http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/novembre/11/Sgro_ora_costa_piu_Mancini_ga_0_9711111256.shtml La Gazzetta with their "iconic" Fantacalcio game have rated every player in the entire season so far. Of course I won't copy paste the list of about a hundred names (not the full list available), but some notable names as of November 11, 1997: GOALKEEPERS 1] Angelo PERUZZI: 6.83 2] Gianluca PAGLIUCA: 6.43 3] Francesco TOLDO: 6.38 DEFENDERS 1] Ciro FERRARA: 6.43 2] Giuseppe BERGOMI: 6.31 3] Alessandro NESTA: 6.21 4] Javier ZANETTI: 6.17 5] Paolo MONTERO: 5.30 MIDFIELDERS 1] Pavel NEDVED: 6.71 2] Didier DESCHAMPS: 6.44 3] Antonio CONTE: 6.36 4] Zinedine ZIDANE: 6.31 ~5] Andrea PIRLO: 6.25 ~5] Vladimir JUGOVIC: 6.25 7] Angelo DI LIVIO: 6.17 8] Manuel RUI COSTA: 6.00 9] Cholo SIMEONE: 5.93 ATTACKERS 1] Francesco TOTTI: 7.07 2] RONALDO: 7.00 3] Gabriel BATISTUTA: 6.81 4] Dario HUBNER: 6.75 5] Andrei KANCHELSKIS: 6.67 6] Roberto BAGGIO: 6.43 ~7] Roberto MANCINI: 6.25 ~7] Pippo INZAGHI: 6.25 9] Youri DJORKAEFF: 6.19 10] Alessandro DEL PIERO: 6.07 Edit: Totti is the leader. Source: http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/novembre/11/Totti_riporta_Italia_vetta_ga_0_9711111281.shtml
1997-98 Serie A [Round 8] 23 November, 1997 Juventus 2-2 Parma Stadio delle Alpi: 6,866 spectators Referee: Treossi Juve stretch their unbeaten start to the season up to 9 matches. This time it was an entertaining 2-2 draw with Parma which saw Nicola Amoruso score a late 82' equaliser. 19-year old Gigi Buffon was the overall man of the match, making spectacular saves to preserve the draw. Zidane had an inconsistent performance. He had a poor first half as he was being man-marked by Dino Baggio. As the constant pressure lowered, he got better and played ok in the second half. He was not involved in any goals. Zidane had a shot saved incredibly by Buffon in the second half. RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [7]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [5] - Iuliano [5] - Pessotto [6]; Di Livio [6] - Zidane [6] - Deschamps [6.5] - Conte [5]; Inzaghi [5] - Del Piero [7] Substitutes: Torricelli [6.5] - Fonseca [6] - Amoruso [6.5] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [6.5]; Birindelli [5.5] - Ferrara [5.5] - Iuliano [5] - Pessotto [6]; Di Livio [6.5] - Zidane [6] - Deschamps [6] - Conte [5.5]; Inzaghi [5] - Del Piero [7] Substitutes: Torricelli [6] - Fonseca [6] - Amoruso [6.5] Yellow cards: Birindelli, Iuliano, Deschamps http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...id,0621_01_1997_0322_0028_8479092/anews,true/ http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/..._Parma_tutto_bellissimo_ga_0_9711247437.shtml
1997-98 Serie A [Round 10] 30 November, 1997 Milan 1-1 Juventus San Siro: 37,034 spectators Referee: Messina Juve stretch their unbeaten run to 10 matches to start the season. In a match mired by terrible linesmen, Pippo Inzaghi managed to score the equaliser after a horrific error from Massimo Taibi, just 5 minutes after Ciro Ferrara scored an own-goal. The linesman managed to wrongly call Juventus offside 7 times during the match. 