With today's 3-0 humiliating loss to Udinese, we are 3 games from our all-time season losses record. We have 6 games left, so if we lose 50% of them which is a distinct possibility, we'll meet it. We are also only 8 goals from our most conceded in a season, ever, so we just need to concede 1.33 goals per game and we'll break that record too!
The numbers are bad, no doubt...but when Udinese was passing the ball around at the end, the crowd chanting Ole, it was heart-breaking. We were the bull, confused and disillusioned, and everyone was just waiting for the matador to put us out of our misery. Complete and utter humiliation. The season was over a long time ago, and I still maintain that this is the plan to finish it.
Your thoughts on the game:
TeamGREASE: This game doesn't matter. None of the remaining games matter. The season has been over for months. The more losses we accumulate between now and the end of the season, the clearer the writing on the wall that we need an overhaul. You can argue that "well, the writing on the wall is in neon fkn lights right now" and, while that's true, if this administration finishes Fourth for a CL spot than an objective will have been reached. We don't want that. The worse this administration looks at the end of this season, the better.
ooBia: I just watched the last 30 minutes, and I felt my heart being ripped apart, I can only imagine how you guys felt. That was embarrassing. That was disgraceful. And most importantly, disrespectful of our colors.
Papai: can we plumb any lower? it will be interesting to see
Robee: Again De Ceglie’s fault the second goal. The guy just isn’t made to play as a fullback… He can’t defend and ‘though I agree he can improve Alessio, he will never be the kind of player we need.
LE PAGELLE:
Manninger: 6.5- Conceded 3, could have been worse. Not culpable on any of Udinese's goals, made one error but several smart saves.
Zebina: 5- Started out somewhat brightly, but had serious issues containing Pepe and contributed little offensively.
Legrottaglie: 5.5- Legro's not the best defender when it comes to pacey attack, and that is exactly what Udinese has, between Di Natale, Pepe, and Sanchez.
Cannavaro: 5- Even slower than Legrottaglie, it was another game to forget for the Azzurri captain.
De Ceglie: 5.5- Skinned a few times by Udinese and Sanchez, but was one of the few bright spots moving forward.
SHUT UP AND GET OUT.
Marchisio: 6- We've all said time and time again, not as effective on the wing as in the middle, though today he wasn't that bad. Worked hard, but was pretty much isolated.
Sissoko: 4.5- Dreadful. Started out well, but couldn't impose himself at all on the game and his passing, as usual, was simply awful.
Felipe Melo: 4.5- Looked nervous on the ball, and as Udinese got more assertive, the ball completely bypassed him. There was a long period where it didn't seem he ever touched the ball.
Camoranesi: 6- In the first half, all of the decent moves passed through his feet, but the midfield completely disappeared and so did Camoranesi.
Amauri: 4- It's really impressive to see defenders like Zapata and Lukovic completely manhandle him and take him out of the game.
Del Piero: 6- Worked hard and created the few chances the team had, fought like a true captain.
Zaccheroni: 3.5- Starting Marchisio on the left wing was a mistake. A 4-4-2 with Sissoko and Melo in the middle is a disaster. Giovinco should have played. Withdrawing Del Piero for Iaquinta was a huge error....I have no idea why he thought Amauri should stay on the pitch, or why ADP, one of the better players on the pitch, was withdrawn, or why we decided 2 prima puntas up top with Sissoko-Melo supplying the passes would be a good idea. Poor decisions.
I like Mentos. I like Pepsi. But they do not work so well at the same time.
The Juventus Offside Shitlist: It's been missing for Sampdoria, Napoli, and Atalanta, so it's been revised.
-Amauri: (8 Weeks) Dominated by Napoli and now Udinese. It's sad how easy it is for average defenders to mark him out of the game.
-Chimenti: (7 Weeks)
-Felipe Melo: (5 Weeks)
-Grosso: (3 Weeks) Crap game against Napoli got him back on the list.
-Grygera: (8 Weeks)
-Zaccheroni: (1 Week) Mistakes all over the place against Udinese.
-Zebina: (3 Weeks) Penalty against Napoli, and hasn't really been reviving his game. Not a bad performance today, but not good enough to get off the list.
Chillin and watching their team commit suicide
Random Thoughts:
From Juventus.com: "Juventus asks for forgiveness from our fans. After the defeat in Udine, the team, the coach, and the players ask for forgiveness from the fans and have decided on a press silence." Long overdue.
Analyzing Udinese's goals: On the first, it is simple to blame De Ceglie, but I don't think that's entirely fair. Could he have done better? Yes, but the rebound off the crossbar was impossible to predict. Maybe he should have been covering Sanchez tighter, but I couldn't really fault him for the goal. The third goal was just our entire team simply cut apart, everyone at fault there.
Poor tackle from Sissoko playing defensive midfield opens up the field to a counterattack. Melo for some reason slowly jogging back.
Melo and Sissoko nowhere to be seen, Marchisio and Camoranesi slowly jogging back. Defense fails to hold a line- either De Ceglie should have stepped up to catch Sanchez offside, or Cannavaro should have been deeper.
Manninger saves Sanchez's shot, and despite a 2-3 seconds of time, no Juventus midfielder manages to get back to cover the defensive midfield area.
Does anyone notice incredible similarities between Zac and Ferrara's Juve? After a positive start where we looked like a team, we have completely come apart with no game plan, sterile offense, weak defense, and a midfield that can't take charge. Morale is in the basement, and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better. Anotherwords, sacking Ferrara was never the solution, he was not necessarily a protagonist but the teams' problems go far deeper. People keep saying we're only 3 points away from the Champion's League spots, but I don't want Champion's League. I don't want Europa League. To make it would be like Milan's 2007 CL win: giving false hope to the fans and delaying drastically needed changes until the future. 10th place or bust!
Lastly, I would like to salute a titan of Italian football media, Maurizio Mosca, who passed away last night. He wrote for the Gazzetta dello Sport for decades, and then became a fixture on Italian TV, such as the famous Mediaset show Controcampo, which reviews the weekends event. You may know him better as the journalist who coined the phrase, "Ahhh, come gioca Del Piero!" Inter, Milan, and Juventus official websites have paid tribute to this great man, as did Del Piero after the defeat to Udinese as well as on his official website. He was a smart journalist with a great personality, and will be missed in the Calcio world. Riposa in pace.
Happy Easter to all...hopefully this squad can "resurrect" itself as well!