Barcelona - Juventus (16 Viewers)

[JuveCampione]

here's what I think about the players:

Buffon - had a good game. no mistakes! saved us when Kluivert was left alone in the extra time
Thuram - had a very weak start. but in the second half he was remarkable! after Davids was sent off he showed how good he is. WTG Thuram!
Montero - played a very good game. used his experience and was one of the leaders in the back
Zambrotta - quite good. played with his heart
Ferrara- you can see why Juventus signed him for another season. like his teamates in defence, he did a very good job too. almost scored a goal
Birindelli- Brilliant! great job in defence. had a great run and crucial assist to Zalayeta
Tudor- again too apathetic. though he helped in defence
Tacchinardi- another one who helped in defence and tried hard, but didn't have enough influence in the attack. too bad he got a yellow card.
Camoranesi- below average
Davids - amazing! got a red card but that's because he played with full energy. one of our best that day
Nedved - what there is to say more about him. Nedved for the golden ball! he was the leader and was the biggest threat to Barcelona all the game.
Del Piero - absolute crap! did nothing usefull
Di Vaio- a continuation to his lousy season. before the game we thought Di Vaio and Del Piero would do the difference. but they did the exact opposite. our wrost player in the game together with Del Piero
Zalayeta- when he got in he did nothing. I thought we had no hope during the game and the only hope is penalties. Zalayeta is hard to blame, as he played as a lone striker, very far away from the other players. actually he could do nothing! but he did scored a great goal and a very importatn one so afterall he is a hero after this game. Forza Zalayeta!
Lippi- :thumb:

 

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[s0ftcore]

++ [ originally posted by Edgar Davids ] ++
Del Piero - absolute crap! did nothing usefull
Di Vaio- a continuation to his lousy season. before the game we thought Di Vaio and Del Piero would do the difference. but they did the exact opposite. our wrost player in the game together with Del Piero

wow, that's a damning remark!

i can't really blame the attack, because if u notice, barca was attacking most of the times, so it's not impossible that the juve attackers are not doing much.

i sort of agree about camoranesi playing badly. birendelli coming on for him was a great tactical decision :thumb:

tudor was alright as a d-mid when he came on for DP. we needed his aerial strength as we defended from the barca onslaught.

our best player was davids, and i can only hope that he plays like that like that consistently

but what matters is we're through! forza juve!

 

[Jun-hide]

Guys, long time no see, been busy lately..
Anyway, it has been terrific week for the Italian teams, and Calcio is offically back!..
And as icing on the cake, now, we are set for a date with Zizou in Madrid..

I think Barca game exemplified our season. It was not pretty, but yet our perseverance, determination and tough mentality won us through. Also, let's not forget a tactical mastery by Lippi, when he had the gut to take off Camoranesi and Di Vaio, and swith Zambrotta to a right winger. Birindelli more or less cancelled out Overmars, who were destroying our defence in the first half, and Thuram proved to be collossal in the second half. Thankfully, Antic weren't so clever, as his decision to take off Overmars and use "washed" Gaizka Mendieta as a right winger played into our hands. It was evident that Montero was playing too centrally as a leftback in the second half, and looked very uncomfortable. And yet Mendieta played so poorly, that it wasn't exposed too much..
Oh, I would like to thank Thuram for his performance, and returning to his old Parma self. Thuram was on different planet as a CB in the second half and extra time. Firstly, he was dominating on the air, which neither Montero, and Ferrara were able to do. Secondly, he was excellent in one on one position. Remember Luis Enrique dummy which fooled Montero but calmly dealt with by Thuram. And not least, his attacking contribution and "will" to win.:thumb:. Remeber, Thuram's surging run towards the end of first half. Talk about some desire! Also, his run in the first of extra time which relieved the pressure from defence was just terrific. And his reaction at the end of match said it all. He, too me, seemed happiest man on planet. I personally, have not been impressed by Thuram's mentality, to be honest, but the desire he shown against Barca won me over..
Also, I think Tudor's substitution was incisive and decisive, and a tactical mastery by Lippi. Since Tudor came on we did not look like conceding a goal, beside Kluivert's offside effort. And when needed Gigi is upto his usual high standard. Del Piero just lack fitness, in my view, but we can forgive him since his performance against Roma, alongside Neddy were superb..
As for Zala, I never knew he could actually score!. But he certainly, but a moment of madness, or genius, knew where the goal was, in that game. However, Puyol played him off the park for most of the match. It was sensational cross by Biri, by the way. And so was Neved's goal, and effort which was saved by Bonano. Inspite of euphoria there is major flaws in the team though.
The midfield is lacking either, and class. Davids, Tachinardi, Tudor, Camoranesi midfield were just horrible in the first leg. I can't remember a instance when they put four or five passes together. Such wastefulness will and shall be punished by Real, not doubt.
Secondly, the lack of pace in attack is alarming.This, in my view, limits our attacking variation and puts pressure on our midfield.
Third, the left-back situation. Overmars showed that Zambrotta is really a winger not a fullback in top-level football. This is not a criticism against Zambrotta, but the fact is Zambrotta dives in and shows his back way too easily. Figo, though, he is definetly a player on the decline, still has too much class and ability to punish defensive fragilties. Biri, would be my prefered option against Real.
Also, let's not forget we will miss many players due to suspension against Real.
The key in that match will lie in midfield; how provide protection on our defence, and able to outnumber them in the middle of park. That is, in my view, only way we can prevent Madrid from scoring.
Nevertheless, a date with Zizou is just too good to be true.

