[Serie A] Fiorentina - Juventus (10 Viewers)

[Rainforest Liu]

Capello: “Abbiati is playing on Sunday”

“Buffon is not playing on Sunday. It was the very him who said he needs some more time and I find this decision very responsible, of a serious person. This confirms what I used to say: training is not like playing important matches. This Sunday it will be Abbiati’s turn and Gigi will be on the bench”.

This is the only anticipation given out by coach Capello about the line-up playing against Fiorentina in the afternoon but it’s clear that there’ll be changes on both sides compared to last Thursday night: “The protagonists will be different but the script is not going to change compared to the Coppa Italia match: both sides will keep their own characteristics. Fiorentina are going to wait in the midfield and counter attack with great quality, having players like Jorghensen or Fiore. They defend with nine players leaving only one player up front.”

Unlike Thursday, the Viola attack will be led by Serie A’s top goalkeeper, Luca Toni: “He’s grown up a lot in the last few years and he’s not having a magic moment, he can do anything right and he’s going great psychologically too. What has he got in common with Ibrahimovic? The tallness. I think Zlatan is faster and more rapid in dribbling, anyway Toni is a very good player.”
When asked about the growth of his side in the last few months, Capello says he’s more than satisfied: “There has been a general growth: Balzaretti, Chiellini, Blasi, Mutu and Abbiati too have improved a lot. This was already an excellent squad but their improvement made it even stronger”

 

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[Rainforest Liu]

Fiorentina vs Juventus 1-2

Fiorentina and Juventus are back face to face on the pitch of the Artemio Franchi stadium only two days after the Coppa Italia fixture. However, the line-up’s are quite different compared to Thursday night: Toni and Fiore among the Viola, while Capello chooses the partnership Ibrahimovic-Trezeguet in attack. And it’s the very Frenchman in the first half and Camoranesi in the closing minutes of the second half who give Juve the away win, which allow the Bianconeri to stretch their lead to 8 points clear second-ranked Milan.

Juventus start off on the right foot: after merely 23 seconds, Nedved puts the ball in for Trezeguet who gets anticipated in the corner before being able to shoot on goal. After 3 minutes, Emerson volleys the ball from outside the area but his shot is saved by Frey. After 6 minutes, Fiorentina get dangerous when Toni deflects Pasqual’s cross with a header but the ball hits the crossbar; one minute later, Juventus take the advantage: Emerson serves deep for Ibrahimovic who sprints on the edge of offside and gets into the penalty box without being obstacled. The Swede may shoot on goal but, with altruism, he prefers serving for Trezeguet into the midfield and it’s a child’s play for the Frenchman to score (0-1). Fiorentina’s reaction arrive on 15’ minutes when Toni sets himself free on the edge of the box and tries a ground right-footed shot which goes out of the goalline. On 18’ minutes, Juventus get close to the second goal: great cross from Camoranesi to Ibrahimovic who, like for the scoring occasion, passes to Trezeguet but this time David’s finish flies high over the crossbar. Later on, it’s the very Ibrahimovic who hits the ball with a header and then drives a left-footed finish but in the first case Frey clears in the second the Swede’s aim fails. Juventus are in control of the game, nevertheless Fiorentina manage to take the draw thanks to the darting of Toni: on 40’ minutes, Pasqual puts it in from the left flank and the Viola midfielder successfully deflects the ball in behind Abbiati’s back (1-1). In the closing minutes of the half time, Brocchi crosses a tricky right-footed drive from the edge of the penalty box but Abbiati clears. On the last second of the half time, Juventus get very near to taking the lead: Camoranesi runs along the right flank and serves for Ibrahimovic, whose shot on the turn is hit back by Frey’s great response.

The second half starts with no substitution made on both sides. After 4 minutes, Pazzini gets in the box from the left and kicks a ground shot but Abbiati saves, while two minutes later Ibrahimovic arrives near the goalline and puts the ball in but it gets to Trezeguet but he’s too far behind and the action vanishes. On 7’ minutes, Camoranesi turns up: Mauro controls Nedved’s fine drive and tries a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area but it ends out. On 13’ minutes Fiorentina attack with a cross pass between Toni and Pazzini, countered by Abbiati, while on 20’ minutes Ibrahimovic follows Nedved’s assist but his shot gets high over the crossbar. Three minutes later, Cannavaro deflects Camoranesi’s cross from the flag but Frey is ready to clear. Nedved tries again with a right-footed from the distance but it ends too high. On 28’, a beautiful action on Juventus side with Nedved serving for Zambrotta who crosses to Trezeguet, unfortunately the latter’s header cannot be reached by Ibrahimovic. On 30’ minutes, Fiorentina get very close to their second goal: Pazzini launches Toni who overcomes Abbiati while he’s coming out but the Viola’s finish just hits the post. On 34’ minutes, Ibrahimovic’s personal initiative leaves an opponent sitting down on the ground but, instead of attempting directly on goal, the Swede goes for another dribbling and he ends up being closed into the corner. On 40’ minutes, Chiellini crosses from the left but Vieira’s header gets high over the crossbar but it’s only a matter of minutes before reaching the target: on 43’ minutes, Ibrahimovic lifts a ball high in the air which is grabbed by Trezeguet who can serve it for Camoranesi. Mauro controls on the edge of the box, gets inside and beats Frey (1-2).

