Serie A : Juventus vs Milan [April 12th, 2008] (19 Viewers)
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Ancelotti: Now we're in trouble
Saturday 12 April, 2008
Carlo Ancelotti has regrets over Milan’s defeat in Turin and admits this puts a spanner in the works for the rest of the season.
“It certainly complicates our plans, as we were counting on a different result. We tried to get a win, but come away empty-handed and that makes it tougher for the next few games,” said the Rossoneri Coach.
They are four points adrift of Fiorentina in fourth place and if the Viola get a result against Inter tomorrow evening, it will make it extremely difficult for Milan to reach the Champions League.
“We played a great first half, put Juve under pressure and scored two goals. It’s a shame we were unable to go into the break 2-1 up.”
The match changed after Daniele Bonera’s straight dismissal for a horrific tackle on Momo Sissoko.
“The second half was trickier, especially after the red card. We tried to bring home a point that would have been, all things considered, an important result.”
There was controversy for the winning goal, though, as Paolo Maldini was harshly penalised for a challenge on Zdenek Grygera and from that free kick Hasan Salihamidzic secured the 3-2 result.
“Let us say the free kick that decided the match was a 'gift’ to Juventus, as unless the rules have changed then a shoulder to shoulder challenge is allowed,” complained Ancelotti.
“Tonight we had a 'short’ team, considering Juve had so many very tall players who are good in the air. We only had Massimo Ambrosini and Maldini who could counter them and that ensured Juventus were more effective on set pieces.”
It is another example of Milan putting in a good performance, but not bringing home the points.
“The fact we are able to train regularly for a week has certainly improved our condition and quality of play. The worrying thing is that the results haven’t improved!”
Channel 4
Saturday 12 April, 2008
Carlo Ancelotti has regrets over Milan’s defeat in Turin and admits this puts a spanner in the works for the rest of the season.
“It certainly complicates our plans, as we were counting on a different result. We tried to get a win, but come away empty-handed and that makes it tougher for the next few games,” said the Rossoneri Coach.
They are four points adrift of Fiorentina in fourth place and if the Viola get a result against Inter tomorrow evening, it will make it extremely difficult for Milan to reach the Champions League.
“We played a great first half, put Juve under pressure and scored two goals. It’s a shame we were unable to go into the break 2-1 up.”
The match changed after Daniele Bonera’s straight dismissal for a horrific tackle on Momo Sissoko.
“The second half was trickier, especially after the red card. We tried to bring home a point that would have been, all things considered, an important result.”
There was controversy for the winning goal, though, as Paolo Maldini was harshly penalised for a challenge on Zdenek Grygera and from that free kick Hasan Salihamidzic secured the 3-2 result.
“Let us say the free kick that decided the match was a 'gift’ to Juventus, as unless the rules have changed then a shoulder to shoulder challenge is allowed,” complained Ancelotti.
“Tonight we had a 'short’ team, considering Juve had so many very tall players who are good in the air. We only had Massimo Ambrosini and Maldini who could counter them and that ensured Juventus were more effective on set pieces.”
It is another example of Milan putting in a good performance, but not bringing home the points.
“The fact we are able to train regularly for a week has certainly improved our condition and quality of play. The worrying thing is that the results haven’t improved!”
Channel 4
Buffon looks to Europe
Saturday 12 April, 2008
Gianluigi Buffon thinks Juventus can start celebrating a Champions League spot and prepare to win the trophy next term.
“I think this victory definitively leaves Milan behind us and takes us away from the direct opponents for a Champions League place, which at this stage are Fiorentina and Sampdoria,” said the goalkeeper after the 3-2 win over the Rossoneri.
“Both of these sides have tough games on Sunday, so this could prove to be a very favourable round for Juve.”
The Viola in fourth place pay visit to leaders Inter, while Samp go to struggling Reggina.
Buffon admits he was concerned when Super Pippo Inzaghi struck twice to put Milan 2-1 up.
“In games like this it is very important for everyone to have the confidence in themselves and their teammates, so I was worried when we conceded such silly goals that some might lose hope.”
They fought back with a Hasan Salihamidzic brace to defeat Milan and the goalkeeper is now already focused on next season.
“If the club said we’d remain with the same players next season, maybe a couple more than we have now, then I would be content.
“What Juventus really want is to win the Champions League. Just look at Liverpool, who haven’t made an impact in the Premier League for years and yet are always doing well in the Champions League.
“It proves that even if you don’t have the biggest or strongest squad, you can make yourself heard in that competition.”
Channel 4
Saturday 12 April, 2008
Gianluigi Buffon thinks Juventus can start celebrating a Champions League spot and prepare to win the trophy next term.
“I think this victory definitively leaves Milan behind us and takes us away from the direct opponents for a Champions League place, which at this stage are Fiorentina and Sampdoria,” said the goalkeeper after the 3-2 win over the Rossoneri.
