Euro 2012: Italy best qualification ever and four other great matches

This past week saw the final games of Euro qualification and Italy booked their spot to Ukraine-Poland with more points than they ever have before. Prandelli's men finished the competition with eight wins two draws and no losses while hitting the back of the net twenty times and only giving up two* goals (numbers are eschewed because of the "3-0 win" against Serbia). Now I'm not going to make any serious predictions about the Euro cup, because it is still far away and the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany all had more impressive qualifiers, but obviously everyone in Italy has good reason to be optimistic. Much praise is being thrown out to Antonio Cassano, and rightfully so. He has been the soul of the Azzurri attack and has brought forth an energy and desire to score that many Italian strikers have lacked. Too many times have Azzurri faithful gotten excited about strikers who have scored several dozen times for their clubs, only to see them struggle to find the back of the net for their country, or when they do score its absolute crap that anyone could hit (i.e. Gilardino, Di Natale, Toni, etc...). Cassano may not be exactly what we dreamed in a striker but there is no doubting that he has shown his ability with the national side even if his club performance doesn't always match that. All that matters now is who will pair with him, and the options are numerous. Besides the striking aspect, there are many other reasons to be excited for this team. As a Juventus fan, one can only be extremely thrilled of the renewed connection between club success and national success. ItalJuve appears to be back with both teams finding stride. The Marchisio - Pirlo combination (which I will now refer to as Pirlisio) looks to be just as effective on the international stage as it has on the club level. Pirlisio are locking down the midfield, creating and finishing many chances. Those two need to be playing together all the time and Prandelli would be wise to use them as much as possible. Things look good right now for Italy but they're not quite on the level of Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. It is definitely an exciting time for the Azzurri fans but everyone needs to remain grounded because the road ahead is a tough one.

In other Euro news, there are some mouth-watering playoff matches to be had that will likely see some unexpected teams make their way into Euro2012. One of the biggest surprises was Denmark topping group H forcing Portugal into the playoff and eliminating the previously high ranked Norway (who had no right being a top ranked team for World Cup qualifying, and now sit on top of a WC group that will have no teams in the Euro cup). Portugal get drawn against Bosnia-Herzegovina. I think we could see Bosnia end up in the Euro, mainly because I like their determination, they would have won their group if not for a very stupid foul, and Edin Dzeko keeps on finding new ways to score goals. Trapattoni has to be happy with the draw as Ireland will face Estonia. After the injustice of their World Cup qualifying, I find it hard to believe Ireland will miss out of a major tournament again, especially against Estonia who were fortunate to move onto this stage. For the other two games I am pulling for Turkey and Montenegro. I've always enjoyed watching the Turkish, not to mention I really enjoyed visiting Istanbul. I also like seeing Juventus players performing well for their countries so I'm hoping Vucinic will come through for Montenegro. I think we're in for some great matches and hopefully some unexpected results (mainly just a Ronaldoless Euro cup).

Dear Signore Zola, Sorry I Think You're Wrong

Former Italy legend, Gianfranco Zola has made some statements to the Italian media about Carlos Tevez and how he would be a great addition to Juventus and could be the difference maker. Well, with all do respect, I disagree. First off, yes, Tevez was a great player, scored some wonderful goals, was a major factor in Man City's success last season and, in the right environment, could get back to those ways. However, the factors behind his problems in Manchester could to easily carry over somewhere else.I think his attitude will only bring about unwanted turmoil and Juventus do not need those sorts of distractions in the locker room. I've been hearing about Tevez being unhappy and that part of the reason is that he misses his family, who have refused to move to Europe, so why on Earth would a move to Torino make any difference. I don't see his family moving to Italy. Even if he was living in Milan on the same street as Cambiasso, Zanetti, and Milito, I just don't see this factor changing. Secondly, if that is a factor for his disrespectful behavior, than that is even more reason to avoid him. As a professional, which Tevez is supposed to be (a well paid one at that), it is your job to separate your work from your personal life. If he can't do that in Manchester what makes Torino any difference. Any player that behaves like a child and is unable to do the job you are paid to do shouldn't be looked at by a club that wishes to compete for championships. If i'm an employer of any business, I'm not going to hire someone who wasn't able to do the job he was paid to do at another company, that's just bad business. Conte's system seems to be working well and the players we currently have fit nicely into that system, no need to bring in a potential troublemaker. Between Vucinic, Quaglia, Matri, and Del Piero our attacking core is doing just fine. We already have an overpriced useless striker in the form of Amauri. Mancini should just hand Tevez a one way ticket to Buenos Aires and send him packing because it looks like his time in Europe is over. Come January, Juve should be looking to bolster it's defense. For everyone who still believes Tevez is a good signing, get over it. There is no reason to spend money on a player that could potentially be a giant distraction.

