Il Capitano Alessandro Del Piero (99 Viewers)

Christina

vanilla pudding
Aug 21, 2006
19,775
I understand where you're coming from; it's incredibly frustrating to watch Alex try to do it all himself; he certainly isn't getting the required support from those around him. This has become a trend, and the result is that Alex is definitely pressing a little bit up front, trying to do too much himself; you can see the frustration in his body language.

I don't agree with a huge amount of the Alex bashing that is going on (there have been some flat out disgraceful comments made about both Alex and Gigi the past 2 weeks), but I think it's fair to say that for whatever reasons, he hasn't been in particularly great form for chunks of the second half of this season (It's all somewhat relative, considering how high he has set the bar, as recently as last season).

We all expect a lot - definitely too much - from Alex; it's not fair to slander him for not being able to put the team on his back every single week; he can't always be counted on to work miracles.
:tup:
 

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Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
Unfortunately, come next season I think it's time we get used to ADP not being an automatic 1st team selection; more importantly, Alex is going to have to get used to it. We desperately need to increase the competition in our lineup - I really don't want to see our captain run into the ground (out of perceived necessity), like Nedved was this year. We need him fresh, and full of inspiration.
I see contradiction in your post mate. You say you know how much work he's doing and in a way that it's not his fault he hasn't been getting services on the pitch and help but doing everything himself, then you say he has to get used not being 1st team selection.

Personally, I'm very satisfied with his work, and I don't judge his performances based on what our team are doing. Each one has an individual rating and should be scanned apart from what our team are doing.


The simple fact is that for an extended period of time, our offense has been largely Alex dependent. That's not a very intelligent strategy, especially considering his age. We need to be proactive about this issue, and that's why I think a top class creative mid is so crucial to our summer Mercato - let's give our fantastic strikers the support they deserve.
This is part of Football. Manchester depend on Cristiano, Chelsea Lampard, Roma Totti, Real Raul, Milan Kaka, Inter Zlatan. It's part of this game.

One thing I can assure you after following Ale since 1994, is that you put a decent middle and organize your team, and you got the best player in your team and of course I'm talking about Del Piero.

Just give him a decent middle and you'll see what he's capable of doing. Forget his age but focus on his performance.
 

Red

-------
Moderator
Nov 26, 2006
47,023
The attack is not our problem, so Del Piero is not really a problem.

His form isn't great, but he is giving everything and is still contributing to the team.
 

Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
He deserves the bench for the start of the next game!
Jesus, the last two games he reminded me of the old Zlatan times, when I was yelling "pass the ball" in front of the TV, but he simply wouldn't do it....
True. I mean how could he not pass the ball to our flanks? Molinaro or Zebina/Grygera? Why didn't he even try to combine with Iaquinta since he's got a great vision? Why not play 1 2 with Marchionni.


Did you even watch our game last night? The only one player that can pass the ball properly is Del Piero, the only ONE player. We couldn't even make 3 straight passes had it not been Del Piero on the field. FFS.
 

Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
The attack is not our problem, so Del Piero is not really a problem.

His form isn't great, but he is giving everything and is still contributing to the team.
It's a tradition here my man. We draw, it's because of Del Piero. We don't win it's because of him. We concede it's all because of him. We can't cross it's definitely because of him.


It's a tradition here.
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,131
Seriously, blame Del Piero when he deserves to be blamed, but yesterday certainly wasn't the time to blame him.
He did make one mistake not to pass to Iaquinta when he decided to shoot from dead angle, but the way he gave everything, defended, took the ball in our own half after he saw how incompetent our midfielders are, ran up and down all the time, won fouls, a penalty, gave his all on the pitch.....i admired him yesterday but i also felt sorry for him when i saw that he's forced to do the job of 3 players.
 

A_LAcki

Senior Member
Dec 23, 2002
3,560
True. I mean how could he not pass the ball to our flanks? Molinaro or Zebina/Grygera? Why didn't he even try to combine with Iaquinta since he's got a great vision? Why not play 1 2 with Marchionni.


Did you even watch our game last night? The only one player that can pass the ball properly is Del Piero, the only ONE player. We couldn't even make 3 straight passes had it not been Del Piero on the field. FFS.
I won't start a DP discussion, but you will have to agree, that his performance in the last 2 games, was not a usual DP performance. I just think, that he was way to selfish in key moments (it was not just once, you know that) and his free-kicks haven't been the same lately!

Maybe he needs a break. I don't know. Maybe he also needs Amauri back....
 

La_Fidanzata

Senior Member
Feb 18, 2008
653
the whole team has been poor since new year, not only our strikers. With that said i think calcio should change their winter schedule. It looks like a tendence, all italian teams have a negative formcurva after their 2 weeks break.
 

king Ale

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2004
21,689
:lol: who the hell makes them up?
Based on Gazzetta's weekly ratings to players.


