Black & White & Read All Over - UEFA Champions League: Juventus vs. Galatasaray Full Match Coverage"Alla Juventus vincere non è importante. È l'unica cosa che conta."https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47437/blackwhiteread-fave.png2013-10-03T01:00:03+02:00http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/rss/stream/45580812013-10-03T01:00:03+02:002013-10-03T01:00:03+02:00Juventus 2 - Galatasaray 2: Initial reaction
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<figcaption>Claudio Villa</figcaption>
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<p>I can sit here and try to figure out why Juventus were so bad for about 70 minutes against Galatasaray. Or I could do what I've wanted to do for two hours of Juve-Galatasaray — repeatedly bash my head against the wall. But since the second option means I won't be able to do my job, here's a crack at Door No. 1.</p>
<p>First, though, I will turn to Fabio Quagliarella, who basically summed up what I want to say after Juventus' 2-2 draw against Galatasaray on Wednesday night.</p>
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<p>"As the Coach said in his press conference, teams all defend against us now and hope to cause us problems on the counter-attack. It's tough when an entire squad is behind the ball, as you can't find space, but we have to work on countering this tactic."</p>
<p>(Source: <a href="http://www.football-italia.net/40176/quagliarella-i-thought-wed-won" target="_blank">Football Italia</a>)</p>
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<p>That was exactly the case. You don't need to look to the second half when Galatasaray was packing at least eight guys behind the ball when Juventus were in possession — which was a good portion of the time. Juventus, for as mediocre as they were in the first half, had 10 shots. Some were blocked, some went wide, some even went on goal. What about Galatasaray? They had three. Essentially from the opening kickoff, Roberto Mancini stated his intentions — defend like hell and hit Juve on the counter.</p>
<p>That's what they did and come away a point in Turin to show for it.</p>
<p>But if Juventus actually defended in the subsequent minute after Quagliarella's go-ahead goal, maybe — or probably — we wouldn''t be having this discussion and instead praising Juve for getting three points when they're far from their best. Even though Juve were pretty craptastic before the 70th minute, I would have liked that a lot more than feeling the utter disappointment that comes with letting a win slip right through your fingers.</p>
<p>Juventus' Champions League campaign to date in a nutshell: Two games, two draws. The more things change, the more things stay the same.</p>
<p><b>Random thoughts and observations</b></p>
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<li><span>Juventus missed Claudio Marchisio in the midfield today. Further proof he needs to play, from the start, more often than not. Yeah, I said it.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>The immediate response after Drogba's goal on the Twitter machine was to try and shell out the blame for who was at fault. Leonardo Bonucci's backpass was terrible, but the decision by Gigi Buffon to rush out of his goal might have been just as bad. That's something you expect from an inexperienced or young goalkeeper, not one of the best we've ever seen in the sport. It hasn't been a good couple of weeks for San Gigi. And with Juve not playing well as a whole right now, the mistakes he makes will be magnified even that much more.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>Mauricio Isla...where to begin. I was saying a lot of things about the announcers on Twitter during the match, but every bit of criticism Isla got was deserved. He was bad, really bad. How the hell he had a pass completion rate close to 80 percent is beyond me. Oh how I long for the Isla of Udinese fame.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>Amazing how Juventus finally woke up when Fernando Llorente came on in the second half. The shift in formation and tactics that came along with the Spaniard's introduction finally gave Galatasaray some difficulty. Even though they were still packing the box, Gala's defense showed some holes and Juve were able to take advantage of it. More of whatever that was, please, Mister Conte.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>I'm still trying to figure out how the hell a team that has been so good on defense the last two years allowed Galatasaray to score their second goal 71 seconds after Juve went ahead. Just baffling.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>If Juventus' defense plays anything close to like they have in recent weeks, Real Madrid are going to have a field day. Let's just hope that the Juventus that rose to the occasion in the group stages last year shows its head again. I'd approve of that.</span></li>