FIORENTINA vs JUVENTUS 1-2

GOALS: 7’ f.h. Trezeguet, 40’ f.h. Pazzini, 43’ s.h. Camoranesi

FIORENTINA: Frey; Ujfalusi, Gamberini, Di Loreto, Donadel; Pasqual , Pazienza, Brocchi (42’ s.h. Pancaro), Jorghensen (19’ f.h. Pazzini), Fiore (17’ s.h. Maggio); Toni.
Substitutes: Cejas, Dainelli, Montolivo, Bojinov.
Coach: Prandelli


JUVENTUS:Abbiati; Zambrotta, Thuram, Cannavaro, Chiellini; Camoranesi, Emerson (50’ s.h. Kovac), Vieira, Nedved, Ibrahimovic, Trezeguet (44’ Mutu)
Substitutes: Buffon, Kovac, Balzaretti, Blasi, Giannichedda, Del Piero.
Coach: Capello

REFEREE: Messina

YELLOW CARDS: 13’ s.h. Vieira, 28’ s.h. Ibrahimovic, 45’ s.h. Maggio, 48’ s.h. Camoranesi

ATTENDANCE: 43.537
PROCEEDS: 903.000 Euro

 

[Rainforest Liu]

Capello: “Beautiful match”

Fabio Capello is much satisfied with the win that puts Juve 8 points clear of second-ranked Milan and 10 clear of third-ranked Inter and Fiorentina: “We’re playing a great championship and we’re much satisfied”. Then he talks about today’s match, defined by commentators as an “ad for football”: “It was a beautiful match, played with great intensity, professionalism and fairness on both sides. Supporters on the stands behaved really well too. This is the football we want”.

Talking about single performances, he’s asked if he noticed a decline in Vieira’s performance and Capello says: “According to me, he played a very good match like the rest of the team, the fact is that Fiorentina put a lot of pressure on midfielders while they left forwards one against one”. Then he is asked about a possible turnover in the next few matches: “There are still 5 months to come. Should the performance drop or should there be some injury, which I obviously hope to avoid, I’ll think about it then and there. Anyway, there’ll be space for everybody as there are still many matches to play”.

 

[Bjerknes]

Capello: “Abbiati is playing on Sunday”

“Buffon is not playing on Sunday. It was the very him who said he needs some more time and I find this decision very responsible, of a serious person. This confirms what I used to say: training is not like playing important matches. This Sunday it will be Abbiati’s turn and Gigi will be on the bench”.

This is the only anticipation given out by coach Capello about the line-up playing against Fiorentina in the afternoon but it’s clear that there’ll be changes on both sides compared to last Thursday night: “The protagonists will be different but the script is not going to change compared to the Coppa Italia match: both sides will keep their own characteristics. Fiorentina are going to wait in the midfield and counter attack with great quality, having players like Jorghensen or Fiore. They defend with nine players leaving only one player up front.”

Unlike Thursday, the Viola attack will be led by Serie A’s top goalkeeper, Luca Toni: “He’s grown up a lot in the last few years and he’s not having a magic moment, he can do anything right and he’s going great psychologically too. What has he got in common with Ibrahimovic? The tallness. I think Zlatan is faster and more rapid in dribbling, anyway Toni is a very good player.”
When asked about the growth of his side in the last few months, Capello says he’s more than satisfied: “There has been a general growth: Balzaretti, Chiellini, Blasi, Mutu and Abbiati too have improved a lot. This was already an excellent squad but their improvement made it even stronger”

WOW, THANKS LIU. I HAD NO IDEA ABBIATI PLAYED TODAY. I THOUGHT IT WAS VAN DER SAR.

 

[ßöмßäяðîëя]

Hey Chengdu China, is that a joke.

 

[swag]

WOW, THANKS LIU. I HAD NO IDEA ABBIATI PLAYED TODAY. I THOUGHT IT WAS VAN DER SAR.

Maybe it was my reception, but it looked like Peruzzi to me.

In case you hadn't noticed, Andy, unfortunately Rainforest Liu is trapped at the edge of a black hole, where time seems to slow down relative to the rest of us.