Clash of EPL Titans: Chelsea-Man U and Villa-Boas not too confident

This weekend is the much anticipated, mouthwatering clash between league leaders Manchester United and last year's runners-up Chelsea FC. United have started this year in ridiculous fashion, scoring a total of 18 goals in four games while only allowing 3. Wayne Rooney has hit the back of the net 8 times and is on pace for a 60+ goal season (clearly not going to happen, but thats what he's averaging). Chelsea have also had a good start to their campaign, winning three games while only drawing their first game to Stoke (a team that shouldn't be taken lightly). Andre Villas-Boas has performed well as a manager but why is he hedging his bets before the match and discussing what if he loses?
In an interview today, the Chelsea boss discussed how he shouldn't be judged just off the result of this game saying, "Any manager who is judged after five games of a season, there's not something wrong with the manager but something wrong with the people who run clubs." As a fan of any football club, I would not want my coach to discuss how his reputation will be effected after the game. Looking at his statements, I see this as Villas-Boas giving himself a cushion to fall back on if Chelsea do indeed lose. I would rather see these sorts of comments come after the game. If they do indeed lose, I have no problem with a coach admitting that they were defeated by a better team (which at the moment Man U are) and then discuss it being a long season and that he shouldn't be judged is acceptable. I do actually agree with the man. No, Andre, you shouldn't be judged for losing a game this early in the season but you will be judged for discussing a potential loss before the game even happens. I wouldn't want Brendan Rodgers (manager of Swansea City, for everyone who isn't a diehard Swansea fan) talking about losse, let alone Andre Villas-Boas. 

Week 1: New Signings Shine in debut

It finally happened. The Serie A season kicked off and Juventus opened their account with a solid 4-1 win. The first match was held on Friday between Lazio and Milan in what started out as a potential match of the year before fizzling down to an ordinary 2-2 tie. The first half saw a barrage of goals scored in a quick period with new Lazio signings Klose and Cisse finding the back of the net before Cassano and Ibrahimovic would quickly answer. However exciting the first half was, the second half turned out to be much calmer with the game ending 2 goals a piece. Saturday saw Napoli travel to Cesena and the Neopolitans capitalized on a man advantage. This was all a little appetizer leading up to Juventus' match on Sunday. Unlike last season, the first game lived up to the hype. For a packed crowd, the home side made work of Parma scoring 4 goals and barely missing a handful more. There were a lot of great things to take away from this game. Many of the new signings looked great. Pirlo made the biggest impression being a midfield general, dictating the game, making amazing passes. Lichtsteiner and Vidal both scored on their debut while Marchisio had a great game and a great goal. Even with all that going on, the best thing to take away from this match is that they allowed a goal. Too many times in the past, Juve have gotten too comfortable and then lost games they shouldn't. One of the biggest challenges this year will be to keep the team grounded when they go on a roll. The worst thing that could happen is taking teams to easy and taking the foot of the gas. Mistakes like De Ceglie's will only make Conte work the team harder and keep them focused on perfection. I absolutely love Conte's take after the game. One of the first things Conte expressed about the game was the necessary to not commit stupid fouls and get cards. I love his no-nonsense style of coaching and his attitude towards each fixture. It is good to grab some early points when neither Inter or Milan win, and it must be stressed to the players that every game is just as important as the last. It is too early to tell but this will probably be a very exciting year for Serie A. Unlike the EPL and La Liga, there are going to be a handful of teams slugging it out.
As competitive as this year will be in Serie A, this weeks results don't bode well for European glory. It is possible that the cancelled week 1 may have an effect, but Milan, Napoli, and Inter did not impress me enough to believe they can advance deep into the Champions League. Everyone is talking about Napoli's group and how hard it is. I still like Napoli and think they play a great brand of football but the 3-1 win against 10 man Cesena didn't show me enough to believe they can go out and beat Man City (who are dismantling teams right now). Neither Milan or Inter won this week and I thought the Milan defense looked a little ragged and too easily beaten down the wings. If Lazio can do that to them, how will Barcelona fair. Inter have a fairly easy group so if they can afford a slow start. This was only week one, so it is expected that their are still a lot of things every club needs to do. Either way it was a great weekend of matches and I expect many more great games to come in the future.

