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[Serie A] Cagliari - Juventus (9 Viewers)
- Thread starter The Arif
- Start date
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OK, here's my take.
Good news: believe it or not, overall I feel we played well. We did well on ball possession through long stretches of the match. Offensively, we made a lot of good combinations ... though we continually lacked the final finish.
The other Bad news: I am getting so sick and tired of our inability to hold a lead late into a match that we should have completely in hand. :fero:
And Cagliari's style?: it seemed that their preferred defense was always to launch the ball skyward in defense. No, not forward -- always skyward. It's an odd practice, IMO, but it was mostly effective against us.
Buffon: Was the man. This game would have been zero points without him. 7
Zebina: He's had some disastrous defensive positioning problems this season. It's like he relies too much on his height sometimes to bail him out. And one late today was no exception. I wish the guy could make a decent cross, though. 5
Canna: Mostly good play. Lunged and missed on a tackle that could have cost us. But definitely had his share of good stops. 6
Thuram: Played well, though he's lucky he didn't get busted in Juve's goal box for reaching over a player for a header clearance. 6.5
Zambrotta: Still very reliable around the ball. At one time I was freaked because he was left to split defending on two Cagliari players at the edge of the box on a cross, but he pulled it off. Showed good hustle and challenged a lot of the play. Not as threatening offensively as he was last season, though. 6.5
Camo: An OK game for him. He wasn't connecting with his crosses, and I still feels he plays a little too much in the center of the pitch at times. 6
Nedved: Scary to say, I thought he was our most consistent crosser today. He put in a lot of energy in this match, and I liked how he chewed out Appiah for a bad pass when Juve had the upper hand and was ready to strike again. He seemed the most fired up to get a (badly needed) insurance goal: definitely one of our smarter players on the pitch. 6
Emerson: Good DM play -- really kept us from overloading the back line and covering for occasional weaknesses by Zebina, etc. 7
Blasi: Didn't really do much on the pitch, IMO. Did not make his presence felt. But didn't make any major blunders either. 5.5
Zlatan: A lot of timing problems today. Held the ball too long, tried to do too much at times by himself... Could have been much more effective. 5.5
Trezeguet: A couple of chances, but nothing worth noting. An average day at the office. Good news: this means he's back. 5.5
Subs:
DP: Offsides too often. Didn't make an impact. 5
Appiah: I was worried as soon as he came in the game for Blasi. This season some of his errant passes (Coppa Italia this week, anyone?) have cost us dearly. When he had the ball, he sought to get rid of it ASAP ... sort of an anti-Zlatan. Which is probably the best he can do offensively. But defensively, he's been a joke. Ugh. 4.5
Good news: believe it or not, overall I feel we played well. We did well on ball possession through long stretches of the match. Offensively, we made a lot of good combinations ... though we continually lacked the final finish.
The other Bad news: I am getting so sick and tired of our inability to hold a lead late into a match that we should have completely in hand. :fero:
And Cagliari's style?: it seemed that their preferred defense was always to launch the ball skyward in defense. No, not forward -- always skyward. It's an odd practice, IMO, but it was mostly effective against us.
Buffon: Was the man. This game would have been zero points without him. 7
Zebina: He's had some disastrous defensive positioning problems this season. It's like he relies too much on his height sometimes to bail him out. And one late today was no exception. I wish the guy could make a decent cross, though. 5
Canna: Mostly good play. Lunged and missed on a tackle that could have cost us. But definitely had his share of good stops. 6
Thuram: Played well, though he's lucky he didn't get busted in Juve's goal box for reaching over a player for a header clearance. 6.5
Zambrotta: Still very reliable around the ball. At one time I was freaked because he was left to split defending on two Cagliari players at the edge of the box on a cross, but he pulled it off. Showed good hustle and challenged a lot of the play. Not as threatening offensively as he was last season, though. 6.5
Camo: An OK game for him. He wasn't connecting with his crosses, and I still feels he plays a little too much in the center of the pitch at times. 6
Nedved: Scary to say, I thought he was our most consistent crosser today. He put in a lot of energy in this match, and I liked how he chewed out Appiah for a bad pass when Juve had the upper hand and was ready to strike again. He seemed the most fired up to get a (badly needed) insurance goal: definitely one of our smarter players on the pitch. 6
Emerson: Good DM play -- really kept us from overloading the back line and covering for occasional weaknesses by Zebina, etc. 7
Blasi: Didn't really do much on the pitch, IMO. Did not make his presence felt. But didn't make any major blunders either. 5.5
Zlatan: A lot of timing problems today. Held the ball too long, tried to do too much at times by himself... Could have been much more effective. 5.5
Trezeguet: A couple of chances, but nothing worth noting. An average day at the office. Good news: this means he's back. 5.5
Subs:
DP: Offsides too often. Didn't make an impact. 5
Appiah: I was worried as soon as he came in the game for Blasi. This season some of his errant passes (Coppa Italia this week, anyone?) have cost us dearly. When he had the ball, he sought to get rid of it ASAP ... sort of an anti-Zlatan. Which is probably the best he can do offensively. But defensively, he's been a joke. Ugh. 4.5
Inability to make a final touch- biggest problem today.