7 times! Zidane started off well but was quickly overwhelmed by his counterpart, Zvonomir Boban, who was arguably the best player on the pitch. An average display against an average Milan side. RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [6.5] - Iuliano [7] - Torricelli [6.5]; Di Livio [6] - Conte [6.5] - Zidane [6] - Pessotto [n/a]; Del Piero [5] - Amoruso [6.5] Substitutes: Pecchia [6.5] - Dimas [n/a] - Inzaghi [6.5] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [6] - Iuliano [6.5] - Torricelli [7]; Di Livio [6] - Conte [6] - Zidane [6] - Pessotto [n/a]; Del Piero [5] - Amoruso [6] Substitutes: Pecchia [6] - Dimas [n/a] - Inzaghi [6] Yellow cards: Birindelli, Torricelli http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/...n_Juve_gravi_errori_sul_ga_0_9712019254.shtml http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/dicembre/01/Milan_Juve_eliminano_due_ga_0_9712019241.shtml http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...,29/articleid,0622_01_1997_0329_0033_8492961/
1997-98 Serie A [Round 11] 6 December, 1997 Juventus 2-1 Lazio Stadio delle Alpi: 2,354 spectators Referee: Boggi Juve stretch their unbeaten run to 11 matches to start the season. 2 goals from Ale del Piero won the match for Juve. Some refereeing controversy as Antonio Conte escaped a red card for a clear handball (which would have given him a second yellow). For Lazio, both Alessandro Nesta and Roberto Mancini had dreadful performances. Pavel Nedved was a star for the Laziale. Zidane did not start, he came on as a very late substitute in the 77th minute. The reason was that during the international break, Zidane played 90 minutes in a useless friendly which Lippi did not like. La Gazzetta mentioned that as soon as Zidane came on the pitch, he was playing with anger. RATINGS (La Stampa) n/a - can't find anything on the archive RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [7]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [6.5] - Iuliano [6] - Torricelli [7]; Di Livio [6] - Conte [7] - Pecchia [6.5] - Tacchinardi [6]; Inzaghi [7] - Del Piero [8] Substitutes: Zidane [n/a] - Montero [6] - Fonseca [n/a] Yellow cards: Pecchia, Birindelli, Conte http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/dicembre/06/verita_tappe_ga_0_9712068585.shtml http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/dicembre/07/Juve_rialza_testa_ga_0_9712075591.shtml
1997-98 Serie A [Round 12] 14 December, 1997 Piacenza 1-1 Juventus Stadio Leonardo Garilli: 10,873 spectators Referee: Farina Juve stretch their unbeaten run to 12 matches to start the season. Two late goals - Fonseca (Juve) in the 78' and Piovani (Piacenza) in the 80' - were all the action in the match. Some brutal criticism for Zidane. La Gazzetta did not hold back, saying that Zidane was the worst player on the pitch and he never provided anything positive to the team. La Stampa called Zidane sloppy, saying he did basically everything wrong. Note: As an aside, I think this is the first time that La Stampa give Peruzzi a below-average rating. RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [5.5]; Torricelli [5] - Ferrara [6] - Iuliano [7] - Dimas [6]; Pecchia [6] - Conte [6] - Zidane [4] - Davids [6]; Inzaghi [5.5] - Del Piero [6.5] Substitutes: Di Livio [5.5] - Tacchinardi [n/a] - Fonseca [7] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [6]; Torricelli [6] - Ferrara [5.5] - Iuliano [5.5] - Dimas [6]; Pecchia [5.5] - Conte [5.5] - Zidane [4] - Davids [6]; Inzaghi [5.5] - Del Piero [5.5] Substitutes: Di Livio [5.5] - Tacchinardi [n/a] - Fonseca [7] Yellow cards: Iuliano, Dimas http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/dicembre/15/una_Juve_andamento_lento_ga_0_9712155178.shtml http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...,27/articleid,0624_01_1997_0343_0027_8564833/