 

[Zizou]

Lippi must be applauded for his excellent tactical changes.

From 4-2-3-1 he went to 5-2-3-1 to stop Overmars on the wing, and who were the players that scored the 2nd goal? Birindelli and Zalayeta. Good job Lippi!

 

[Vinman]

IS EVERYONE HERE ON DRUGS OR SOMETHING ???? Did you guys watch the game ?? We are DAMN LUCKY that we won that game !!

IMHO LIPPI SHOULD BE FIRED !!!! His "tactical" switches nearly lost us the game !!!!

Halftime subs- Biri for Camo ?? Zala for Di Vaio ??? It didnt look to me that Lippi was trying to ATTACK and win the game !!! Remember, it was STILL 0-0 at this point.

We had a lead thanks to Nedved, and with 35 FREAKIN' MINUTES LEFT , what does this "genius" do ?? He has us play a brand of CATENACCIO that is worthy of Trap Crap during the S. Korea game.OF COURSE WE"RE GOING TO BE SCORED ON IF WE JUST SIT BACK AND PLAY DEFENSE FOR 35 FREAKIN' MINUTES TO HOLD THE LEAD YOU MORON !!!!!!! We could have sealed the game by ATTACKING and scoring another, but instead, we sit back.

Then, after the Davids red card, lets take out our best forward on the pitch,not Zala, but DP ???? Was Lippi actually expecting us to get another goal in regulation ?? I guess not !!

I know DP had a sub=par game, but I trust him more than Zala to score when we need him to.

Toward the end of the game, it seemed to me that Lippi was HOPING to get to the shootout, and win the game that way as a last resort. DP was taken out, Di Vaio is out, and we have to rely on Neddy, who is playing defensively, and Zala, who has feeble skill with the ball, and hasnt touched the ball since he was subbed in !!!

Lippi got his miracle ( us too !!) when Zala FINALLY produced a goal !! I was shocked, but know we were lucky !!!!!!!

We will not have such luck against Real with the same tactics that Lippi used against Barca.

This game proved to me just how old our defense is. Barca had beaten our defense many times, but just couldnt get by Buffon. Real is a better scoring team, what do you think they'll do to our defense ????

Our offense is WEAK !! DP is out of form, Trez is injured, Di Vaio is bad ( the number of times he was off-sides was only matched by the number of times he slipped and fell during the game !!), and Zala cant be counted on to score goals

We wont be so lucky against Real Madrid.....

 

[Jules]

Normally I would agree with you, Vinni, but I don't get the same sick feeling with Juve as I do with the Azzurri. (And I'm not talking about SARS )

I do agree that we played for penalties, and that was stupid. But, as far as Lippi's changes go, I don't think he had choice.

I understand Camo was not 100%. Di Vaio has no inspiration in the least. Alex didn't do a thing, and couldn't, and when he gets like that, rarely can he snap himself out of it and play like he can.

What Juventus suffers from that other teams, like the Spanish, don't, is a lack of quality attacking substitutions. We just don't have those kind of options to work with. Milan does, but Carlo apparently forgot what he was doing at the beginning of the season...but I digress.

If we had more options, I think we would attack more. I really do. But we don't. And this summer will shed light on what kind of team Juve wants to be.