I do think that Juve played solidly in defense and midfield... up until the 80th minute. And they got what they deserve.
Trezeguet and Appiah- big dissapointments. Trez has shown nothing. Why did Fabio make him start?
Appiah- three serious mistakes couple of minutes before Zola's goal, including childish play that lead to the goal itself.
Very sad, but deserved.
Milan played very good on the other hand. They deserve to be on top of Seria A at this point.
I do think that Juve played solidly in defense and midfield... up until the 80th minute. And they got what they deserve.
Trezeguet and Appiah- big dissapointments. Trez has shown nothing. Why did Fabio make him start?
Appiah- three serious mistakes couple of minutes before Zola's goal, including childish play that lead to the goal itself.
Very sad, but deserved.
Milan played very good on the other hand. They deserve to be on top of Seria A at this point.
Zlatan isnt good enough to be a regular started. I still dont get why Capello is experimenting with our attack, in a really important game like this one.. And u say im wrong when I say Capello is the one to blame!? hahaha then u are blind. OK, he is human, but that error is just dumb. He was hoping for too much. Del Piero - Trezeguet is a great attacking duo, they have proven that before. with Zlatan - Trez, its like having 2 wandering sticks upfront. Lets just play with Del Piero - (Zlatan/Trez) Rotation until Mutu can play...
And I apologize for what I wrote about appiah, I wrote stupid ass-N****r, and I shouldnt have done that, but he gave away 2 points. And dont take me wrong, if it would have been, say Tacchinardi who lost the ball to Cagliari, and they scored becuz of that, I wouldve said stupidass whiteboy
Anyway, Blah..... We can recover from this I believe and hope.
FORZA Buffon for a great match!
And I apologize for what I wrote about appiah, I wrote stupid ass-N****r, and I shouldnt have done that, but he gave away 2 points. And dont take me wrong, if it would have been, say Tacchinardi who lost the ball to Cagliari, and they scored becuz of that, I wouldve said stupidass whiteboy
Anyway, Blah..... We can recover from this I believe and hope.
FORZA Buffon for a great match!
I don't know whether playing Del Piero from the beginning would've made much of a difference (it could've though) but as far as I'm concerned a not 100% fit Trezeguet shouldn't have started ahead of him. If he (DP) had been shite last time out then fine, but he was good against Livorno and definitely should've played more than 15 minutes today.
Now, I didn't get a chance to watch the match today(babysitting the nephew), but from what I've read, it seems that our achilles heel this year is the lack of a playmaker in our midfield, someone to complement Emerson because he is needed so badly as a line of defense between the midfield and defenders.
Now, I DID get a chanced to watch Milan-Udinese on tape delay thanks to basic cable, and i must say that this is the main difference between Juve and Milan, is that in that diamond formation that they like to play, it allows Kaka to roam freely in midfield, where his speed and creativity allows for a connection between midfield and attack, and Pirlo laying back allows them to have cover in midfield and since Pirlo is such a brilliant long-distance passer, he is able to get involved in the offense without actually having to come up too far forward.
This is the main difference that I see between the two teams.
Now, would a creative playmaker really make a big difference? maybe, however I think that the real problem is on the loeft side, and that happens to be Nedved. Its time to face reality. ever since his Golden Ball winning year, he has been steadily declining. He's not creative, he's more like a constant bundle of energy. That tactic worked well in his younger years, but at the age of 33, its starting to become his downfall. Because of what I see as declining skills, and his continued propensity to play out of position and bring the ball to the center of the field, this restricts Zambrotta, quite possibly the finest LB in the world, to push forward on attack, becuase in essence hes has to cover the entire left side of the pitch once Neddy decides to slide over.
DP, in my opinion is not the problem here, although the sands of time are starting to run a little quicker. The problem lies in the lack of connectivity between the midfield and attack, and the one way to fix it would be this.
Move Zambrotta up to midfield on the wing, preferrably on the left side, and get a true defensive minded LB to replace Zambo, and put Neddy on the bench. Jankulovski would have been an ideal target, but unfortunately, it looks as if he's headed to Milan in the summer.
