Quote by Clint Eastwood, artwork courtesy of Sposato.al.Nemico
The ability to not look back and get distracted by an event in the past is a mental feature many high level athletes work tirelessly on. To some, it comes easier than others. But for most, the task to forget one’s mistake during a game can be much harder than physically playing it sometimes. Today, it’s no secret that Juventus’ players are going through a difficult moment, no doubt complicated by a number of physical injuries, but certainly compounded by some mental ones as well.
Del Neri and Marotta’s comments after the Milan game left many fans, myself included, scratching their heads, wondering if they had even been watching the same match. But to put an optimistic spin on things, perhaps their hopeful and “improving” sentiments were made to artificially create a certain atmosphere around the team that calms and relaxes- Lord knows they could use some.
"It is not a good time for us, everyone knows this. At the moment, we must not look too far behind or too far ahead, only focusing on the present, which is the match against Cesena on Saturday. If we play like we know how to, we will win. We must walk onto the pitch without any fear of conceding an early goal, knowing we can overcome this setback" -Marchisio
In certain ways our opponent this Saturday will be ourselves, not the other team. Like Il Principe said, if we play like we know how to, we will win. Granted the Seahorses are coming off of two fine results and they’re in good health, but one can’t imagine the Bianconeri losing here if they play close to their potential for ninety minutes. However since 2010, that’s been easier said than done.
In terms of line-ups, La Gazzetta believes Buffon will start (read Aaron's excellent piece on the subject if you haven't yet) with Sorensen, Bonucci if Barzagli isn’t fit in time, Chiellini, and Traore in defense. In the middle of the park there’ll be Krasic on the right, Marchisio, Aquilani, and Pepe behind Del Piero and Matri up top. Last week we severely lacked some quality going forward and at times looked as disjointed as ever. It’ll be up to Del Neri to try and fix these on-field issues as best he can. Hopefully the team responds once and for all and we can stop the bleeding. Here are the call-ups for Juventus and Cesena.
IERI... OGGI... DOMANI... SEMPRE JUVE!!!