In a game that should have been a straight win for Juventus,
ended up being one of the most frustrating games of the season. Both teams came
in looking to break their recent run of bad results. Juventus came out with a
different look than usual with a more traditional 4-4-2 (as opposed to a 4-5-1,
or 4-2-3-1 depending on how you look at it). The defense was the same as usual
with Storari playing in the net for the injured Buffon. In the midfield, new
signing Estigarribia got his debut while Krasic started on the bench. Conte
broke away from his normal 4-5-1, opting to play two strikers with Vucinic and
Matri. The decision looked good from the start with Matri able to get a header
towards goal in the first two minutes, even if it was a very weak header.
Juventus looked the better of the two teams for the first 25 minutes creating
many opportunities. They broke the deadlock in six minutes with a goal by
Alessandro MATATATATRIIII (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atP_NKsqogs)
who poked a ball past the unaware Frey. At this point everything seemed to be
working well for Juve but as the half went on Genoa started to gain some
confidence. Pressing forward, Genoa got a cross from the left hand side that
went right over the head of a out of position Chiellini that allowed Marco
Rossi to push the ball past Storari. Both teams had their chances and they went
into half tied.
Stepping on the field after the break, Conte’s men went back
to work with Vucinic breaking down the side earning a free kick in the
attacking zone but the ball eventually ended up in Frey’s arms. Matri did find the back of the net off
of a lovely give and go but he was clearly offside and the goal was disallowed.
Both sides were threatening and approaching the hour mark it appeared that Juve
were going to make an offensive change. Krasic, Quagliarella, and Del Piero
were all warming up and a switch seemed to be evident. However in that moment
Matri scored a second goal and then the mindset changed. Vucinic sent a low
ball across as Pirlo dummied it with confidence as the ball found Matri who
then pushed it past Frey. Instead of making offensive subs, Conte changed his
mind and put in Pazienza for Estigarribia, moving Vucinic to the wing and Matri
lone striker. This was the beginning of the questionable decisions by Conte.
Eventually Krasic would come in for Vucinic. On his first few touches, Krasic
was terrible, making mistakes and giving away the ball in vital situations. One
of those allowed Genoa to set up a cross into the middle where a poorly placed
Chiellini allowed his man to get a head on it as Genoa tied it up. By that
point, Juve looked tired and didn’t have any answer for Genoa who looked to be
pushing for a winner. The final sub of Del Piero came way too late as he was
given less than ten minutes to do anything. The game ended 2-2 in what Tuttosport appropriately described
as a nightmare.
Antonio Conte has to come under fire after this performance.
Some questionable coaching decisions seemed to allow Genoa back in this game. I
would have liked to see him continue with his attacking attitude by putting Del
Piero on for Vucinic in the 65th. It was very disrespectful to have
Del Piero warm up for 40 minutes only to use him in the last eight. Estigarribia
was taken off instead of a clearly struggling Vucinic. When moved to the wing,
Vucinic did nothing and made the left hand side much weaker. Speaking of the
left, this will be a game that Chiellini will soon want to forget. Both goals
found players that Chiellini should have been marking. His CB mentality is
still prevalent and he looks very goofy on the attack. Chiellini may not by
ready to play left back yet. This game was definitely a reminder for everyone
that Juve are not out of the situation that has plagued us the last two years.
The road back to the top is a long one and just because they started out well
does not mean they are back on top. They need to beat teams like Genoa or
Bologna so it takes pressure of the games against the big teams. This week is
more vital than ever, two big games and serious questions about who will play
where.
This Sunday showed a problem with creativity in the
midfield. Without Vidal, Pirlo is the only person who creates anything. Vidal
is in the roster for the Fiorentina clash but it would be best to save him for
Inter on the weekend. The central midfielders should also be rested. Conte
can’t continue to ask Pirlo to play every game for 90 minutes. He needs to get
a rest but whom do you put in that position. Vidal is the best option but as I
said earlier he is coming off injury and you want to have him for the San Siro.
Who starts at top? Matri gave his reasons to start but Vucinic has not performed
that well this year and I still don’t understand why Quagliarella has not
gotten a bigger chance. I would like to see Quaglia play Tuesday and rest Matri
for Inter. The last big question is what do you do with the left back situation;
do you give Chiellini another shot? For Tuesday I think you could see Sorensen
and De Ceglie start as the outside backs with Del Piero playing more of a
central forward position, with Vidal being rested or used late if necessary. I
would also like to see Elia come on and I think it is very possible he start
Tuesday. I hope that Tuesday will see Quaglia, Del Piero, and Elia start and
somehow someone comes on to give Pirlo a rest. With games against two big
rivals coming up, it’s going to be difficult to fix the issues that were so prevalent
on Saturday. The forwards need to come up big to help take pressure off of the
defense and midfield late in the game. It is extremely important that Juve walk
away from these two games with six points or they could find themselves in a
hole.
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