http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/dicembre/16/Juve_dietro_attacco_niente_ga_0_9712165207.shtml A couple of days after the match against Piacenza, there is an editorial in La Gazzetta about Juventus. They talk about Zidane a bit. - ZZ is in a poor run of form - Last season despite the initial problems of adaptation ZZ still managed to play well in the second half of the season (deserved all the glory he got) - This year despite better playing conditions ZZ is playing much worse - This level of performance does not match with what ZZ said about playing hard to prepare for the 1998 World Cup
1997-98 Serie A [Round 13] 21 December, 1997 Juventus 5-2 Empoli Stadio delle Alpi: 1,480 spectators Referee: Serena Juve stretch their unbeaten run to 13 matches to start the season. They have not lost yet this season and it is time for the winter-break! They bounced back from a poor 1-1 draw to destroy Empoli at home. Ale Del Piero scored a hat-trick which got the Italian media buzzing for a Ballon d'Or! Zidane was good. He was involved in 3 of Juventus' goals but he unluckily didn't assist any of them. Zidane played an outstanding through-ball to Del Piero (@2:20 in the video) who scored from his own rebound. A big improvement to his display last time. Match highlights (ok quality) RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [6.5] - Ferrara [6.5] - Iuliano [7] - Torricelli [6.5]; Di Livio [6.5] - Conte [6.5] - Davids [7] - Zidane [6.5]; Inzaghi [6.5] - Del Piero [8] Substitutes: Rampulla [6.5] - Dimas [n/a] - Fonseca [n/a] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [7] - Ferrara [6.5] - Iuliano [6.5] - Torricelli [7]; Di Livio [6.5] - Conte [7] - Davids [7] - Zidane [6.5]; Inzaghi [6.5] - Del Piero [8] Substitutes: Rampulla [6] - Dimas [n/a] - Fonseca [n/a] Yellow card: n/a http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...,29/articleid,0624_01_1997_0347_0033_8572436/ http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/...iero_prende_palloni_oro_ga_0_9712226818.shtml
Alright, time for an update on rankings and I am done for now. These are the ranking of best players in the Serie A, courtesy of La Gazzetta. Goalkeepers 1] Michael KONSEL - 6.97 2] Angelo PERUZZI - 6.59 3] Gianluigi BUFFON - 6.58 4] Gianluca PAGLIUCA - 6.38 ~5] Fabrizio FERRON - 6.35 ~5] Francesco TOLDO - 6.35 7] Luca MARCHEGIANI - 6.30 ~8] Matteo SERENI - 6.27 ~8] Francesco MANCINI - 6.27 10] Luigi TURCI - 6.21 Defenders 1] Lilian THURAM - 6.73 2] Vincent CANDELA - 6.63 ~3] Antonio BENARRIVO - 6.50 ~3] Fabio CANNAVARO - 6.50 5] Giuseppe BERGOMI - 6.46 ~5] Michele SERENA - 6.46 ~7] CAFU - 6.45 ~7] Luigi SARTOR - 6.45 9] Gustavo MENDEZ - 6.33 10] Paolo MALDINI - 6.30 11] Daniele BALDINI - 6.29 ~12] Massimo CARRERA - 6.25 ~12] Ciro FERRARA - 6.25 14] Daniele ADANI - 6.23 ~15] Fabio GALANTE - 6.17 ~15] Pasquale PADALINO - 6.17 17] Luigi SALA - 6.15 18] Alessandro NESTA - 6.14 ~19] ALDAIR - 6.13 ~19] Billy COSTACURTA - 6.13 Midfielders 1] Pavel NEDVED - 6.70 2] Alain BOGHOSSIAN - 6.59 3] Aron WINTER - 6.55 4] Jonathan BACHINI - 6.54 5] Marco SGRO - 6.46 6] Luigi DI BIAGIO - 6.45 7] Domenico MORFEO - 6.43 8] Didier DESCHAMPS - 6.39 9] Giuliano GIANNICHEDDA - 6.36 10] Roberto