For many, the 2-0 Juve defeat at the hands of Lazio was hard to swallow. It was the 3rd consecutive defeat in a row. Yes, consecutive defeat and not consecutive win! Hard to believe coming from the (usually consistent) Italian champions. But are Juve really in a crisis? Are they falling apart? Afterall, Juve have never been defeated 3 times consecutively for the past twelve years.
The Serie A defeats came in the hands of Inter and Lazio, two respectable and highly decent teams in the Italian league. Sandwiched between the two was another defeat in this bleak week for Juve fans albeit in a less important Champions League match against Galatasaray, as the team has already qualified to the next stage anyway.
What upsets the fans probably more than the defeats themselves is the poor performance which was on display during those defeats. Lippi indicated that against Lazio he wanted to substitute the whole team after the disastrous first half. We can spend all day and night searching for a scapegoat for those defeats. Was it Lippi’s choices? Was it Del Piero’s bad comeback? Was it Di Vaio’s late bad finishing? Was it Camoranesi’s ineffectiveness? Was it the Delle Alpi ballboys? And more importantly, was it the defense’s fault?
Lippi has reacted wonderfuly throughout those defeats as he rallied behind his men and protected them from the press’ harsh criticism. The players also seem determined and confident to overturn the setbacks as implied from Thuram and Ferrara’s post-match comments, two of the most experienced squad players.
But if we examine the situation more closely, we find ourselves in third place, four points behind co-leaders Milan and Roma, after 12 rounds. However, compared to the last season, we have collected the exact number points – 26 – from the first 12 matches. Moreover, at this stage we are a full 8 points better-off than the 2001-02 winning season.
Juve are known for their sluggish start to the season only for them to slowly but confidently assault the Scudetto challengers. As for the current four point gap, Lippi have always relished the ‘catch-up’ role and preferred it to the ‘front-runner’ one as experienced during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. We have seen Juve in the past a full seven and nine points off the pace, only for them to keep up a run of positive results and end up winning the Scudetto – head and shoulders above the rest. Milan and Roma have been warned.
Therefore, I believe Lippi and the players when they say that there is no crisis. Before those matches we were unbeatable and it just happened that the defeats came consecutively. I'm sure that if the defeats were seperated and integrated with the other 15 matches no one would be talking of a slump or crisis. Wake up, there are more than 20 matches left in Serie A, 60 points to be won !!
The Serie A defeats came in the hands of Inter and Lazio, two respectable and highly decent teams in the Italian league. Sandwiched between the two was another defeat in this bleak week for Juve fans albeit in a less important Champions League match against Galatasaray, as the team has already qualified to the next stage anyway.
What upsets the fans probably more than the defeats themselves is the poor performance which was on display during those defeats. Lippi indicated that against Lazio he wanted to substitute the whole team after the disastrous first half. We can spend all day and night searching for a scapegoat for those defeats. Was it Lippi’s choices? Was it Del Piero’s bad comeback? Was it Di Vaio’s late bad finishing? Was it Camoranesi’s ineffectiveness? Was it the Delle Alpi ballboys? And more importantly, was it the defense’s fault?
Lippi has reacted wonderfuly throughout those defeats as he rallied behind his men and protected them from the press’ harsh criticism. The players also seem determined and confident to overturn the setbacks as implied from Thuram and Ferrara’s post-match comments, two of the most experienced squad players.
But if we examine the situation more closely, we find ourselves in third place, four points behind co-leaders Milan and Roma, after 12 rounds. However, compared to the last season, we have collected the exact number points – 26 – from the first 12 matches. Moreover, at this stage we are a full 8 points better-off than the 2001-02 winning season.
Juve are known for their sluggish start to the season only for them to slowly but confidently assault the Scudetto challengers. As for the current four point gap, Lippi have always relished the ‘catch-up’ role and preferred it to the ‘front-runner’ one as experienced during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. We have seen Juve in the past a full seven and nine points off the pace, only for them to keep up a run of positive results and end up winning the Scudetto – head and shoulders above the rest. Milan and Roma have been warned.
Therefore, I believe Lippi and the players when they say that there is no crisis. Before those matches we were unbeatable and it just happened that the defeats came consecutively. I'm sure that if the defeats were seperated and integrated with the other 15 matches no one would be talking of a slump or crisis. Wake up, there are more than 20 matches left in Serie A, 60 points to be won !!
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but they are no where in sight....so i have nothing to punch!
jk
