Juventus vs. Fiorentina in Toronto, May 25 (4 Viewers)
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Even Toronto fans upset over Juventus' poor season
TORONTO – Two women in black leather rode up in their motorcycles to the iron grill fence separating Lamport Stadium from its adjacent parking lot.
One of them got off her bike and yelled comments in Italian at Italian side Juventus, which was training on the field at the time. Many of the players heard and turned their heads in the direction of the women.
After saying her peace, the woman climbed back onto her bike and rode away with her friend.
When asked what she said, Canadian-Italian reporter John Molinaro of CBCSports.ca remarked that she said that the storied club was a disgrace to its fans and its history for finishing seventh in the just-completed Serie A season.
It appears that some in Toronto, a long-time Juventus support hotbed, took the finish personally.
“They’re absolutely correct,” said Amauri, when asked the fans’ outcry back in Italy over the club’s performance. “There’s no question that we played terrible and the fans have every right to say what they’re saying.”
Juve is in the midst of turning the page on a forgettable season as they practiced ahead of their friendly against AC Fiorentina on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.
The most storied club in Italian football came off a subpar campaign finishing seventh at 16-15-9, behind the likes of Sampdoria and Napoli. It’s uncharted territory for a club accustomed to annually contending for the Serie A championship and an UEFA Champions League berth.
“A lot of things went wrong, it was a disastrous season,” said striker and former Italy international Alessandro Del Piero. “Hopefully we’re going to rest, recalculate what we’re supposed to be doing and come back strong [next] season.”
Juve seemingly haven’t fully recovered from the match-fixing scandal that led to their demotion to Serie B in 2006 and that resulted in the exodus of Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic and 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro.
Though they left, others – including Del Piero, former French international David Trezeguet and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon – remained loyal to the club that has yet to return to championship form.
Juve’s US tour didn’t get off to a strong start, with the Torino-based club falling 3-1 on Sunday at Red Bull Arena to a New York side comprising mainly reserves.
Del Piero and Trezeguet, along with former Italy World Cup 2006 hero Fabio Grosso, will headline Juve’s lineup against Fiorentina – who drew 1-1 Sunday in Montreal against the Impact of USSF Division 2 – when the two play each other at Rogers Centre on Tuesday.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/even-toronto-fans-upset-over-juventus-poor-season
TORONTO – Two women in black leather rode up in their motorcycles to the iron grill fence separating Lamport Stadium from its adjacent parking lot.
One of them got off her bike and yelled comments in Italian at Italian side Juventus, which was training on the field at the time. Many of the players heard and turned their heads in the direction of the women.
After saying her peace, the woman climbed back onto her bike and rode away with her friend.
When asked what she said, Canadian-Italian reporter John Molinaro of CBCSports.ca remarked that she said that the storied club was a disgrace to its fans and its history for finishing seventh in the just-completed Serie A season.
It appears that some in Toronto, a long-time Juventus support hotbed, took the finish personally.
“They’re absolutely correct,” said Amauri, when asked the fans’ outcry back in Italy over the club’s performance. “There’s no question that we played terrible and the fans have every right to say what they’re saying.”
Juve is in the midst of turning the page on a forgettable season as they practiced ahead of their friendly against AC Fiorentina on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.
The most storied club in Italian football came off a subpar campaign finishing seventh at 16-15-9, behind the likes of Sampdoria and Napoli. It’s uncharted territory for a club accustomed to annually contending for the Serie A championship and an UEFA Champions League berth.
“A lot of things went wrong, it was a disastrous season,” said striker and former Italy international Alessandro Del Piero. “Hopefully we’re going to rest, recalculate what we’re supposed to be doing and come back strong [next] season.”
Juve seemingly haven’t fully recovered from the match-fixing scandal that led to their demotion to Serie B in 2006 and that resulted in the exodus of Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic and 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro.