 

[denco]

Vinnie you do make me laugh, that was so funny , though sadly its all true

Id rather praise the team than Lippi, there was no tactical nous in anything he did and he was playing for penalties but to be fair to him he did admit to that fact

He gets away with it and ther goes the band wagon effect, Lippi was a genius while Fergie for not playing Beckham from the start is a dunce forgetting that Real decided to take things easy before Beckham came on

I have always and will always state to beat the best you have to go after them with attacking football and anything can happen

 

[Stu]

LMJLAO @ Ferguson!!!!!!!! :LOL::LOL::LOL:

And nice own goal from Helguera!!!!!!!!

Real class the way he put the ball through Casillas' legs!!!!!! :LOL:

 

[Jun-hide]

I seemed to one disagree with most here.:down:.
I think the change made by Lippi was very insightful, although I do admit that we were playing for penalities. To be honest, I was praying for that as well..
The fact was though, Di Vaio, was totally out of touch in the game, and Camo could not get involved. Also, as Vinni pointed out, most people including managers, and I too, at that moment believed that Lippi would switch formation and bring on another attacker, but in the end Lippi proved to be wonderful decision. The difference in performance by Overmars in the first half and second half is a testament to what a good decision it was to bring on Biri. My criticism would be why not start him in the first place. The fact is there is no point scoring the goal if you lose the game anyway. Lippi obviously played for the luck, but in the end, the luck came, and his tactics made sure when the luck came we were in position to take that advantage. As for bringing Tudor on, he had no choice, because Del Piero looked tired and had poor game. Also his lack of height and power makes him unsuitable to play lone forward. Beside, although there was luck invovled in our victory, we weren't so lucky that we did not concede further goal. The team defended magnificantly, and Barca had hardly sniff at goal beside Kluivert's double effort, which by the way was offside.
Also, playing so defensively allowed us to counter-attack exposed Barca defence. If we did not defend, we would have lost anyway, because by that time Barca scored a equalizer, and they were on the seize. Maybe, Lippi could be criticized for his tactics in the first leg, and try to defend one goal advantage, and we were lucky to win, but he made many *gut* decisions, and it payed off.
Nevertheless, players like Thuram, Ferrara, Montero, Davids, Buffon, Nedved, Biri, were heroes, and there is limit what managers can do.

 

[Sarah_old]

++ [ originally posted by juvelover ] ++
harsh ratings , camo 6 , zamby 6 , tach 5.5 ?!

camo should get 4 and i am generous zamby must get 7 along side tach 7 aswell

Well, imo, Camo could've done much better had he been 100% fit. I think he's done good enough.

-S-

 

[denco]

I am sorry Jun but your saying Lippi made the right and wrong decisions in the second leg and first leg respectively is totally dependent on the result, as I am sure if we won the first leg , you probably would have said he got it spot on

You keep saying that Overmars was nullified in the second half but didn't Enrique become more influential in the second half as noone was covering from the right

did you say we exposed their defenders, I musta been watching another game becos we all know how not so fast De Boer and how out of form and shape , Anderson is but they were hardly tested, infact De Boer was given so much space to thread his passes and after scoring we just invited Barceloan to keep on attacking until Xavi scored

We qualified and thats the bottom line but its not because of Lippi's tactics its inspite of his tactics

 

[Zizou]

Vinni you are commenting with your heart not with your head

IMHO LIPPI SHOULD BE FIRED !!!! His "tactical" switches nearly lost us the game !!!!

Actually thanks to his decision of moving Thuram to the centre, and placing Birindelli as a right back, helped us limit Overmars, as in the first half he seemed to have a field day.

Most of us said that Thuram was one of the best out there, especially in the second half. That's right, cos if Lippi hadn't placed him in the centre, he would have had an average second half just like the first half.

Halftime subs- Biri for Camo ?? Zala for Di Vaio ??? It didnt look to me that Lippi was trying to ATTACK and win the game !!! Remember, it was STILL 0-0 at this point.

Why not? Zala for Di Vaio did not change anything tactically, whilst birindelli for Zambrotta made the latter play in his natural position where he's very dangerous.

Attacks don't come just cos you have 4 or 5 attackers on the pitch. If you don't have a midfield that starts these attacks, those strikers would be ineffective

We had a lead thanks to Nedved, and with 35 FREAKIN' MINUTES LEFT , what does this "genius" do ?? He has us play a brand of CATENACCIO that is worthy of Trap Crap during the S. Korea game.OF COURSE WE"RE GOING TO BE SCORED ON IF WE JUST SIT BACK AND PLAY DEFENSE FOR 35 FREAKIN' MINUTES TO HOLD THE LEAD YOU MORON !!!!!!! We could have sealed the game by ATTACKING and scoring another, but instead, we sit back.

