I'm not even gonna read that first paragraph, the first sentence is enough, but say what I already said; you don't earn a spot for the first team in friendlies, you do so in training and your performances in COMPETITIVE matches. If you're gonna choose players from friendlies then we might as well bench Trezeguet and put in Lanzafame. Iaquinta, even Chiellini or Molinaro, neither of them impressed in friendlies, they outta be benched. We mustn't start with Camoranesi as well, he didn't even play in the friendlies since they are so important. Tiago has enough quality to start this game ahead of any of our central midfielder. Who's to say Almiron won't succumb to pressure and play like shit in this match, even though he was our best player in the preseason? You simply don't know because competitive games are the ones that matter, these friendlies you cling to mean jack shit and you're just using them because you have a hard on for Italian players, especially defensive midfielders.
I'm no fan of Tiago and never was, I never followed him closely as I don't watch the French leauge, and I rarely catch a game of EPL here and there. I'm just sick of people like you criticising him for no apparent reason, the guy never played a competitive match but a handfull of friendlies and is already placed on the bench. There's no logic there. He was offloaded to Lyon because they got Essien who is a class of his own, there is no shame there. He went to a big club in Lyon and played CL football there, not to mention won the French leauge a number of times. He's no Ronaldo for sure but he is a big player, his career speaks for himself, like it or not but playing for Benfica, Chelsea, Lyon and now Juventus is pretty impressive. Big club followed by a bigger club, every move was a step forward.
It's no experiment, it'd be a bigger experiment to put on Nocerino who has no experience whatsoever ahead of a proven international that has played in Europe's finest leauges. But hell, what does that matter, he's Italian, that's what matters, right?