Though they left, others – including Del Piero, former French international David Trezeguet and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon – remained loyal to the club that has yet to return to championship form.
Juve’s US tour didn’t get off to a strong start, with the Torino-based club falling 3-1 on Sunday at Red Bull Arena to a New York side comprising mainly reserves.
Del Piero and Trezeguet, along with former Italy World Cup 2006 hero Fabio Grosso, will headline Juve’s lineup against Fiorentina – who drew 1-1 Sunday in Montreal against the Impact of USSF Division 2 – when the two play each other at Rogers Centre on Tuesday.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/even-toronto-fans-upset-over-juventus-poor-season
DiManno: A miserable season for Juve
A couple of bikers — and frankly, we’ve never before thought of Italians in that particular greaseball context — pull their Harleys up against the fence at Alan Lamport Stadium to bellow.
Allow us to translate:
“Disgraceful!’’
“Shame!’’
“(Expletive deleted)!’’
This seems rather an unfriendly greeting for the Juventus squad that has just arrived in Toronto for a “friendly.” But the sentiments are widely shared amongst devotees of a storied soccer franchise that has fallen into relative ignominy — seventh in their Serie A campaign this past season, knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and beaten by Fulham in the Europa League round of 16.
Such middling results might satisfy a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey fan but it’s considered calamitous for the Turin-based outfit deemed Italy’s best club of the 20th century and second most successful European club in the same period.
Hence the catcalls even as a small clutch of boosters assembled in the stands to watch their forever Bianconeri idols — minus its World Cup designees — put through their practice paces in prepration for Tuesday night’s match against AC Fiorentina at the Rogers Centre.
Not that the players disagreed with the caterwauling assessment, a whistle-and-hiss refrain familiar to their ears and preferable at least to the garbage tossed at them on the pitch back home.
“It was a disastrous season,’’ sighed captain Alessandro Del Piero. “Hopefully we can just put our failure to rest now and start fresh next year.’’
This year, however, is not quite over yet as the star-lightened squad was compelled to participate in North American friendlies which took them to New York on the weekend before landing in Toronto. It’s all about fattening the franchise’s coffers even as the soccer fan’s attention turns towards South Africa next month.
Four years ago, Del Piero was a key component of the national team that won the World Cup. While he started that tournament on the bench, Del Piero scored Italy’s second goal in a 2-0 semifinal win over host Germany and, in the final against France that was knotted 1-1 after extra time, scored a penalty in the shootout as Italy claimed the trophy for the fourth time.
At the near-geriatic age of 35, pint-sized Del Piero — once-upon-a-time the highest-paid footballer (including endorsements) on the planet — had no illusions that Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi would call upon him again for the World side. “I had my period of glory four years ago. That’s enough for me.’’
It’s the Juve collapse that grates, though, and all the question marks hanging over the club for next season: Best friend Gianluigi Buffon, again the Azzurri goalkeeper, is tipped to leave Turin, contract negotiations on hold ’til after the World Cup; ditto for Felipe Melo, Amauri De Oliveira and Diego Da Cunha, all of them considered an ill-fit for the new 4-4-2 system to be imposed by incoming skipper Luigi Del Neri. And Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has just signalled his availability to former club Napoli after revealing that Juventus has turned down the chance to extend his contract. “I’m a captain without a contract,’’ he told reporters at Italy’s training camp in Sestrieres.
The whole squad is in flux and twitchy about what might happen next.
Del Neri was only a week ago officially named as new Juventus coach, though he’s not in Toronto with the club. Helming the North American tour is outgoing, now pitifully lame-duck boss, Albert Zaccheroni, because his contract extends through the end of the season, “friendlies’’ inclusive.
If Zaccheroni has reason to gripe about this overseas assignment, he could always pull up a bar stool alongside the aforementioned Amauri, a striker who was born in Brazil and just this past April took out Italian citizenship in pursuit of a World Cup nod from Lippi. Didn’t happen.