Allright, NedHeads, fire away. I'm ready for you
Now, I DID get a chanced to watch Milan-Udinese on tape delay thanks to basic cable, and i must say that this is the main difference between Juve and Milan, is that in that diamond formation that they like to play, it allows Kaka to roam freely in midfield, where his speed and creativity allows for a connection between midfield and attack, and Pirlo laying back allows them to have cover in midfield and since Pirlo is such a brilliant long-distance passer, he is able to get involved in the offense without actually having to come up too far forward.
This is the main difference that I see between the two teams.
Now, would a creative playmaker really make a big difference? maybe, however I think that the real problem is on the loeft side, and that happens to be Nedved. Its time to face reality. ever since his Golden Ball winning year, he has been steadily declining. He's not creative, he's more like a constant bundle of energy. That tactic worked well in his younger years, but at the age of 33, its starting to become his downfall. Because of what I see as declining skills, and his continued propensity to play out of position and bring the ball to the center of the field, this restricts Zambrotta, quite possibly the finest LB in the world, to push forward on attack, becuase in essence hes has to cover the entire left side of the pitch once Neddy decides to slide over.
DP, in my opinion is not the problem here, although the sands of time are starting to run a little quicker. The problem lies in the lack of connectivity between the midfield and attack, and the one way to fix it would be this.
Move Zambrotta up to midfield on the wing, preferrably on the left side, and get a true defensive minded LB to replace Zambo, and put Neddy on the bench. Jankulovski would have been an ideal target, but unfortunately, it looks as if he's headed to Milan in the summer.
Allright, NedHeads, fire away. I'm ready for you
I just mean that if Zlatan have a bad game, he isnt subbed, he can play all he wants. Same with Trezeguet it seems. A really bad Trez playing 75minutes. Its like playing with 10men in 75mins. Del Piero shouldve at least got 45min, cuz everybody could see that Trez - Zlatan didnt work out at all..
I think that Del Piero should play all matches until Mutu can play yes! Since Zlatan isnt a good creative forward, same with Trez. They both lack what Del Piero has. (I know del Piero lack what they have too, but thats not the important matter) The important matter is that the central midfield isnt helping the forwards at all, just pass the ball to nedved or camo, or passing backwards or loose the ball Until we get someone creative like Pizarro in midfield, then play Del Piero. He is good on freekicks, corners and passing. He can shoot better than Zlatan too
I think that Del Piero should play all matches until Mutu can play yes! Since Zlatan isnt a good creative forward, same with Trez. They both lack what Del Piero has. (I know del Piero lack what they have too, but thats not the important matter) The important matter is that the central midfield isnt helping the forwards at all, just pass the ball to nedved or camo, or passing backwards or loose the ball
Until we get someone creative like Pizarro in midfield, then play Del Piero. He is good on freekicks, corners and passing. He can shoot better than Zlatan too
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++
Now, I didn't get a chance to watch the match today(babysitting the nephew), but from what I've read, it seems that our achilles heel this year is the lack of a playmaker in our midfield, someone to complement Emerson because he is needed so badly as a line of defense between the midfield and defenders.
Now, I DID get a chanced to watch Milan-Udinese on tape delay thanks to basic cable, and i must say that this is the main difference between Juve and Milan, is that in that diamond formation that they like to play, it allows Kaka to roam freely in midfield, where his speed and creativity allows for a connection between midfield and attack, and Pirlo laying back allows them to have cover in midfield and since Pirlo is such a brilliant long-distance passer, he is able to get involved in the offense without actually having to come up too far forward.
This is the main difference that I see between the two teams.
Now, would a creative playmaker really make a big difference? maybe, however I think that the real problem is on the loeft side, and that happens to be Nedved. Its time to face reality. ever since his Golden Ball winning year, he has been steadily declining. He's not creative, he's more like a constant bundle of energy. That tactic worked well in his younger years, but at the age of 33, its starting to become his downfall. Because of what I see as declining skills, and his continued propensity to play out of position and bring the ball to the center of the field, this restricts Zambrotta, quite possibly the finest LB in the world, to push forward on attack, becuase in essence hes has to cover the entire left side of the pitch once Neddy decides to slide over.
DP, in my opinion is not the problem here, although the sands of time are starting to run a little quicker. The problem lies in the lack of connectivity between the midfield and attack, and the one way to fix it would be this.
Move Zambrotta up to midfield on the wing, preferrably on the left side, and get a true defensive minded LB to replace Zambo, and put Neddy on the bench. Jankulovski would have been an ideal target, but unfortunately, it looks as if he's headed to Milan in the summer.