Actually, the only time Juventus seemed to be attacking in a fluid way was right after the goal, with some neat first touch football. Before they scored, they seemed scared, uneasy and far from confident, which led to many mistakes when distributing the ball. After the equaliser, the juve players went back to being scared, uneasy and unconfident. It was more a mentality problem, and the 120,000 fans jeering them throughout the whole match certainly did not help.

Then, after the Davids red card, lets take out our best forward on the pitch,not Zala, but DP ???? Was Lippi actually expecting us to get another goal in regulation ?? I guess not !!

What's really annoying about us juve fans, is that when a normal player makes a mistake, we jump right on him, but when del piero makes a mistake, then it's ok cos he's DP. DP played badly against Barca, and missed an excellent chance in the first half. In the first leg, Barca's goal came from DP's mistake, and just like last year (when he missed that penalty against Deportivo) he nearly cost us the elimination. Mind you, I like DP, but if you have to criticize anyone from that game, don't critize Lippi, cos he got all his susbstitutions and tactical changes right. When Davids was sent off, we needed a strong striker to hold the ball up front, not a forward.

Toward the end of the game, it seemed to me that Lippi was HOPING to get to the shootout, and win the game that way as a last resort.

Realistically, that's what all juve fans were hoping for after Davids expulsion. Barca had the psychological factor of having just scored a goal, one man up, 120,000 fans all chanting them to victory. If that wasn't help, it was pretty close! Shows what a great character and determination this Juventus side possess.

We will not have such luck against Real with the same tactics that Lippi used against Barca.

I do hope he uses the same tactics, as thanks to that, Barca hardly had any chance throughout the whole game.

This game proved to me just how old our defense is. Barca had beaten our defense many times, but just couldnt get by Buffon. Real is a better scoring team, what do you think they'll do to our defense ????

Not much if they play in the same way. I don't know why you say we were lucky. Sure luck was with us, but it's always with the strongest. If Barca were really that good, they would have taken advantage of one extra man for 45mins! Surely we must have been pretty good to close them down and not let them have much chances. Remember, no one won at the Camp Nou this season...that must mean something!

 

[Dragon]

the defence was awesome in my opinion
man of the match: edgar davids, closely followed by nedved

 

[Dragon]

ahh i cant find the quote but i agree with everyone, DP did nothing against barca

 

[Zizou]

++ [ originally posted by fabiana-juve ] ++
ahh i cant find the quote but i agree with everyone, DP did nothing against barca

And not just against Barca.

Before the injury he was on top form (nearly as good as in 97/98 season) but since coming back from injury he has gone back to the form of the previous 2 years. It's not all his fault, cos coming back from an injury is never an easy thing, and the fact that there is no player that can substitute him (Trezeguet and Salas out on injury leaving the slow Zala and the lost DV), so he is 'forced' to play each game.

 

[Dragon]

ahh yes! but playing and more playing will make him get back on form again

 

[my_hitzJUVE]

++ [ originally posted by -Fantasista- ] ++
LMJLAO @ Ferguson!!!!!!!! :LOL::LOL::LOL:

And nice own goal from Helguera!!!!!!!!

Real class the way he put the ball through Casillas' legs!!!!!! :LOL:

yeah..me too....i like that goal(helguera)...quit beautiful and stupid.......

seems like carlos is confident that real can beat juve in semi.....
let's fight for it....

about zala...i think he's crap for the whole match against barca...except in minute 114.....i don't know how to describe him.......

forza juve...let's bring back CL Trophy to Turin...

 

[Dragon]

++ [ originally posted by Zizou ] ++
If Roma and Milan defeated RM, why can`t Juve? Roma defeated RM at the bernabau!

yeah we gotta know that, im so NERVOUS lol and there are like two more weeks to the match

 

[survivor]

++ [ originally posted by denco ] ++
I am sorry Jun but your saying Lippi made the right and wrong decisions in the second leg and first leg respectively is totally dependent on the result, as I am sure if we won the first leg , you probably would have said he got it spot on......
........
We qualified and thats the bottom line but its not because of Lippi's tactics its inspite of his tactics

Totally agree with you Denco.

 

[JuveCampione]

++ [ originally posted by Vinman ] ++
IS EVERYONE HERE ON DRUGS OR SOMETHING ???? Did you guys watch the game ?? We are DAMN LUCKY that we won that game !!

IMHO LIPPI SHOULD BE FIRED !!!! His "tactical" switches nearly lost us the game !!!!

yeah, fire the coach when we almost certainly champions second year in a row, and in the CL semi finals