Brazil is a World Cup favourite; Italy, not so much. And Amauri won’t say which country he’ll be cheering for.
“I’m a fan of whoever wins.’’
Then, and we translate exactly if incomprehensibly: “The ball is kind of round so who knows what will happen.’’
http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/article/813738--dimanno-a-miserable-season-for-juve
A couple of bikers — and frankly, we’ve never before thought of Italians in that particular greaseball context — pull their Harleys up against the fence at Alan Lamport Stadium to bellow.
Allow us to translate:
“Disgraceful!’’
“Shame!’’
“(Expletive deleted)!’’
This seems rather an unfriendly greeting for the Juventus squad that has just arrived in Toronto for a “friendly.” But the sentiments are widely shared amongst devotees of a storied soccer franchise that has fallen into relative ignominy — seventh in their Serie A campaign this past season, knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and beaten by Fulham in the Europa League round of 16.
Such middling results might satisfy a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey fan but it’s considered calamitous for the Turin-based outfit deemed Italy’s best club of the 20th century and second most successful European club in the same period.
Hence the catcalls even as a small clutch of boosters assembled in the stands to watch their forever Bianconeri idols — minus its World Cup designees — put through their practice paces in prepration for Tuesday night’s match against AC Fiorentina at the Rogers Centre.
Not that the players disagreed with the caterwauling assessment, a whistle-and-hiss refrain familiar to their ears and preferable at least to the garbage tossed at them on the pitch back home.
“It was a disastrous season,’’ sighed captain Alessandro Del Piero. “Hopefully we can just put our failure to rest now and start fresh next year.’’
This year, however, is not quite over yet as the star-lightened squad was compelled to participate in North American friendlies which took them to New York on the weekend before landing in Toronto. It’s all about fattening the franchise’s coffers even as the soccer fan’s attention turns towards South Africa next month.
Four years ago, Del Piero was a key component of the national team that won the World Cup. While he started that tournament on the bench, Del Piero scored Italy’s second goal in a 2-0 semifinal win over host Germany and, in the final against France that was knotted 1-1 after extra time, scored a penalty in the shootout as Italy claimed the trophy for the fourth time.
At the near-geriatic age of 35, pint-sized Del Piero — once-upon-a-time the highest-paid footballer (including endorsements) on the planet — had no illusions that Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi would call upon him again for the World side. “I had my period of glory four years ago. That’s enough for me.’’
It’s the Juve collapse that grates, though, and all the question marks hanging over the club for next season: Best friend Gianluigi Buffon, again the Azzurri goalkeeper, is tipped to leave Turin, contract negotiations on hold ’til after the World Cup; ditto for Felipe Melo, Amauri De Oliveira and Diego Da Cunha, all of them considered an ill-fit for the new 4-4-2 system to be imposed by incoming skipper Luigi Del Neri. And Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has just signalled his availability to former club Napoli after revealing that Juventus has turned down the chance to extend his contract. “I’m a captain without a contract,’’ he told reporters at Italy’s training camp in Sestrieres.
The whole squad is in flux and twitchy about what might happen next.
Del Neri was only a week ago officially named as new Juventus coach, though he’s not in Toronto with the club. Helming the North American tour is outgoing, now pitifully lame-duck boss, Albert Zaccheroni, because his contract extends through the end of the season, “friendlies’’ inclusive.
If Zaccheroni has reason to gripe about this overseas assignment, he could always pull up a bar stool alongside the aforementioned Amauri, a striker who was born in Brazil and just this past April took out Italian citizenship in pursuit of a World Cup nod from Lippi. Didn’t happen.
Brazil is a World Cup favourite; Italy, not so much. And Amauri won’t say which country he’ll be cheering for.
“I’m a fan of whoever wins.’’
Then, and we translate exactly if incomprehensibly: “The ball is kind of round so who knows what will happen.’’
http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/article/813738--dimanno-a-miserable-season-for-juve