“Both of these sides have tough games on Sunday, so this could prove to be a very favourable round for Juve.”
The Viola in fourth place pay visit to leaders Inter, while Samp go to struggling Reggina.
Buffon admits he was concerned when Super Pippo Inzaghi struck twice to put Milan 2-1 up.
“In games like this it is very important for everyone to have the confidence in themselves and their teammates, so I was worried when we conceded such silly goals that some might lose hope.”
They fought back with a Hasan Salihamidzic brace to defeat Milan and the goalkeeper is now already focused on next season.
“If the club said we’d remain with the same players next season, maybe a couple more than we have now, then I would be content.
“What Juventus really want is to win the Champions League. Just look at Liverpool, who haven’t made an impact in the Premier League for years and yet are always doing well in the Champions League.
“It proves that even if you don’t have the biggest or strongest squad, you can make yourself heard in that competition.”
Channel 4
CONGRATS ALL .. A good win .. We might've been lucky at times .. but we surely deserved the whole three points .. I still can't believe DPs misses, I voted him MOM .. cause I missed the first half except Salih's goal .. so I'll just go for his second half performance.. which was a captain's elegant performance ..
Rab, did you see after the game when Maldini hugged Del Piero .. Thought of you right away .. it's something you'd love to see
Rab, did you see after the game when Maldini hugged Del Piero .. Thought of you right away .. it's something you'd love to see
buffon 6.5 good on crosses, couldnt do anything about the goals
grygera 6
legro 6
chiellini 6
molinaro 6 another good game, but people will still hate on him...
camoranesi 8 had a hand in all 3 of the goals, a true juventus player. did everything, great spirit
sissoko 7.5 some great tackles, one of our best players already
tiago 7 good tackles, some great vision. played his first whole game for us i think, should cement his place in the team. we're behind you 100% tiago!
sali 7.5 scored two goals, what more needs to be said?
del piero 7 worked very hard, over dribbled a couple of times, but a very good performance
trezeguet 5.5 should of scored if it wasnt for kalac.
iaquinta 6 put pressure on them
nocerino 5.5 couldve taken pressure off us if he had kept the ball that one time
stendardo 5.5
best players: camo, sissoko, tiago and del piero
grygera 6
legro 6
chiellini 6
molinaro 6 another good game, but people will still hate on him...
camoranesi 8 had a hand in all 3 of the goals, a true juventus player. did everything, great spirit
sissoko 7.5 some great tackles, one of our best players already
tiago 7 good tackles, some great vision. played his first whole game for us i think, should cement his place in the team. we're behind you 100% tiago!
sali 7.5 scored two goals, what more needs to be said?
del piero 7 worked very hard, over dribbled a couple of times, but a very good performance
trezeguet 5.5 should of scored if it wasnt for kalac.
iaquinta 6 put pressure on them
nocerino 5.5 couldve taken pressure off us if he had kept the ball that one time
stendardo 5.5
best players: camo, sissoko, tiago and del piero
We Have The Character To Beat The Big Teams - Ranieri
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri was very happy with his players following the 3-2 home win against Milan.
We Have The Character To Beat The Big Teams - Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri was definitely satisfied with his players after Juve's 3-2 victory at home against Milan.
"We have beaten the World Champions," he said. "They played a very good first half, especially on the flanks. But in the second half we were better, we played the way we wanted to.
"We made some mistakes in defence? It was more down to their quality. On the first goal we could have done better: Kaká is obviously more skilled in one-on-one situations than [Giorgio] Chiellini, so we should have covered better. Milan have great champions, but so do Juventus."
On the midfield's performance, he said: "Mauro [Camoranesi] played a good match. Tiago was under pressure? He can play well, but against Milan, with their midfield, it wasn't easy. I'm happy with how he played, he gave us balance. But [Mohamed] Sissoko can do really great things."
On the situation in the league and Juve's schedule: "There's a lot to play for this week. First Parma, then Atalanta, the important thing is to give our all, then we will see where we get.
"The gap with the big teams? We are having an excellent season. Against Milan and Inter you have the impression they are already well-oiled teams. But we have the character to compete on the same level as them."
Danilo Pochini
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri was very happy with his players following the 3-2 home win against Milan.
We Have The Character To Beat The Big Teams - Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri was definitely satisfied with his players after Juve's 3-2 victory at home against Milan.
"We have beaten the World Champions," he said. "They played a very good first half, especially on the flanks. But in the second half we were better, we played the way we wanted to.
"We made some mistakes in defence? It was more down to their quality. On the first goal we could have done better: Kaká is obviously more skilled in one-on-one situations than [Giorgio] Chiellini, so we should have covered better. Milan have great champions, but so do Juventus."
