May as well start a match thread. Game kicks off Saturday at 10 am Eastern. It will be shown live on RAI International. Here is the squad chosen for the match: Balzaretti, Birindelli, Belardi, Buffon, Bojinov, Boumsong, Camoranesi, Chiellini, De Ceglie, Del Piero, Giannichedda, Guzman, Kovac, Marchionni, Marchisio, Mirante, Nedved, Palladino, Paro, Zalayeta. (not chosen = Trezeguet, Zebina, Zanetti, Legrottaglie, Tudor, Piccolo, Urbano).
Actually, I think they are all hurt. I'd thought maybe Legrottaglie was not picked just because he sucks, but that's unlikely given the thin central defensive corps. Here's a possible starting lineup I've seen: Buffon Balzaretti Kovac Birindelli Chiellini Marchionni Giannichedda Paro Nedved Bojinov DelPiero Boumsong might start in place of Birindelli, and Camoranesi might start in place of Paro.
I just read that RAI International will not be showing the Juve game. According to RAI's site it will be Genoa-Vicenza instead.
What the F>>>> is going on? I can not beleive they won't show the most watch Serie B team and game of the season...
thats total b.s like wtf y would they change it cuz mediaset, which owns rai, owns the right to play juve games, like honestly do they actually think more people will watch genoa vicenza than juve
I hope Juve starts things off on the right foot with victory. Here's to the new season & a new beginning for Juve!
This is a historic first for Juventus after playing a full century in Serie A. Growing up I was long time supporter of Juve. I read about their players in the 30's with Virgino Rosetta, Umberto Caligaris, Gianpiero Combi the great GK and at forward Farfallino Borell II. That defense formed the nucleus of what was the national team prior to their winning the wC in 1934. When Carlo Cersoli went down in practice Combi stepped up to Vittorio Pozzo and said"Mi touccca a mi? "am I up"? Pozzo said in Piemontese, Souta Piero or get under the goal Piero! When I think of all the other great players to have played for Juve from the 60's-90's its incredible. You had Napoli selling Dino Zoff to Juve thinking Zoff was too old at 31 or 32 and he played until he was 41 while wining an Uefa Cup, World Cup. Then there was Platini, Boniek, Gentile, Scirea, Cuccureddu, Tardelli,Causio, Vialli, Baggio, Peruzzi,Del Piero and Zidane & Deschamps, Pessotto, I just can't believe they are about to play in Serie B. Even this year when you look at the Italy France WC final, you see how many current and former Juve players in the match for both sided's? Buffon, Zambrotta, Thuram, Cannavaro,Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Zidane, Henry, Del Piero,I mean this is lineup that will scare anyone! When I moved to Italy, I started supporting Roma, not because I hated Juve but because I felt that the southern club always seemed to get the short end of the stick. Also after the way Lippi treated Baggio I kind of resented Lippi and Juve for that. I never understood why they didn't make Baggio their man. I like Del Piero but he couldn't really ever hold a candle to Baggio. I guess the Agnelli family didn't think Alex would be injured. That injury really set Del Piero back a few years. This does not take away my memories of Juve and my passion for the club as I still support them. To see them in Serie B just kills me. I mean this has never happened before. I can't imagine them not dominating the Serie B. I hope they recover their lost points soon and start their winning ways. Its a shame to not see Juventus in either the Champions league or in the thick of things in the Serie A. I still can't believe it its almost with the death of the 2 Angelli brothers Giovanni & Umberto, it spelled doom for the club. I doubt if they were alive if this would have happened. They will be back soon! Vi auguro un presto ritorno in Serie A! Forza Juve .
OMG, that isn't good! I guess Serie B is not as easy as they imagined. Was Juve's negative points ever reduced? I lost track while following the Azzurri.
from -30 to -17 as of now we are appealing to coni again but they havent made a decision to my knowledge
FFS ! Damn it, Boumsong ! why do we get these foriegn STIFFS playing for us ? If we are going to go the foriegn route, let's make sure he is good.