Transfer Window Closes: Roma making moves while Juventus fail to find defender

Since this morning my twitter wall has been busy with a flurry of messages regarding football transfers. Today was the last day of the transfer window and the final hours saw players moving all over the map. Looking at the last minute transfer performance, Roma seem to have made the biggest splash. Their last minute signings include a loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Gago. At the age of 25 with both experience at the club level and for his native argentina, I think this is a great signing for Roma. He is a hard working individual who could shine if given a chance week in week out. He will join a group of yongsters also being brought in today in the form of the talented Danish defender Simon Kjaer, Italian striker Fabio Borini, and Bosnian Pjanic, who, at 21, has already played three season at French league power, Lyon. Kjaer and Pjanic both have experience playing for teams at the top level which will prove useful in their transition to Italy. Roma have no doubt brought in some young and talented players with but there are still many issues going forward for i lupi. Luis Enrique will need to figure out a way to efficiently incorporate the many young players in the squad with the more experienced veterans or else face similar results to their Europa League qualifiers.
Back home in Torino, Juventus did not have the deadline day I had hoped for. There defense needed some depth but unfortunately no one was brought in. This means that Bonucci and Chiellini need to finally get on the same page and De Ceglie will have to live up to his potential. In the midfield, Elia was officially signed caping off one of the most expensive transfer seasons in history. We need to remember Elia for making a comment about Juventus not being better than Hamburg and it wouldn't be an improvement for his career. Hamburg now sit last place in the Bundesliga, so obviously his feelings towards Juve have shifted just a little. Regardless of his previous comments, there is no doubt that this is another big signing especially because of his ability to play both up front and on the wing. I personally would love to see this rumored 4-2-4 formation with Matri and Vucinic up top and Krasic and Elia on the pushing up on the wings leaving Vidal and Pirlo behind them. This probably won't happen and Conte will most likely opt for a more traditional formation. Looking at this Juventus team, there are definitely still some small problems but I think that if they can come together as a team, then they can push for the title. As a whole this Juve team could do great things.

Serie A Strike: A blessing and a curse

First off let me say that strikes in sports suck. I am mildly upset about the potential shortened NBA season and I was ecstatic when the NFL agreed to terms. However my love for those leagues dosen't even come close to my passion for Serie A. Juventus have been very busy this summer picking up players and filling in the gaps that were present in last year's team, so there is no surprise that any fan would be very excited about a new season to get underway. Unfortunately that will have to wait. The start of the season will be delayed due to a players' strike over the collective bargaining agreement. For fans, this is frustrating. We want to watch our teams. However, for Juventus, there is a silver lining to the strike.
Juventus were set to play Udinese this weekend followed by a break for international play. This allows ample time for the two sides to come to an agreement without risking another week of cancellation. Furthermore, it was released today that Milos Krasic has picked up an injury and will be out for ten days. Instead of missing the first game against a talented Udinese team, he will have more than enough time to recover and could even be used sparingly against Parma (Juventus should be able to beat them with or without Krasic, so if he isn't 100% don't risk it).
Regarding the match with Udinese, the game this weekend could have gone two ways. Udinese just played a very tough match against Arsenal. To my surprise, Arsenal did not roll through Udinese and both games could have gone the other way. Udinese could have been coming into the start of the season as a single unit, a true team in every sense of the word, prepared for any challenge. This would have made the opening game very difficult and for that, I am thankful for the strike. On the other hand, the announcers probably mentioned a dozen times, how hot the game against Arsenal was and how exhausting it must be for the players. This could have been a chance to play a tired Udinese giving Juventus an advantage and for that, I am unhappy with the strike. Either way the game is not going to happen and so all Serie A fans have to be patient for another two weeks. In the meantime we can sit back and listen to more transfer gossip. Yay!!! Transfer gossip

CL draw round-up: Napoli's Gauntlet

The UEFA Champions League draw finished earlier today and, for Napoli, things could have been better. After their impressive season and a summer transfer window that saw the Neapolitans bring in some talented players, it was looking as if Napoli could have been a dark horse to go deep in the Champions League. However that might not be the case. Placed in Group A, Napoli face three very tough opponents, all having a good chance of advancing. Manchester City are coming off of another big spending summer and have drawn a lot of talk that they might (emphasis on MIGHT) be able to overtake United in the EPL. Not much has to be said about the runners up in Madrid two years ago. Munich always challenges in the Champions League and expect much of the same this year. The remaining team, Villarreal have as much claim to qualify as the others. The way Giuseppe Rossi has been playing alone could be enough to see the yellow submarine move into the knockout stages.
I am in no means saying Napoli can't advance. They are a very talented team capable of competing against the very best, but no doubt they would have liked a better draw. The need of Napoli advancing is greater now than ever. Because of the shifting coefficient, it is vital that Napoli move on. Serie A fans everywhere should hoping that Napoli can find a way to qualify. The ideal scenario sees Napoli advancing while Munich crashes out.
In other news:
Inter should have no problems winning their group let alone qualifying and Milan will most likely end up second to Barcelona (which is totally acceptable seeing as they are probably the best team EVER).
In relation to the coefficient, the other two Bundesliga teams have difficult roads to the knockout rounds. Bayern Leverkusen will be competing against Valencia for the second spot in group E and Borussia Dortmund are seated in another group that is open to anyone with Marseille, Arsenal, and Olympiakos.

I would also like to apologize to Udinese. In a post a few weeks ago, I wrote about Udinese and how they could end up like Sampdoria. I still believe it will be difficult to be as competitive as last year but after watching their two games against Arsenal, I was very impressed. Imagine if they had kept Sanchez, Zapata, and Inler.