BAGGIO - 6.32 11] Eusebio DI FRANCESCO - 6.31 12] Andrea PIRLO - 6.28 ~13] Matias ALMEYDA - 6.27 ~13] Giancarlo MAROCCHI - 6.27 ~15] Jesper BLOMQVIST - 6.25 ~15] Zvonimir BOBAN - 6.25 ~15] Youri DJORKAEFF - 6.25 ~18] Marco FRANSESCHETTI - 6.23 ~18] Diego SIMEONE - 6.23 ~20] Antonio FILIPPINI - 6.22 ~20] LEONARDO - 6.22 22] Antonio CONTE - 6.21 23] Luciano DE PAOLA - 6.20 ~24] Klas INGESSON - 6.17 ~24] Alessandro MAZZOLA - 6.17 26] Manuel RUI COSTA - 6.15 ~27] Angelo DI LIVIO - 6.14 ~27] Johan WALEM - 6.14 ~29] Thomas LOCATELLI - 6.13 ~29] Zinedine ZIDANE - 6.13 Attackers ~1] Francesco Totti - 6.91 ~1] RONALDO - 6.91 3] Oliver BIERHOFF - 6.81 4] Gabriel BATISTUTA - 6.69 5] Vincenzo MONTELLA - 6.42 ~6] Alessandro DEL PIERO - 6.33 ~6] Arturo DI NAPOLI - 6.33 8] Luis OLIVEIRA - 6.31 ~9] Pierluigi CASIRAGHI - 6.29 ~9] Davide FONTOLAN - 6.29 11] Marcio AMOROSO - 6.21 12] Dario HUBNER - 6.19 13] Paulo SERGIO - 6.17 14] Pippo INZAGHI - 6.15 15] Enrico CHIESA - 6.13 16] Massimiliano CAPPELLINI - 6.09 ~17] Kennet ANDERSSON - 6.08 ~17] Carmine ESPOSITO - 6.08 19] George WEAH - 6.05 20] Marco Delvecchio - 6.00 Note: The positions are the definitions of La Gazzetta. The players included played at least 50% of the matches. This is the top 10 goalkeepers, top 20 defenders, top 30 midfielders, and top 20 attackers as of December 23, 1997. http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/...copre_gusto_dell_assist_ga_0_9712236925.shtml http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/...to_insegue_Martusciello_ga_0_9712236934.shtml
1997-98 Serie A [Round 14] 4 January, 1998 Inter 1-0 Juventus San Siro: 32,939 spectators Referee: Braschi Juve lose for the first time this season. Their first match in 1998 and they lose! None other to their eternal rivals, Inter Milan. Youri Djorkaeff scores the only goal to win the match for his team. Zidane was very poor, the worst player on his team. La Gazetta and La Stampa echoed the same sentiment: it was a disappointing performance. Javier Zanetti was given the task of marking Zidane closely and he did a fantastic job. As La Stampa put it, Zanetti followed Zidane like a guard dog. RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [6.5] - Ferrara [6.5] - Montero [6.5] - Iuliano [6]; Conte [6.5] - Zidane [5] - Davids [7] - Torricelli [7]; Del Piero [6.5] - Inzaghi [5.5] Substitutes: Di Livio [6] - Fonseca [5.5] - Tacchinardi [n/a] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [6]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [7] - Montero [6] - Iuliano [6]; Conte [6.5] - Zidane [5] - Davids [7] - Torricelli [7]; Del Piero [6.5] - Inzaghi [5.5] Substitutes: Di Livio [6] - Fonseca [5.5] - Tacchinardi [n/a] http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...id,0529_01_1998_0004_0028_6804393/anews,true/ http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1998/gennaio/05/Inter_spietata_ga_0_9801053752.shtml
I used to watch Italian football on television and at the stadium all the time when I was younger. Now my memory is not as great as it used to, but for this I use the opinions of respected publications in Italy during the time when Zidane was playing. It's more accurate and less prone to revisionism if reviewed on a match-by-match basis.
Maybe I would not read too much in the match grades of that time because Moggi his vast fixing scheme also involved the grading of players by the media.