Here is my best translation from the GDS on the Juve match. I'm pulling for Juve in the Serie B this year. I hope they make it! I think this is a rotten shame for soccer in Italy. I never thought I'd ever live to see the day that Juve would play in Serie B before Inter. What a joke! Good luck bioconeri! http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Squadre/Juventus/Primo_Piano/2006/09_Settembre/09/RIMINI-JUVE.shtml Ricchiuti holds back Juve bianconeri stopped at'1-1 by Rimini. Paro illudes Deschamps team, then the fantasista of the romagnoli ties the match taking advantage from an error by Boumsong. RIMINI, 9 settembre 2006 - La Via Crucis of Juventus begins in the worst way. The bianconeri are blocked '1-1 by Rimini, who until the Calciopoli sentences would have been able to play them in a summer tournament. But the romagnola team goes up against Deschamps men, who show that they have the right tools, but also an out of condition , a style of play less than brilliant, and a defense that is real nervous (and suspect). This is the way the afternoon went at the Romeo Neri (stadia) and becomes as black as the fans of the Vecchia Signora, who are against the management &(for the scandal). To say that John e Lapo Elkann, along w/Cobolli Gigli, came to Rimini just to show that they are behind the team. The serie B sarà is a hard rock, the -16 points in the standings after one match seems like a vision from a horror movie. Del Piero & his mates must play another 41 finals, because everyone will want to play Juve as if it was the game of their lives. The way Rimini played, who gained a deserved point, putting forth an athletically sound Barusso at midfield & a Ricchiuti who has feet of silk upfront. The match - Deschamps prefers Birindelli instead of Balzaretti and Marchionni instead of Camoranesi. On the forward line the tandem of Del Piero-Zalayeta, w/Bojinov on the bench. Rimini starts Matri at centerforward , w/Ricchiuti & the Brazilian Jeda supporting him. La Juve takes off well. In the first 15 minutes they show that they want to win, their attitude is the right one. Marchionni on the right side does whatever he wants, putting the whip to Regonesi, who doesn't find his way. The right wing of the national team and Nedved go for the shot on two occasions, but Handanovic acts as a good defense. Then, Rimini takes its countermeasures, and succeeds in frustrating the bianconeri, orchestrated by Paro, who is in order but without any lights. Zalayeta is a little incisive and indolent as if it were one of his worst days,Del Piero shines just in gaps, therefore finding the goal becomes difficult. Rimini defends w/out having to put up the barricade and closes out the first half at 0-0 after the 45' they showed a little more dignity, also without any winces in their forward line. The first chance of the 2nd half goes to head of Matri, who takes advantage of a grave amnesia from Boumsong. Buffon is providential: and saves as a champion would. Juve responds quickly by scoring a goal. Del Piero gains a corner from the right side, the ball goes up in the air and comes back down to the feet of Paro who at the end of the penalty box finds a game winning right foot. Rimini responds quickly: w/Ricchiuti (high) & Jeda (a header saved by Buffon). Cristiano seems ruined getting himself kicked out by Saccani for a foul on Nedved. Second yellow card is inevitable and a early shower. But then Boumsong comes up, the last one arriving, to tie the match. Of the errors and of the score. A resounding defensive simplicity that launches Ricchiuti, and that pierces through Buffon with a perfect diagonal shot. And to say that Cobolli Gigli at the interval had spoken well of the French defender which was his principal purchase of the management team. A classical oral autogol. A desperate move in the final minutes where Juve's forcing play (in comes Camoranesi and Palladino) it doesn't produce any results. The departure of Juve is an uphill climb.
I bit my toungue when Juve signed Boumsong. He's proven time and again that he just doesn't have it...whether it's a moping attitude or just lack of concentration his play always seems to fall behind his skills. The guy was laughed out of the EPL. Did Didier ask management to pick this guy up? -17 points is a long hill to climb as Serie B this year is no cakewalk. Good luck.
Yes, but isn't Juve going to get a further reduction because they withdrew their appeal to TAR? I'm disappointed in not being able to see the game, but I'm still confident in Juve. There's been a lot of changes since the regelation, one could say that they are in "reconstruction." Serie B is long, one draw is not going to condemn Juve to another year.