And that also goes to show how bad the whole team has been
No argue there. But it also shows one more thing: How great and legendary Ale is. He's been the best Juve player so far this season, Juve is second in the league above Milan, Roma, Fiorentina, etc and still his season is being considered as a bad one :touched:
 

Rollie

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2008
5,143
I see contradiction in your post mate. You say you know how much work he's doing and in a way that it's not his fault he hasn't been getting services on the pitch and help but doing everything himself, then you say he has to get used not being 1st team selection.

Personally, I'm very satisfied with his work, and I don't judge his performances based on what our team are doing. Each one has an individual rating and should be scanned apart from what our team are doing.

This is part of Football. Manchester depend on Cristiano, Chelsea Lampard, Roma Totti, Real Raul, Milan Kaka, Inter Zlatan. It's part of this game.

One thing I can assure you after following Ale since 1994, is that you put a decent middle and organize your team, and you got the best player in your team and of course I'm talking about Del Piero.

Just give him a decent middle and you'll see what he's capable of doing. Forget his age but focus on his performance.
Rab, I'm trying to be practical here; what I'm saying is that I don't fault him for our team's shortcomings now, but if we are honest with ourselves, and we want to excel in multiple competitions next year, then it isn't realistic/prudent to depend so heavily (at times almost solely) on a 35 year old player for our team's creativity.

Not to mention that at any time, he could get hurt and we'd be totally fucked - a la Roma this season.

If Alex is playing well, we should obviously continue to play him in a lot of games - especially the important ones. But soon he'll have to sit down more than he currently does, especially when we play some of the low tier teams, in order to keep him fresh. Right now, because we have so few creative options, it's difficult to sit Alex even when he is a little off form, or could likely use a rest. Also, a fresh Alex occasionally coming off the bench to face tired defenders could turn out to be a real advantage for us at times.

I don't want to see Alex's situation handled the same way we handled Pavel's, running him into the ground for 90 minutes, twice a week, out of perceived necessity.

I love Alex; he's a born leader. When I say that he has to get used to not starting every game, what I'm saying is that as the captain of our team, it's going to be essential for him to show the right attitude when he's not playing as much as he would like to - which is soon to be inevitable, at this stage of his career. The man is a fierce competitor, and wants to play every single minute!! Frankly, I love him for that competitive drive, but adjustments are necessary as players age. A lot of WC players have difficulty keeping their egos in check when their careers start to decline, although I'm confident that Alex can.

As for teams being dependent on one player... it's true, the dominant teams almost always have one player who is an absolute stud, standing well above the others. Of course Manchester United, Madrid, Chelsea and Inter have made MANY big purchases to support their top player with other world class players.

Roma has not had that option, and they have suffered heavily for it.

We need to continue to improve our team, and we're obviously on the same page about an impact mid like Diego being the best thing for Alex. Our lineup certainly needs an immediate injection of technical quality at several positions, but our strike force isn't one of them.

FORZA JUVENTUS, FORZA ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO!!
 

Christina

vanilla pudding
Aug 21, 2006
19,775
Seriously, blame Del Piero when he deserves to be blamed, but yesterday certainly wasn't the time to blame him.
He did make one mistake not to pass to Iaquinta when he decided to shoot from dead angle, but the way he gave everything, defended, took the ball in our own half after he saw how incompetent our midfielders are, ran up and down all the time, won fouls, a penalty, gave his all on the pitch.....i admired him yesterday but i also felt sorry for him when i saw that he's forced to do the job of 3 players.
It seemed like he tried to pass it to him, but his pass was too low and the goalie was able to intercept it.
 

Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
Rab, I'm trying to be practical here; what I'm saying is that I don't fault him for our team's shortcomings now, but if we are honest with ourselves, and we want to excel in multiple competitions next year, then it isn't realistic/prudent to depend so heavily (at times almost solely) on a 35 year old player for our team's creativity.

Not to mention that at any time, he could get hurt and we'd be totally fucked - a la Roma this season.

If Alex is playing well, we should obviously continue to play him in a lot of games - especially the important ones. But soon he'll have to sit down more than he currently does, especially when we play some of the low tier teams, in order to keep him fresh. Right now, because we have so few creative options, it's difficult to sit Alex even when he is a little off form, or could likely use a rest. Also, a fresh Alex occasionally coming off the bench to face tired defenders could turn out to be a real advantage for us at times.

I don't want to see Alex's situation handled the same way we handled Pavel's, running him into the ground for 90 minutes, twice a week, out of perceived necessity.