Is there anything substantial to lean this theory on? Because looking at the match ratings, the Juve players are generally not that high on these lists. Angelo Peruzzi - #2 goalkeeper Ciro Ferrara - #12 defender Didier Deschamps - #9 midfielder Antonio Conte - #22 midfielder Angelo di Livio - #27 goalkeeper Zinedine Zidane - #29 midfielder Alessandro del Piero - #6 attacker Pippo Inzaghi - #14 attacker
http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/...tutto_bianco_tutto_nero_ga_0_9801092628.shtml An editorial from La Gazzetta with regards to Zidane's inconsistencies. As the title says: "Zidane - all white or all black" - There is no "in between" with ZZ, either he is great (all white) or bad (all black). - Decisiveness is expected from ZZ, specifically goals and assists. These are things ZZ can do, but he rarely does - ZZ finished 3rd in the 1997 Ballon d'Or, but a player of his calibre should be giving a more significant contribution than what he currently is offering - Lippi said earlier in the season that he would look for Juve to become more aggressive and to attack even quicker, which takes adaptation to a new system - La Gazzetta look at every match ZZ has played in the league briefly 1 - Juventus vs Lecce - inconsistent display overall but his passing was very good. RATING: 6.5 2 - Roma vs Juventus - combines little with his teammates, struggles under the marking of Di Biagio. Lippi tried playing him more forward but it was even worse. Substituted shortly afterwards. RATING: 5 3 - Juventus vs Brescia - superb performance. Initiates several actions and creates several chances for his teammates. RATING: 7.5 4 - Sampdoria vs Juventus - the only thing of note he did was make a headed attempt from a corner. Struggled to stick with the pace of the match. RATING: 5.5 5 - Juventus vs Fiorentina - played slightly better. Offered little in the offensive front, but provided a lot of effort. RATING: 6 6 - Bari vs Juventus - a match of two halves. Anonymous as he was marked by Luigi Sala, as soon as he was offered more freedom in the second half, he ran rampant and scored two goals. RATING: 6.5 7 - Juventus vs Udinese - played well although he did not offer anything decisive in the final third. RATING: 6.5 8 - Napoli vs Juventus - scored a good goal and fought all over the pitch. Showed great drive and effort in the match. One of Juve's best players on the day. RATING: 7 9 - Juventus vs Parma - a very poor first half. But he recovered well in the second half and almost scored a goal. RATING: 6 10 - Milan vs Juventus - had a very good start, playing many threatening passes. But apart from his early blazing start, he was overwhelmed by Zvonimir Boban in midfield. RATING: 6 11 - Juventus vs Lazio - played only 13 minutes, no impact. N/A 12 - Piacenza vs Juventus - the worst player on the field. RATING: 4 13 - Juventus vs Empoli - rediscovered his form and played well over the course of the match. RATING: 6.5 14 - Inter vs Juventus - disappointing. He began well and then lost control of the match as the pace quickened. RATING: 5 Good performances: 6 Bad performances: 4 Okay performances: 3 Average rating: 6
I didn't read it on the internet. I read it in a couple of books, citing the tapped telephone transcripts, although I see that using google and typing in 'Moggi pagelle' ('Juventus') returns a number of results. As anecdotal evidence, here are two posts by someone who has lived in Italy for a few decades: Just to be aware... (I do not mean they should be entirely dismissed)
I guess that is something that we will see later on. I don't see anything out of the ordinary out of the players that have been rated, apart from Peruzzi (and goalkeepers in general) earning high marks on a consistent basis.
A cool graphic from La Stampa describing the title race as of January 8, 1998. This is right before the 15th matchday. I will translate each team's points: INTER MILAN (33 points, 1st place) Last season, Inter had 22 points, and were in fourth place Inter play a 1-3-4-2 with Bergomi as libero, prefer to play counter-attacking football Other tournaments: UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia Remaining fixtures: --------- (read it yourself) Advantages: "the Ronaldo factor", team resources, strong characters and a desire to win the Scudetto Disadvantages: the danger of losing Ronaldo for the Gold Cup in February, Ronaldo has a diva personality JUVENTUS (29 points, 2nd place) Last season, Juve had the same amount of points, and were in first place Juventus play 4-4-2, with zonal marking, a high defensive line, pressing, prefer to play quickly on the ground with fewer aerial balls Other tournaments: Champions League, Coppa Italia Remaining fixtures: ------------ (read it yourself) Advantages: used to competing for the Scudetto, strong characters, inventiveness Disadvantages: the relative strength of the attack, the inconsistencies of Zidane, modest performances away from home UDINESE (29 points, 2nd place) Last season, Udinese had 18 points, and were in eleventh place Udinese play a 3-4-3 with a lot of pressure both defensively and defensively, the use of an attacking trident Other tournaments: n/a Remaining fixtures: ------------ (read it yourself) Advantages: the form of Bierhoff, the continuity of output, the serenity of the environment Disadvantages: not used to competing for the Scudetto, defensive uncertainties