On the midfield's performance, he said: "Mauro [Camoranesi] played a good match. Tiago was under pressure? He can play well, but against Milan, with their midfield, it wasn't easy. I'm happy with how he played, he gave us balance. But [Mohamed] Sissoko can do really great things."
On the situation in the league and Juve's schedule: "There's a lot to play for this week. First Parma, then Atalanta, the important thing is to give our all, then we will see where we get.
"The gap with the big teams? We are having an excellent season. Against Milan and Inter you have the impression they are already well-oiled teams. But we have the character to compete on the same level as them."
Danilo Pochini
!!!
Some of the most entertaining, heart-attack football from Juve in a while over the past couple of weeks. I don't know if I can take this stuff...
Milan's backline today had an average age of about 46, so we should have been able to score. But damn that Pippo poacher. First Milan goal, Kaka does a number to get around Chiellini, and Pippo slinks by his marker in Molinaro with the guy barely noticing until the ball is in the net. :frown:
Second Milan goal was dubious. Sure, Kaka wasn't offside. But Pippo was throughout that entire exchange. So you can't even call passive offsides on that one. Still, the Juve backline looked inattentive and uncoordinated and ripe for disaster. Poor Gigi was left naked half the time.
But at the lowest point of the match, with Gigi parrying possible two-goal down scenarios, somehow the team found it to fight back. Some credit perhaps to Ranieri's correct decision of the formation change -- which did slow down Kaka. But more to the players who dug in deep and rescued this match.
We needed a break in the second half, though. And we almost got two: Bonera's Bonera-headed cleats-up tackle on Sissoko, and almost Momo's left ankle. Forza Momo for hanging in there and coming back on the pitch.
And yes, Brazzo was hardly a dynamic player today. Most of what he did was poach rather than create. But that's the way Pippo does it. A great three points, and how I love to see Milan go down in flames. The only thing sparing Ancelotti's hide is Silvio has enough to preoccupy him with the elections this weekend.
Buffon - 6.5 - I can't fault the guy for atrocious defending that left him so exposed. He did the best he could under the situation.
Grygera - 5.5 - Contrary to others, I thought he fared alright. Some good clearances. Some good work upfield. But some defensive errors too.
Legrottaglie - 5 - Didn't contribute nearly enough.
Chiellini - 5 - More controversially, I have to question Chiellini's play of late. He is not covering his men well. He is not contributing much offensively. But the biggest issue is that he has been suspect in man-to-man situations lately. I hope it's just a flu or something, but Chiellini is having a bad streak of form lately.
Molinaro - 5 - Boneheaded marking of Inzaghi on their first goal. A good run to catch up and stop Kaka in the second half. And some other good forces to corners after having to run into the play. But that's part of the problem -- he shouldn't have to run from far out if he was marking and covering well. He was most certainly not.
Camoranesi - 7 - MOM. Dug in and produced a lot of activity from midfield -- more than the others, for sure. Could have done more on the wing, however. Odd to see him play better in the middle.
Sissoko - 6.5 - Not among his best games, but he was mostly solid. Particularly in fighting for the ball and winning challenges. He was relentless, and he kept motoring even after that horrific tackle by Bonera-head.
Tiago - 5.5 - He tried. That's not enough, though. Didn't contribute enough to the offense, but did OK in coverage at the back.
Salihamidzic - 6.5 - Definite Forrest Gump of the Match (FGM) -- a classic example. Poached a powerful Trez header that couldn't have been more squarely sent to Kalac's gut, but did break from his marker well for a clean, precise header as the gamewinner. Outstanding stuff there. But otherwise, I don't think he added much to the team.
Trezeguet 5.5 - A few touches as usual. Did well with them -- better than last week. But they were too on target, and allowed Kalac to make a meal out of some of it. I can't fault him completely for the header in Kalac' gut. He at least hit it hard enough that Kalac had no chance to hold on, allowing Brazzo to score.
Del Piero - 6 - A captain's effort of good ball movement, good fight, and keeping the club in the match. But he was also quite wasteful. An open shot right at Kalac' legs. Hogging the ball too long in a dangerous spot and allowing the Milan defense to round up their walkers on him. He was responsible for far too many turnovers to give him higher than a 6.
Subs:
Stendardo - 6 - I give him a 6 because he was better than Legro and Milan didn't score on him.
Iaquinta - 6 - You got to love his ball pursuit.
Nocerino - 5 - I forgot who else wrote this, but he definitely could have cost us the match. The best thing he did today was waste time with the ball and pass it to someone with more talent, which was most of the pitch.
Coach:
Ranieri - 6 - Shoddy in the first half, but the adjustments were pretty good. Could have cost us with Nocerino, however.