Allright, NedHeads, fire away. I'm ready for you
Now, I didn't get a chance to watch the match today(babysitting the nephew), but from what I've read, it seems that our achilles heel this year is the lack of a playmaker in our midfield, someone to complement Emerson because he is needed so badly as a line of defense between the midfield and defenders.
Now, I DID get a chanced to watch Milan-Udinese on tape delay thanks to basic cable, and i must say that this is the main difference between Juve and Milan, is that in that diamond formation that they like to play, it allows Kaka to roam freely in midfield, where his speed and creativity allows for a connection between midfield and attack, and Pirlo laying back allows them to have cover in midfield and since Pirlo is such a brilliant long-distance passer, he is able to get involved in the offense without actually having to come up too far forward.
This is the main difference that I see between the two teams.
Now, would a creative playmaker really make a big difference? maybe, however I think that the real problem is on the loeft side, and that happens to be Nedved. Its time to face reality. ever since his Golden Ball winning year, he has been steadily declining. He's not creative, he's more like a constant bundle of energy. That tactic worked well in his younger years, but at the age of 33, its starting to become his downfall. Because of what I see as declining skills, and his continued propensity to play out of position and bring the ball to the center of the field, this restricts Zambrotta, quite possibly the finest LB in the world, to push forward on attack, becuase in essence hes has to cover the entire left side of the pitch once Neddy decides to slide over.
DP, in my opinion is not the problem here, although the sands of time are starting to run a little quicker. The problem lies in the lack of connectivity between the midfield and attack, and the one way to fix it would be this.
Move Zambrotta up to midfield on the wing, preferrably on the left side, and get a true defensive minded LB to replace Zambo, and put Neddy on the bench. Jankulovski would have been an ideal target, but unfortunately, it looks as if he's headed to Milan in the summer.
Allright, NedHeads, fire away. I'm ready for you
It's not that Ibrahimovic isn't good enough, it's that he has yet to adapt to the style of Italian football. In the Dutch league, the defenders gave him all the time he wanted, enabling him to pull off those spectacular moves and dance around the opposition. This has probably inflated his ego, and now he thinks he's Superman, attempting to go through three defenders and often keeping the ball to himself when team-mates have better opportunities.
Although it might take a season, Ibrahimovic has to get used to Serie A football. This will allow him to become the "premium striker" he often says he already is.
Although it might take a season, Ibrahimovic has to get used to Serie A football. This will allow him to become the "premium striker" he often says he already is.
I have a question.
Zlatan is one of my favorite players in the world, possibly my favorite, along with Maldini, and Christiano Ronaldo.
What I don't get is everyone saying that he's so arrogant, and his ego is so inflated, thinking that he's a great striker.
However, in all the transcripts I've read over the past year since his arrival, to me, he's been nothing but humble and very respectful of everyone in the orginization.
I have not read one article, quote, nor heard on sound byte stating that he is great, only that he WANTS to be great. I don't take that as being cocky, nor arrogant. I take it as being determined and driven. You can't have all your football players be monotone robots with your "yes sir, no sir" type of vanilla responses to questions.
He's colorful, yes. Humorous at times but he has not been disrespectful, insubordinate, or anything but a model citizen.
Does he hold the ball too much at times? Yes he does. But he is also being asked to do quite a bit in this type of attack that capello has out there, especially since there are really no creative midfielders on this squad to speak of.
Considering that this is his first full year in Serie A, at the age of 23, with all the expectations that have been put on him, considering his strike partner's injuries(Trez) or lack of form(Del Piero), I think that he's been doing amazingly well this season, and I would hate to think what this team's record would be WITHOUT Zlatan in there all year.
Zlatan is one of my favorite players in the world, possibly my favorite, along with Maldini, and Christiano Ronaldo.
What I don't get is everyone saying that he's so arrogant, and his ego is so inflated, thinking that he's a great striker.
However, in all the transcripts I've read over the past year since his arrival, to me, he's been nothing but humble and very respectful of everyone in the orginization.
I have not read one article, quote, nor heard on sound byte stating that he is great, only that he WANTS to be great. I don't take that as being cocky, nor arrogant. I take it as being determined and driven. You can't have all your football players be monotone robots with your "yes sir, no sir" type of vanilla responses to questions.
He's colorful, yes. Humorous at times but he has not been disrespectful, insubordinate, or anything but a model citizen.
Does he hold the ball too much at times? Yes he does. But he is also being asked to do quite a bit in this type of attack that capello has out there, especially since there are really no creative midfielders on this squad to speak of.
Considering that this is his first full year in Serie A, at the age of 23, with all the expectations that have been put on him, considering his strike partner's injuries(Trez) or lack of form(Del Piero), I think that he's been doing amazingly well this season, and I would hate to think what this team's record would be WITHOUT Zlatan in there all year.