 

[Wings]

What a game! Late review just for the record. Has anyone noticed that we tend to start games on a very high tempo and after scoring a goal the steam just runs out of the team! Can you imagine if we just went for the jugular and wrapped up games a little bit earlier? The atmosphere was insane even if the stadium sucks, how can the curva be almost 80 metres from the pitch? Imagine a box like stadium for such a game! We started on a high tempo and should have put Fiorentina in their place during the first half. After the goal we relaxed & let them into the game. If you noticed anytime we attacked through the middle we seemed to break them down easily & am still amazed that we could not capitalise on this. If only Neddy could have drifted infront of Viera & Emerson since he was wasted completely due to lack of rapport with Chiellini. What's with Chiellini's obsession with high balls anyway? We love to make our work harder by letting go a game. Overall Viera, Neddy & Chiellini were absent. Zambro & Camo had some lovely combinations but the crosses were horrible.
Abbiati - 6
Seems capable of rushing out to block danger but totally lacks positioning on high balls. I felt that he could have prevented the Fiorentina goal if his sense of positioning was better. However gets his marks on two brilliant saves.
Zambrotta - 6.5
Lovely combinations with Camo, terrible crosses. Get him back to the left asap. Should have done better with his tackle to prevent the Fiorentina player from breaking for their goal.
Thuram - 7
No nonsense display. Coolest defender on earth! Had a rare moment or two when Toni got loose to hit the woodwork.
Canna - 6
Fell asleep on the job for the first goal. I just love the way he commits himself to going forward for the corners. Queit day for him.
Chiellini - 5
Bad game. Indecisive, always hacking the high balls forward & no rapport whatsoever with Neddy on the left. Bad passes too.
Neddy - 5
Did not get into the game. Should have tried to play centrally. Would have loved to see Mutu replace him earlier.
Viera - 5
A horrid match by his standards. Lost way too many balls. Just didn't have the drive today. His runs through the midfield would have been devastating in this game.
Emerson - 7
Power & poise. What more can you say. He did his work & Veira's too. Shame he got injured.
Camo - 7
It's good to see the old Camo back. He had a good game but I would still lock him into the training ground to practice on his crossing.
Zlatan - 7
Would have given him a 7.5 but for his poor shooting. Otherwise had a fantastic game & was constantly a threat to the Fiorentina defense. His combination with Trez was awesome.
Trez - 7.5
Most will question my marks for Trez but he won this game for us. Some say we have to thank Fiorentina's coach for bringing Pancaro - Why? Suppose Pancaro supplied a cross for Fiorentina's winner, what would you say? At the end of the day it's Trez who scored, was active in retrieving balls from the midfield, helped in defence & provided an assist. We all know how static Trez can be, in this game he wasn't.
Capello - 6
Should have realised sooner that Neddy and Veira had an off day. Get Zambrotta back to the left & bench Chiellini as it's time to try something else.

 

[ZhiXin]

Now it is my turn for the report

An entertaining game displayed by both teams and a good performance by Juve, putting the pressure on Viola and Viola hit the woodwork. We were quite lucky to win to be honest,but nonetheless we managed to grab the 3 points out of this game, which is a relieving result. This isn't an easy win as expected, but we beat them convincely.

I don't understand y did we slow down after scoring a goal, and let Viola counter attack and scored through a Pazzini header. IMO we should keep up attacking and destroy Viola.

Abbiati: Was sharp and made a few nice saves, including 1 fierce Brocchi shot. However, there is bad communication between him and the defenders that almost led to Toni to score, only to be rattled by the woodwork. I wouldn't say no if he would be our back-up keeper 6.5

Zambrotta: Lovely combinations with Camo on the right. Even though he has been ok at the right, however he's better on the left. 6.5

Thuram: Solid defending, holding Toni off by some nice positionings and troubling the Viola offence time and time again. 7

Cannavaro: Responsible for the goal and the bad communication against Abbiati, which allow Toni to capitalize. Definitely not his day 5.5

Chiellini: Made some nice passes initially, but resulted to using long balls in the 2nd half which always land on a Fiorentina player. I still prefer Zambro to be on the left. However in Capello's mind, it is time to use Chiellini and put Zambro as RB for the injured and out-od-favour Zebina5.5

Camoranesi: Good performance by him. Despite making a few fouls, he made it up with some crosses. He even used his physical strength to battle out with the Viola defenders and winning corners. I love the guitar goal celebration. Good work and keep it up!7

Emerson: Another day in performing a good job, need me to say more? 7

Vieira: He's solid as a rock. Fulfilled his defensive duties. However his passing is way off. 1/2 of his passes reached a Viola player and a ridiculous pass to dunno who which resulted in a throw for Viola. Definitely not his day. 5.5

Nedved: Started out positively in the 1st half, but was pretty invisible in the 2nd half. Should have been put to the centre. Even though ur 1 of my favourite players, I really think that Mutu should be starting.5.5

Zlatan: Impressive passing in the game today, and added assists to his name again. Wrecked the Viola defence and contributing to the team. I would love to see him perform like this for the rest of the games, especially CL games. However his finishing still leaves something to be desired. Tried to score, only to be denied by Frey7

Trezeguet: Another day of his usual task, which is scoring. 6.5

Capello : Did his job well and managed a win in Viola at their homeground which we failed to achieve for quite a while. However he should have subbed Nedved with Mutu in the 60th minute and take Vieira off. Overall his job is done.6.5

 

[Snoop]

Should have realised sooner that Neddy and Veira had an off day. Get Zambrotta back to the left & bench Chiellini as it's time to try something else.

