his health. If not 100 percent fit he really isn't good enough at the highest level anymore. Flamini for an example is definitely better at this point. Lets see if the Milan hierachy will finally be broken under new coach Leonardo or if Flamini is still behind veterans Ambrosini and Gattuso in the pecking order.

Other than the new coach the biggest questionmark for Milan this season is of course Ronaldinho. In this game it was basically the usual from the last couple of years with perhaps a better workrate though. At least in this game. I'm not totally sure. But in spurts he did look good.

One interesting thing though is that he wasn't playing his old role or the role previously occupied by Kaka at Milan.
Pato actually did this and was much more of a forward in this game bordering on attacking midfielder involved in buildup, than being a pure striker. He still made some great speedy runs though. Really he was kind of an everywhere man.
To a lesser extent the same was the case with new signing Huntelaar. He was seen a lot of other places than in the box, working really hard.
Personally I think Pato can be great in that role. His talent has no limit almost but to put Huntelaar out of his element like this just to accommodate a Ronaldinho not at his best anymore and not good enough to play the role he used to, having other people to do that, just so he maybe can be effective around the penalty area, WHERE probably the likes of Huntelaar and Pato would be more effective anyway.
It seems when Ronaldiho plays this is what they will do. The question then of course is how much he will play? We shall see.

Finally on Milan and their players, I also thought new Brazilian defender Thiago Silva looked good and a definite upgrade over the likes of the unreliable Kaladze and the ancient Giuseppe Favalli.

Juventus I could probably go on and on about but will try to restrain myself and just concentrate on what I saw in this game.

First of all David Trezeguet sadly looks just about done to me. The last many many times I've seen him play there has been very little productivity and close to zero value for his team and yesterday was no exception.
I can't rule out him finding form again here and there but in this new Ciro Ferrara three-forward line I absolutely hate him playing a vital part. The unrealistic exception being if the other two parts were to be Giovinco and Del Piero.

When it's with Amauri or Iaquinta I just hate what he does to their game and forces them away from where they are best, just so Trezeguet with his non existant workrate can be where he frankly isn't that great anymore and definitely not as good as the alternatives.
Even, if possible, moreso than before he has become strictly a penalty area player and when he isn't even effective there I'm not sure there is room for that in what is supposed to be a flexible 4-3-1-2, or similar, system.
Another challenge for this system looks to be width where Milan for good parts of the game had the edge. When neither Del Piero or Giovinco plays where is attack from the left side gonna come from?
Molinaro is ordinary personified and De Ceglie still has some way to go in my eyes. Then there is the matter of defending the flanks where the midfield really has to find the right constellation in order to not become too stretched out. At least against good teams.
Against a lot of teams however I think most of the likely midfield formations will control games well enough for any width weakpoints not to be a deciding factor. Not least thanks to additions Melo and the excellent Diego.
A Sissoko, Melo and Marchisio/Camoranesi midfield with Diego in front of them looks very elite and I also think, despite some people's opinion, that Christian Poulsen can go in and contribute positively there over a long season.

The game itself was very back and forth with chances for both sides finishing 1-1 with Milan winning THE BERLUSCONI TROPHY on penalties.

Celtic - Arsenal

This was game two (competitively at least) of Arsenal's new 4-3-3 and while things didn't work out perfectly like at the weekend there were still some positives.

Mainly the midfield play where especially Song looked strong and fully capable of fulfilling his role there satisfactory.
Denilson was less eye catching but defensively this was one of the best games I've seen him in. His positioning was really good compared to in the past where it's been way below par.

One positive in a negative was that it was never really from any established Celtic attack that Arsenal found trouble defensively but only from poor decision making resulting in ball losses when in possession. And that's something that actually was below par from Arsenal today. Arsharvin was even more of a shadow of himself than in the weekend and just looked lost at times, while both Van Persie and Bendtner were quite a bit below the level they showed at the weekend.
In the other end Vermaelen looked extremely impressive and already looks like a great signing.
Celtic as expected fought hard but as local analyst here, Martin Laursen brought up, passing it around too much in their own half at times, especially after halftime, didn't do anyone any favours except Arsenal who could quite easily anticipate and at times even intercept.
Celtic should probably have tried skipping that ball movement, played much more direct and made the match even more into a physical battle.
Easier said than done of course and now with a 2-0 to overcome it's extremely difficult to see them having any chance of going through.

My goal is to have the next entry be some kind of Serie A preview before the weekend.

I will also be watching the Athletics World Championship on and off, as well as of course the Tennis from Cincinnati.