[ITA] Serie A 2010/2011 (54 Viewers)

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awit

Senior Member
Jan 10, 2010
2,571
Ridiculous to have Iniesta there because of 1 goal. Other than that he was in no way instrumental for Spain's WC success like Xavi was and he was even injured for most of the spring so he didn't play in the CL.
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,023
Ballon d'or has no credibility anymore after being merged to FIFA awards. It was very realistic most of the time because more than a hundred football journalists voted and had a choice of 30,40 players to pick from.
Now FIFA is making it only about competitions organized by them. CL and domestic seasons have no influence at all in FIFA. After all, those aren't organized by them.

France Football had a great annual award until 2009. They have it no more and I have no interest in this new player of the year award.
 

Neutrol

Anti-Moggi
May 24, 2009
2,673
Low morale in Roma camp

Claudio Ranieri is having difficulty lifting his players after Roma's 2-2 draw with Chievo on Saturday.

A number of the team's key protagonists are reportedly disillusioned with Roma's results and Ranieri's decision-making in recent weeks.

There was a great deal of surprise when Ranieri revolutionised the starting XI in Verona, which saw Francesco Totti, Marco Borriello and Jeremy Menez all benched.

Il Corriere dello Sport understands Totti is particularly aggrieved that he didn't even merit a substitute's appearance at the Bentegodi, while David Pizarro, the midfield playmaker, has also taken act with Ranieri's selection choices.

He was a first team regular until a month and a half ago, but appears to have lost Ranieri's faith after his return from injury coincided with a heavy 3-1 defeat to Palermo.

Despite starting against Chievo, it bears remembering that Adriano voiced his concern at a lack of playing time in a magazine interview last week.

His compatriot Julio Baptista is also on the margins of the team together with Alexandre Doni, suggesting that discontent isn't lacking at Trigoria.

:howler:
 

Fake Melo

Ghost Division
Sep 3, 2010
37,077
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/ed...es-calcio-debate-juventus-are-now-milans-most

It is often said that such is the magic of Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho that he is able to squeeze "an extra 10 per cent out of every player". This was certainly the case during last year's treble-winning season at Inter and, the 5-0 humiliation at Barcelona aside, has generally been true this term too in the Spanish capital.

New Juventus boss Luigi Del Neri is starting to earn some similar comparisons for his work in Turin so far. Inheriting one of the most technically ordinary Bianconeri sides in recent memory, the ex-Chievo Verona and Sampdoria miracle man has worked wonders to get the best out of his squad - turning around a side that was in complete disarray following last season's disastrous seventh-placed finish.

Yesterday evening's 3-1 win in Sicily against a Catania outfit who had not lost at home for a year was further proof of what a sterling job Del Neri and the management under new president Andrea Agnelli are doing. Fabio Quagliarella - who scored two superb goals and had another wrongly disallowed - and Felipe Melo were once again outstanding. These are two players Juve fans were unsure about at the beginning of the season but whom Del Neri is wringing that 'Mourinho 10 per cent' out of. Even Simone Pepe, who scored another fine goal last night to add to the cracker against Fiorentina, has been playing above himself of late.

The statistics make for some pleasant reading. Juventus are now unbeaten for 15 games in all competitions. They are the top scorers in Serie A, with 29 goals from 15 matches, and it has been over two months since they conceded more than one goal during 90 minutes – five of their last 12 fixtures have resulted in clean sheets. The Bianconeri are also unbeaten in all their direct 'Big Four’ clashes against the so-called heavyweights – Inter, Roma and Milan.

Juve's Unbeaten Serie A Run


Catania 1-3 Juventus - 5/12/10
Juventus 1-1 Fiorentina - 27/11/10
Genoa 0-2 Juventus - 21/11/10
Juventus 1-1 Roma - 13/11/10
Brescia 1-1 Juventus - 10/11/10
Juventus 3-1 Cesena - 7/11/10
Milan 1-2 Juventus - 30/10/10
Bologna 0-0 Juventus - 24/10/10
Juventus 4-0 Lecce - 17/10/10
Inter 0-0 Juventus - 3/10/10
Juventus 4-2 Cagliari - 26/09/10

As was illustrated in my post-match feature following the 2-1 away win against the Rossoneri, the Juventus spirit has certainly returned. Despite an injury crisis that for a period was far more severe than Inter’s, Luigi Del Neri’s men are well organised and possess some of the club’s traditional never-say-die fighting qualities. With such a strong spine through the centre-back partnership of Bonucci-Chiellini and centre-midfield pairing of Felipe Melo-Aquilani, not forgetting two exceptional goalkeepers in Gianluigi Buffon and his understudy Marco Storari, this Juventus side are extremely hard to beat.

Every team with ambitions of major honours must be able to suffer, and this has certainly been one of Juve’s strengths under Del Neri since October. Catania bombarded Storari’s goal in the first 20 minutes. Last year, the Old Lady would definitely have conceded under such pressure, but this season they are made of far sterner stuff. The tightly-knit group weathered the storm and slowly began to exert their dominance. In the second half, there was only one side on the pitch.

Milan remain firm favourites for their first Scudetto since 2004, and this tag was only further fortified by a routine 3-0 win over Brescia achieved via strikes from summer signings Kevin-Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho. The Diavoli have now opened up a 10 point lead over their city rivals Inter down in sixth place. Rafa Benitez’s crisis goes from bad to worse as they were thoroughly outplayed on Friday night in the 3-1 loss at Lazio. Most of the problems cited in this Calcio Debate were again evident, and it now seems that Inter are already out of the running for the Scudetto. With no more Serie A matches for the European champions until January due to the Club World Cup, the Beneamata could find themselves 16 points off the pace by the new year if this week’s strike is avoided and Milan win both their remaining games of the year away at Bologna and at home against Roma.

Although Lazio deserve all the respect in the world as they sit proudly in second just three points behind Milan and three ahead of third placed Juventus, if anyone is to realistically challenge the Rossoneri for the campionato it is most likely to be the Old Lady.

Juventus still contain some significant weaknesses that unless treated in the January transfer window will still perhaps see them fall short. The full back areas are vulnerable, while the lack of a real top-class left midfielder and centre forward are also an issue that may be exploited as the season wears on. But the aforementioned mental, tactical and physical qualities of Del Neri’s group means they cannot be written off.

The Europa League exit is a massive plus point as Juve will be fully recharged each weekend. As opposed to Milan, who like Inter last term could risk dropping points in March and April should they progress to the latter stages of the Champions League. Juventus fans should certainly be cheering on the Rossoneri in the knockouts for this very reason. As for Inter, a European run is unlikely to be of much consequence as their four-year Scudetto winning streak appears to be over.
 
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