Ali,the problem is all of the players that play there are injured now,Zebina,Birindelli and even Pessotto.I myself don't want chiellini as a firt team player,he is not ready yet,and if he doesn't like that,he can join his beloved Roma.

Nice Post btw

 

[Wings]

Thanks snoop. I know most of our right backs are injured but we could give Balzaretti a chance on the right & get Zambrotta on the left where he is most effective. Or we could push Thuram to the right & get Kovac in for big games.

 

[Snoop]

am not sure about Balzaretti,but playing Thuram on RB would be much better Idea

 

[Wings]

Anything for Chiellini at the moment. I don't think it can get any worse.

 

[The Goalkeeper]

am not sure about Balzaretti,but playing Thuram on RB would be much better Idea

Ah yes....the good old days. (Remeniscing the goal he scored a few years back against Milan)

 

[Eire]

i watched the game yesterday and it was a brilliant game full of non stop action.

thuram always produces brilliant performances when asked to man mark top quality strikers but seems to suffer when playing against smaller teams or attackers where he does not do a man marking job, but holds his zonal position.

he was quality yesterday esp when cannavaro was below his usual high standards.

if nesta or john terry produced such a display the media would be all over it, sometimes lillian doesnt get the credit he deserves.

juve created loads of chances and always looked a goal threat, just needed better finishing( however it always surprises me how s frey is not the french no.1)

yes juve had luck, but what impressed me the most was if the best juve can play is 10/10 this was at least a 7.5/10

yet zambrotta cannavaro vieira and nedved turned in some average or way short of their best displays, and chellini was also poorish but he is young and learning and in that respect he did ok, abbiatti did well enough some good saves but could have gota stronger hand on the goal, but improving all the time but he will be soon replaced by buffon.

so thats 5 players who clearly underperformed and a sixth abbiatti who was ok but soon will be replaced by a better keeper. but the beauty of juventus and the strenght of the team is that although 5 players underperformed and most of them
normally key players in a juve victory or success, other players raised their game and carried the side through against a good viola side.

thuram, emerson, camo, zlatan and trez in a diff sort of way were all superb.

and it was a credit to them that given the poor display of some of their team mates that juve turned in such a good performance.

zambro- im not saying he was bad just a few uncharacteristic errors but him and camo starting to show some great understanding and this could prosper into a fromidable right sided partnership, if left unchanged(if chellini improves)

chellini was impressive last season on loan with the viola. all most everyone in here wanted capello head for not playing him at the start of the season, and now the same people who cursed cap then are doing the same thing only now saying chellini should not be in the team fickle indeed.

i honestly believe all though chellini has been poor he will improve and playing behind nedved who tucks inand goes roaming a lot leaves him very open and no real easy short passing options when in possession, maybe if he played a few games with mutu in front of him.

and imo zambrotta is equally as good be it right back or left it simple does not matter. his last few game at lb have been similar to his displays at rb now

nedved plays well for a game or two then poor for another 3 or 4 very inconsistant maybe its mutu time.

vieira is going thru a bit of a form dip following injury but his class will come back he will be vital to our success.

its a team full of champions is some dont perfom others do the extra work god hepl the team when the all perfom well together

 

[Maher]

juve played a wonderful game in the second half although we were lucky
forza juve

 

[loyada]

zambrotta will end up as central defender (or maybe a second striker) very soon this guy is an unbelievable polyvalent player.
dying to see how he will perform in another role.

 

[Eddy]

zambrotta as a central defender ?..

 

[Akerman]

I see that some people gave Trezeguet 7.5, but I don't think that's right. Zlatan could just as much have nailed that shot instead of passing it to Trezeguet. Although Trezeguet is a fabulous player and scored the opening goal, I don't think he's worth more than 7 in this game.

 

[Akerman]

zambrotta will end up as central defender (or maybe a second striker) very soon this guy is an unbelievable polyvalent player.
dying to see how he will perform in another role.

Why would you put him where he's needed the least?

 

[Azzurri7]

WOW, THANKS LIU. I HAD NO IDEA ABBIATI PLAYED TODAY. I THOUGHT IT WAS VAN DER SAR.