I love Alex; he's a born leader. When I say that he has to get used to not starting every game, what I'm saying is that as the captain of our team, it's going to be essential for him to show the right attitude when he's not playing as much as he would like to - which is soon to be inevitable, at this stage of his career. The man is a fierce competitor, and wants to play every single minute!! Frankly, I love him for that competitive drive, but adjustments are necessary as players age. A lot of WC players have difficulty keeping their egos in check when their careers start to decline, although I'm confident that Alex can.

As for teams being dependent on one player... it's true, the dominant teams almost always have one player who is an absolute stud, standing well above the others. Of course Manchester United, Madrid, Chelsea and Inter have made MANY big purchases to support their top player with other world class players.

Roma has not had that option, and they have suffered heavily for it.

We need to continue to improve our team, and we're obviously on the same page about an impact mid like Diego being the best thing for Alex. Our lineup certainly needs an immediate injection of technical quality at several positions, but our strike force isn't one of them.

FORZA JUVENTUS, FORZA ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO!!
Fair enough, decent post btw.
 

Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
I won't start a DP discussion, but you will have to agree, that his performance in the last 2 games, was not a usual DP performance. I just think, that he was way to selfish in key moments (it was not just once, you know that) and his free-kicks haven't been the same lately!

Maybe he needs a break. I don't know. Maybe he also needs Amauri back....
1- He was never selfish. Remove that word from your dictionary please. Check his assists and you'll figure out the answer yourself.

2- If sometimes he tends to keep the ball with him, that's because he has no better alternative. Check our players performance and ratings and you'll probably understand why he was sometimes keeping the ball at his feet.

3- Do you really think he wants to be selfish? That's if he ever was. Do you really think he wants to tire himself, run from the middle and try to score himself when there's no one to help him? Be real I say.



As for the Freekicks part, and the most important thing, once you always expect him to score a freekick shows how much a person knows about football. Scoring a freekick isn't as easy as some of you think. And I hope you don't go around your living room insulting him for each freekick he doesn't score.
 

A_LAcki

Senior Member
Dec 23, 2002
3,560
1- He was never selfish. Remove that word from your dictionary please. Check his assists and you'll figure out the answer yourself.

2- If sometimes he tends to keep the ball with him, that's because he has no better alternative. Check our players performance and ratings and you'll probably understand why he was sometimes keeping the ball at his feet.

3- Do you really think he wants to be selfish? That's if he ever was. Do you really think he wants to tire himself, run from the middle and try to score himself when there's no one to help him? Be real I say.



As for the Freekicks part, and the most important thing, once you always expect him to score a freekick shows how much a person knows about football. Scoring a freekick isn't as easy as some of you think. And I hope you don't go around your living room insulting him for each freekick he doesn't score.
To 1.) - Oh yes, he was. In the Chievo game and in the Genoa game he was. We could have scored with an easy pass, and usually I would have expected him to pass. I just wasn't used to see it.

To 2.) - I agree with that. Mostly its because of that, but really, I am not talking about the season or DP in general, I am just talking about the last two games. There he had better options.

To 3.) - No, of course not, and I also admired the way he tried to help the midfield in the second half, but in the end, its the goals and the chances we have missed, that matter the most, and thats what I will remember about the last two games. His overall performance was not how its used to be


Of course I am not expecting him to score with every free-kick. I have never said that, so please don't question my football knowledge. But they weren't even close lately.

I don't know whats wrong with him, but in the last two games he was bad. Maybe he has a problem with Ranieri, maybe its a problem with the other players, I don't know. But he has to step it up, or otherwise this form will get worse.
 

Azzurri7

Pinturicchio
Moderator
Dec 16, 2003
72,691
I don't know whats wrong with him, but in the last two games he was bad. Maybe he has a problem with Ranieri, maybe its a problem with the other players, I don't know. But he has to step it up, or otherwise this form will get worse.
Too many people thought the same thing before. Unfortunately they weren't spot on.
 

Seven

In bocca al lupo, Fabio.
Jun 25, 2003
39,446
Seriously, blame Del Piero when he deserves to be blamed, but yesterday certainly wasn't the time to blame him.
He did make one mistake not to pass to Iaquinta when he decided to shoot from dead angle, but the way he gave everything, defended, took the ball in our own half after he saw how incompetent our midfielders are, ran up and down all the time, won fouls, a penalty, gave his all on the pitch.....i admired him yesterday but i also felt sorry for him when i saw that he's forced to do the job of 3 players.
True, but at times I feel he wants to do the job of three players. I don't mean this in a bad way, but it can be too much. Personally I don't think it matters if Del Piero plays a great season or not, it is obvious that we need more creativity anyway, because Ale won't last forever. Even if we hope he will.
 

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