Tevez/Llorente are having the same issues as the forwards last year. They are asked to: 1. Bring down the ball and hold it up as the rest of the team transitions from defense to offense. 2. Play provider for other players in the attacking third. 3. Be the most creative elements on this team in the offensive short passing game. 4. Score goals. Aside from the first Copenhagen match where they had an abundance of chances (Tevez, not Llorente as he came on as a late sub), Juve didn't really create many quality scoring opportunities. They scored a total of 9 goals, but 4 from PKs. Even last year in the CL, they were more efficient finishers than proficient chance creators. Against Bayern they didn't look likely to score more than a goal or maybe two before settling for none. In Italy, Juve are able to territorially dominate most matches as other teams outside of the top quarter of the table will decide to bunker and counter. This gives them the advantage of being able to play most of the game in the other team's half, as the CBs play closer to the halfway line instead of just outside their own penalty box. Look at Tevez's goals in Serie A. Most are inside the box due to other players providing him the final pass. Now think about where he picks up the ball most of the time during the CL. They are further away from the opposing goal more in position to create than actually finish off plays. The difference being is that in a league format where smaller teams are happy to collect a point vs the top of the table, in the CL most teams want to win while imposing their style of play. This reduces the amount of time Juve have in the attacking third, forces Juve to defense on the edge of their box more often than they are accustomed to, isolates the two forwards more often, and forces Juve to play on the counterattack which they have shown not to be particularly good at aside from the Lazio Copa game. In thinking about the goals they have allowed this season, they have rarely been a product of being caught on the counter. They either came from atrocious mental errors or very poor defending inside their own penalty area. Copenhagen - Two goals allowed due to balls bouncing in their own box due to missed clearances off corners/set pieces. Galatasaray - 1 goal due to mental error, 2 goals which were nearly identical where the 3 CBs were isolated defending 3 attackers inside the penalty area. WBs and CMs caught up the field. Real Madrid - 1 goal from a PK, 1 from a mental error, 2 goals while group defending inside the box. They are a great team when able to impose their style on others, but in the CL that will only happen in spurts.
Did you watch the game? Did you see where the ball stopped rolling? No where near the goal, it was in the midfield. They hoofed it down field, Drogba headed it to Sneijder who continued to run with the ball. If anything it's the defenders fault for not clearing the ball then the 2 defenders who were on Sneijder, one of whom let the ball go through his legs.
im talkin about various incidents, not just yesterday. sure our defense is to blame for most goals but also the midfield is responsible not to put them under pressure. thats a lot to ask from chiellini or bonucci on a shit field like that to be able to play perfectly. truth is Pogba needs to just do his job and stop the extra stuff. yes we love seeing it but its not necessary. in any case, im not putting all blame on Pogba, we had mistakes this season from many levels...im just addressing that one point u made about him and he's not perfect, he has some blame too.
We're overanalyzing yesterday's game. It was horrendous conditions. I'm not sure they would have been able to beat us under normal conditions. Where we went wrong was failing to capitalize before...and that is attributable to the multiple issues this squad still has. We've discussed that at length.
Adz77 Adam Digby6h The @FENERBAHCE TV Channel yesterday discussed Galatasaray pitch against Juventus, saying their stadium was fine.
To be fair, they had an extra day to let the snow melt on it's own. They didn't need to plow the field.
http://www.tuttosport.com/calcio/ch...ronia+del+Fenerbahce:+«Nostro+campo+regolare» Wednesday, December 11
Yes, Fenerbache's stadium was fine Wednesday as well. Thad nobody playing on it the night before when it was hailing and snowing. Not to mention their heating system worked, Galatasaray's "broke" that day. Things could have looks different had they been playing Tuesday night.
I'd rather play on a hockey field than in that stadium, owned by these bribing cvnts. They are still mad because of the 2-years ban from European football.
in the end i think it just wasnt meant for us this year. we got off on the wrong foot and it never went our way. The hail was just another indication that it wasnt meant for us. The gala last min tie...the madrid red card on chiellini...the wrong passes that lead to goals.... and our last game which is decisive...Out of no where the night we play the weather gets abnormal and after it is sunny. sometimes its just not meant to be, we have been spoiled and want to succeed without going thru heartache.
In six games, many strange things can happen. In a 38 game season, there is ample time for these factors to balance out giving fans enough information to judge the team by. In terms of the CL, if Juve are able to participate annually, they will get their run of fortunate occurrences. At the end of it, only one team wins the competition. Everyone else is left to analyse their season in total in order to judge how far they are from being perennial contenders. Juve aren't too far from making that next step despite what happen this year. Bayern were far superior to Juve last year. This year Juve were slightly below Madrid overall, but on par with them for long spells over the two legs. That is improvement in a sense. What I worry is that this set back will cause ownership to support this team less when they are on the cusp of reaching that next level. If management continues to support this team by improving the roster, if Conte and the players evolve, I'm confident that in the years to come they will make that leap in class. As a fan, if those things occur then when Juve finally do reach the top again it will feel that much better after experiencing this year's elimination. It is still all to play for. If Juve can win Serie A, get to the finals of the EL, upgrade the roster by bringing in 2-3 quality pieces while keeping the current foundation together, then this will set them up nicely next year for a CL run. Now all we can do is wait and see how Juventus respond as an organization. Does this elimination spur them on or will we see this elimination as the beginning of this cycle's end? Juve aren't all that young.
8 Fact Football @8Fact_Footballl12 Dec UCL: Attack: RM with 20 goal Defense: CFC, MU, AM Points: RM,AM with 16 Poss. : Barca Shots: Juventus Assists: Di Maria Top scorer: CR7
Thats my worry too. We've come too far to just stop and rebuild. We finally have a decent team and like u said we could've easily been one of the elite....if conte just played it better. i feel like with our players a good coach would've had us playing much better. But another reallity is there arent that many great coaches out there right now anyway. So to drop conte for someone else is foolish and theres no need to sell our top players, just splash some money and get us to the next level, we can recuperate the money next year. if we make deep runs in CL is all we need to make our player spending. sometimes i wish we were private owned and not investor owned cuz those @holes just look at money quarterly/annually like corporations do...which means short term thinking and not long term. successful teams think long term. i hope im wrong about our managment and they give this team another year to improve.
It showed how the stadium was prepared on the second day after the delay. Great care was taken to remove the snow on the side Galatasaray would attack in the second half. Not the same for the other half of the pitch. Also how that side was muddy due to tractors going over the turf. Even at halftime, the ground crew removed water on the pitch for the Turkish side.
Not trying to play devils advocate but where the sides determined before the match? If not how would they have known which side was which?
It was known. On Tuesday, the match was suspended around the 30th minute. The game was resumed the following day. The teams played the final 15 on the same sides they started the day prior. So it was known who was playing on which sides for the second half. Galatasaray took home field advantage to nth degree. We all saw. It when it happened.
The match should have been replayed for another date. The club should at minimum been fined. I don't think forfeit would have been harsh either. While no one can control the weather, there should have been steps taken to preserve the pitch. The damage was not so much the snow that fell right before start time but from the day before as the field was water logged and the Juve side muddied. The game could have been played later but UEFA need to preserve their draw date and get it out of the way.
i cant believe we havent complained about this or UEFA hasnt done something already imagine if this was done to one the beloved Barcelona, Real or any English team....we would never hear the end of it. 6 months later and people woulda still talked about it. you think UEFA woulda let Ronaldo and Messi's precious legs to be risked with long time injury on that pitch? joke