IMO Tiago wasnt that impressive, but he showed some impressive elements, our midfield really lacks.
Just like i said at the beginning of the season, we have too many wingers, so we must use two every game and two CMs.
Being a defensive-wise team, all of our midfielders should be able to defend if necessary and IMO, they are all very capable to do that
(maybe Palla would be the only exception here).
Being focused on the defense, that much, we have to do some sacrifices.
Crap's Juve, DD's Juve and CR's Juve, all sacrificed creativity in the middle.
We have been playing with two wingers and two DMs and we let all the offensive work to our wingers since, usually, all of the DMs we used, cant pass the ball properly (Vieira had potential and showed that at his first 2 months).
Thats why we depend on counterattacks and long balls.
It is a tactical choice, this choice has to be taken at the beginning of the season, after evaluating our players material and cannot be changed during the season, because the team will lose her character, teamwork and effectiveness.
It will be like starting the season all over again, from the beginning.
I was happy to see us spending 30+mil and buying two midfielders, ABLE, to change that! Almiron and Tiago are the kind of players who supposed to pass a lot and defend occasionally and they were supposed to be completed with players that can defend a lot and pass the ball occasionally, players like Zanetti and Nocerino.
So it all seemed very logical, having a balanced team, with a balanced midfield, one CM and one DM and a proper back up solution.
But, all of a sudden, CR abandoned this system and switched back to our old archi-defensive system with the two DMs and he never gave the opportunity to our CMs again.
I was really puzzled about this tactical decision. Apparently it was smth more than Tiago's and Almiron's fitness levels. We were not conceding so many balls just by losing possession in the midfield and we were still having creativity problems in the midfield, why would CR force back the double DM scheme?
I ve discussed this matter to a former coach and he was kind enough to enlighten me. That coach is not a Juve fun, but he can rate our current material. The tactical decision, was made because of our defenders material, everybody, even a non Juve fun could see that our defense struggled and could not cope well, like the rest of the team, esp after Andrade's injury! CR had no option, than to sacrifice a bit of our creativity in the midfield just to help our weak defense.
The outstanding Nocerino's level of fitness and great performances, combined with the horrible Almiron's performances and low fitness levels of Tiago, expelled the CM from our formation and made the 4-4-2 with two DMs, the permanent solution. Our team was used to that scheme for years, our veteran wingers+ attackers knew how to be efficient that way and the results were good enough, right away. Thats why CR does not give Tiago a try so often, its because a tactical choice was made, we have the results now and we cannot risk on ruining our balance, by changing our scheme.
In all our attempts to try a new scheme with a CM, our team seems a bit scared, shaky and fussy,at start, we need more time to adapt a new scheme, maybe after x-mas, with the arrival of a new CM to replace Almiron and a new reliable CB, (or the return of Andrade), we could try that and prepare our team during the break.
It is really hard for any CM to impress, under those circumstances,
but Tiago showed that he has some speed, he has a swift pass, he can also defend if its necessary, he can make a few on the spot decisions, with other words he can offer what our current DMs cant.
Its just a matter of tactical choices, do our attackers+wingers really need more support than our fragile defense?
Answer this and you may answer if we need a CM or a DM...
About Molinaro, i had the courage to bash him,right after his previous match, probably his best with the Juve jersey and all i said about him, Molinaro proved on the field against Lazio. He is a leech, he cant perform without the support of a great player, he cant stand his ground. Neddy wasnt good today and couldnt support him,
Molinaro was the one that should cover up Neddy's inefficience and he failed miserably, his true role and value was exposed because of that!
Just sooner than expected and in a period of time Molinaro was considered on form:drill: This was a game, Molinaro ought to perform, this was the game, his team, needed him the most,
he doesnt only lacks the skills, he also lacked the spirit!
He is not Juve material and he will never will be...