Ref:
Rocchi - 6 - Some dubious offsides calls, but that wasn't his direct fault. In general, did the right thing in calling some cards, with a few that were a bit heavy-handed. But tossing Bonera was so right -- that boy should sit a couple games minimum. And sorry, Maldini: the free kick that ultimately got us the winner was not a fluke. You basically ran over Grygera while having no shot at the ball. Shoulder to shoulder almost presumes that Grygera would see it coming, and he clearly did not.
Milan's backline today had an average age of about 46, so we should have been able to score. But damn that Pippo poacher. First Milan goal, Kaka does a number to get around Chiellini, and Pippo slinks by his marker in Molinaro with the guy barely noticing until the ball is in the net. :frown:
Second Milan goal was dubious. Sure, Kaka wasn't offside. But Pippo was throughout that entire exchange. So you can't even call passive offsides on that one. Still, the Juve backline looked inattentive and uncoordinated and ripe for disaster. Poor Gigi was left naked half the time.
But at the lowest point of the match, with Gigi parrying possible two-goal down scenarios, somehow the team found it to fight back. Some credit perhaps to Ranieri's correct decision of the formation change -- which did slow down Kaka. But more to the players who dug in deep and rescued this match.
We needed a break in the second half, though. And we almost got two: Bonera's Bonera-headed cleats-up tackle on Sissoko, and almost Momo's left ankle. Forza Momo for hanging in there and coming back on the pitch.
And yes, Brazzo was hardly a dynamic player today. Most of what he did was poach rather than create. But that's the way Pippo does it. A great three points, and how I love to see Milan go down in flames. The only thing sparing Ancelotti's hide is Silvio has enough to preoccupy him with the elections this weekend.
Buffon - 6.5 - I can't fault the guy for atrocious defending that left him so exposed. He did the best he could under the situation.
Grygera - 5.5 - Contrary to others, I thought he fared alright. Some good clearances. Some good work upfield. But some defensive errors too.
Legrottaglie - 5 - Didn't contribute nearly enough.
Chiellini - 5 - More controversially, I have to question Chiellini's play of late. He is not covering his men well. He is not contributing much offensively. But the biggest issue is that he has been suspect in man-to-man situations lately. I hope it's just a flu or something, but Chiellini is having a bad streak of form lately.
Molinaro - 5 - Boneheaded marking of Inzaghi on their first goal. A good run to catch up and stop Kaka in the second half. And some other good forces to corners after having to run into the play. But that's part of the problem -- he shouldn't have to run from far out if he was marking and covering well. He was most certainly not.
Camoranesi - 7 - MOM. Dug in and produced a lot of activity from midfield -- more than the others, for sure. Could have done more on the wing, however. Odd to see him play better in the middle.
Sissoko - 6.5 - Not among his best games, but he was mostly solid. Particularly in fighting for the ball and winning challenges. He was relentless, and he kept motoring even after that horrific tackle by Bonera-head.
Tiago - 5.5 - He tried. That's not enough, though. Didn't contribute enough to the offense, but did OK in coverage at the back.
Salihamidzic - 6.5 - Definite Forrest Gump of the Match (FGM) -- a classic example. Poached a powerful Trez header that couldn't have been more squarely sent to Kalac's gut, but did break from his marker well for a clean, precise header as the gamewinner. Outstanding stuff there. But otherwise, I don't think he added much to the team.
Trezeguet 5.5 - A few touches as usual. Did well with them -- better than last week. But they were too on target, and allowed Kalac to make a meal out of some of it. I can't fault him completely for the header in Kalac' gut. He at least hit it hard enough that Kalac had no chance to hold on, allowing Brazzo to score.
Del Piero - 6 - A captain's effort of good ball movement, good fight, and keeping the club in the match. But he was also quite wasteful. An open shot right at Kalac' legs. Hogging the ball too long in a dangerous spot and allowing the Milan defense to round up their walkers on him. He was responsible for far too many turnovers to give him higher than a 6.
Subs:
Stendardo - 6 - I give him a 6 because he was better than Legro and Milan didn't score on him.
Iaquinta - 6 - You got to love his ball pursuit.
Nocerino - 5 - I forgot who else wrote this, but he definitely could have cost us the match. The best thing he did today was waste time with the ball and pass it to someone with more talent, which was most of the pitch.
Coach:
Ranieri - 6 - Shoddy in the first half, but the adjustments were pretty good. Could have cost us with Nocerino, however.
Ref:
Rocchi - 6 - Some dubious offsides calls, but that wasn't his direct fault. In general, did the right thing in calling some cards, with a few that were a bit heavy-handed. But tossing Bonera was so right -- that boy should sit a couple games minimum. And sorry, Maldini: the free kick that ultimately got us the winner was not a fluke. You basically ran over Grygera while having no shot at the ball. Shoulder to shoulder almost presumes that Grygera would see it coming, and he clearly did not.