They showed Lapo Elkan on the TG news as a reporter asked him his thoughts on Juventus' first match ever in Serie B. He was not at all satisfied with his teams erformance. He actually appeared very upset and disturbed. He said they had better wake up and fast. He said Rimini played a fine match but Juve didn't. You could tell how mad he was and although there are still 123 possible points to gain in 41 remaining matches in the Serie B, he made it clear we had better start playing. Juventus is now at -16. They must win 5 matches to be at 0 points in the standings. They may not finf the 2nd division as easy as they think. Serie B has always been underrated. Most star players don't want to risk injury and this is why they choose not to step down a division. In a way, I wouldn't blame Camo , Nedved, and Trezeguet for asking for a trade if possible. Once you get out of the Seie A , the lower divisions in Italy from the 2nd -4th are very competitive. Its hard for most Americans and/or fans abroad to imagine this, but its the truth. I remember someone in a USL thread was trying to tell me that the lower divisions were not that tough, but they are. If you see the players actually play, you will have some up and coming players in the Serie B & C and some older players who are at the end of their careers drop down a division or two. Fabio Grosso & Luca Toni played for Serie B Palermo just 2 years ago. Its nothing new. Paolo DiCanio, is another example. I remember seeing Tavano play for Rodinella in the C2 in 2001 and now he is one of the top scorers in the A. In 2002/2003, I was living in Florence and doing some work for Fiorentina who had become Florentia Viola in the C2 which was the 4th division. The only Serie A player retained at the time was Angelo DiLivio who had just played in WC 02 for Italy. He ended up playing in only half of the matches as he broke his leg. Here he is a former Juventus and National team starter just the summer before, breaking his leg by a crunching Serie C defender. Juventus may not have that easy of a road at first. I think however, in the end, they will adjust and once they get used to the style of play in the lower division, they will be ok. The trouble is they could find themselves behind in the standings even if they win the next 5 in a row.
Rimini's equaliser clearly shows why I don't want Boumsong at Juve. What a joke! It's nice to see youngsters getting some matchtime, especially Matteo Paro who scored our goal.
They were some great players. Borel has to be one of Juve and Italy's most underrated players. I think at NT level, he suffered from the presence of guys like Schiavio, Meazza, Ferrari and Piola.
Yeah I saw a film called Il Calore della Vittoria made in 1989 before the Italia 90 WC and he was one of the main characters portrayed in the film. He only played 1 match in the 1934 World Cup and that came in the replay against Spain. He supposedly, played bad in the match. The reason they used his character in the film was because by 1990, I believe he was probably the only one still living from that 1934 team. One player I never read much about and who wasn't portrayed in the film was Giovanni Ferrari, who was also picked in 1938 along w/Meazza as the only 2 holdovers from 34. He was also on Juventus I believe. Angelo Schiavio the Bologna striker and the scorer of the game winner for Italy in the 1934 WC final, also may have had input in the film as he died in 1990. Just a bit more history now that we are reminiscing the good old days, Pozzo did pick Nereo Rocco of Triestina the famed future coach and inventor of the catenaccio but cut him before the end of the PRE-WC Camp. In the film, Rocco was playing checkers with Allemandi and came up with the scheme on the board and Pozzo overherd him. Pozzo didn't care for the tactic at least in the film and said in soccer the neame of the game is to score one more than the other team, do you remebr Rocco? There isn't any time here for your tactics or strategies. I suggest you try them out with Triestina. Also, Fulvio Bernardini the great future Italian coach for Fiorentina & future CT, was passed over by Vittorio Pozzo. He didn't like the elegant Roma defensive/offensive midfielder's style of play and he prefered Luisito Monti and Attlio Ferraris IV instead. Pozzo was told by the fascist regime to pick him but he ignored the orders. Supposedly, it was written that Bernardini hit Pozzo but in his book he said that wasn't true and that he was always polite with him. Another tidbit Pozzo the master tactician grouped Angelo Schiavio with Luisito Monti, one of the 4 or 5 Argentine 5 "Oriundi" (or Italo-Argentinean). Schiavio and Monti hated each other as Luisito broke Schiavio's leg in a league match with Juve & Bologna. Pozzo thought it would be good for the morale to see if they would get along. Angelo said, he would stay in the same room but "we will just be allies, friends never"! Just thought someone would like to know some history now that Juve is playing in the Serie B for the first time ever. Anyway, has anyone ever talked about or discussed the fact that if Umberto & Giovanni Agnelli were still alive, do you think they would let the FIGC get away with this relegation of Juve? I've never seen a discussion on it. I'm almost certain however, knowing the "avvocato", he would not stand for it.