I read it all back now but it seems that the pro-Juve forces and their partners in crime acted sometimes - paradoxically - against Juventus their immediate interests. And they could pressurize players with the match grades as well (interesting case is what Moggi did with Giordano and Bagni back in 1988 when they questioned the decisions of the manager). Sometimes they are simply also not successful and/or made the wrong decision; you can't always get what you want. Found an example of such 'wrong decision': http://m.lalaziosiamonoi.it/news/mo...-ma-sono-contento-abbia-vinto-cragnotti-48942 Interestingly it is said in that link too that Juve thought about a Zidane-Nedved change because "Zidane wasn't scoring a lot". http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/21042011/45/serie-moggi-perugia-collina-telefono.html [edgy detail: Collina admitted once he was a Lazio fan since he was a boy] Depending on what you aim to achieve (and your own vulnerabilities too), lowish/muted individual match grades for the players isn't necessarily a bad thing for an elite club or the technical director in charge. They had also control over the camera angle and number of replays during the highlights. Or instructions over the phone to television pundits, for sure. It will be interesting, yes, to see whether the individual grades improve substantially over time. At similar or worse team results of course. http://www.tuttojuve.com/altre-noti...a-la-cessione-di-zidanee-l-acquisto-di-174380
1997-98 Serie A [Round 15] 11 January, 1998 Juventus 2-0 Vicenza Stadio delle Alpi: 1,698 spectators Referee: Tombolini Juve bounce back from the loss to Inter to win their ninth game of the season. A penalty from Del Piero and a late goal from Ferrara sealed the win for the Bianconeri. Looks like the 3-4-1-2 experiment has had a great start overall. Peruzzi was not tested at all! The penalty was Del Piero's 11th league goal of the season, tying Batigol for the most in Serie A. It should be noted that it took a Pippo Inzaghi dive to win that penalty. Zidane had an average performance; there was little to write about in his regard. La Gazzetta had a couple of words, just to mention that he offered support in midfield. La Stampa praised his movements and his touches of the ball, but they are clear to state Zidane is too passive and that he has an innate lack of incisiveness. They feel like something is missing from Zidane's performances. He picked up a yellow card near the end of the match. RATINGS (La Stampa) Peruzzi [n/a]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [6.5] - Montero [6]; Di Livio [6.5] - Conte [6.5] - Davids [6.5] - Dimas [6]; Zidane [6]; Del Piero [6.5] - Inzaghi [6] Substitutes: Pecchia [n/a] - Pessotto [n/a] RATINGS (La Gazzetta) Peruzzi [n/a]; Birindelli [6] - Ferrara [6.5] - Montero [6.5]; Di Livio [6] - Conte [7] - Davids [6.5] - Dimas [6]; Zidane [6]; Del Piero [7] - Inzaghi [6.5] Substitutes: Pecchia [n/a] - Pessotto [n/a] Yellow cards: Zidane, Ferrara http://www.archiviolastampa.it/comp...d,0530_01_1998_0011_0031_10261214/anews,true/ http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1998/gennaio/12/Juve_avanti_senza_forzare_ga_0_9801123006.shtml
It's important to note that around the beginning of January 1998, it seems that Lippi wanted to test out the 3-4-1-2 formation to offer variety towards the team-play. Juve played the 3-4-1-2 on January 7 against Fiorentina in a Coppa Italia match (that report will come with the other cup matches), and now this was the first reported incident of its use in a Serie A match. Something worth keeping in mind.
http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1998/gennaio/14/Tutte_Juventus_Lippi_ga_0_9801144820.shtml January 14, 1998. This analysis from La Gazzetta confirms the polyvalent formation. Some key points: Juventus will play a 3-4-1-2 which can switch to 4-4-2 in case they face a team with three attackers Lippi tested it against Inter but used it fully against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia, and then Vicenza The goal is to bring a defender into midfield, with the purpose of freeing ZZ in the final third Bringing ZZ to a more advanced position will allow him more opportunities to support Del Piero and Inzaghi The 3-4-1-2 will be a more compact system than the 4-4-2 Lippi has been successful with a 4-3-3 (before ZZ) and a 4-4-2 (ZZ's first season). Lippi's flexibility is praised. The 3-4-1-2 relieves ZZ of other responsibilities so ZZ can focus on his role as 'trequartista'