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https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2013/10/3/4795704/juventus-galatasaray-champions-league-final-score-initial-reactionDanny Penza2013-10-02T19:15:04+02:002013-10-02T19:15:04+02:00Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Galatasaray
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<figcaption>Valerio Pennicino</figcaption>
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<p>There can be some common points found between last year's Champions League campaign and the current one. There was a draw. There was a final result in Denmark that frustrated the hell out of us all.</p>
<p>And now, just like last year, a club from the outskirts of UEFA — this time, it's commonly known as 'Turkey' — arrives at Juventus Stadium looking to get an early advantage on one of their competitors heading into the middle part of the group stage schedule.</p>
<p>It's Juventus vs. Galatasaray. It's the return of Roberto Mancini to Italy. It's Felipe Melo's homecoming, too, you guys. We should be celebrating such an extraordinary day with parades and streamers throughout the stadio. Or, Juventus can show Roberto Mancini what he's missing in Italy and say hello to an old "friend" by making his first visit to Turin in years an unpleasant one.</p>
<p>Yeah, I like that second idea a lot better than the first one. I should really write these down somewhere.</p>
<p>Right, back to what's actually important.</p>
<p>So maybe not everything is like a year ago. I mean, instead of having back-to-back games with the team predicted to finish bottom of the group table like was the case last season, Juventus have two straight group games with Real Madrid. So yeah, I'd say Galatasaray's visit to Turin is a wee bit important.</p>
<p><i>UPDATE: LINEUPS ARE IN!</i></p>
<p><b>Juventus XI (3-5-2): </b>Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Vucinic, Tevez</p>
<p><b>Juventus bench:</b> Storari, Ogbonna, Peluso, Isla, Marchisio, Llorente, Quagliarella</p>
<p><b>Galatasaray XI (4-2-3-1): </b>Muslera; Riera, Chedjou, Semih Kaya, Eboue; Felipe Melo, Selcuk Inan; Bruma, Sneijder, Hakan Balta; Drogba</p>
<p><b>Galatasaray bench: </b>Ufuk Ceylan, Gokhan Zan, Sabri Sanoglu, Engin Baytar, Burak Yilmaz, Umut Bulut, Amrabat</p>
https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2013/10/2/4785974/champions-league-game-time-thread-juventus-vs-galatasarayDanny Penza2013-10-01T17:30:03+02:002013-10-01T17:30:03+02:00Juventus vs. Galatasaray Preview: Ordering Turkey
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<figcaption>Valerio Pennicino</figcaption>
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<p>Let us all celebrate that Felipe Melo is coming back to where he was so beloved and cherished. Okay, so maybe not all of that, but Mr. Melo is coming back to town.</p> <p>Sometimes when you look at things right after the Champions League draw, you think you have everything figured out about who your opponents will be in a few short weeks. There was Galatasaray, a quarterfinalist in last year's competition, drawn into the same group as Juventus and Real Madrid. They were looked at as a challenging side that could be capable of exactly what Shakhtar Donetsk did a year ago — shake everything in the group a bit.</p>
<p>Now, about a month later, who really knows what to expect from the squad that is "lucky" enough to employ Felipe Melo.</p>
<p>As Notorious B.I.G. once said, "Things done changed." Galatasaray are currently sitting in the middle of the Turkish Super Lig table having earned four points in five games to begin the season, they've fired one hell of a manager in Fatih Terim and replaced him with...Roberto Mancini? Yeah, <a href="http://www.galatasaray.org/en/futbol/futbol_as/haber/2204.php" target="_blank">it 's actually happened</a>. Mancini has gone from the unemployment line to trying to make Galatasaray a competitive team once again.</p>
<p>Do we know what to expect from Mancini's latest side? No, not really. They've struggled domestically, got hammered at home by Real Madrid, and are now looking to reinvent themselves under Mancini before it's too late. That could work out in Juve's favor, or it could mean nothing whatsoever. Until they take the field and actually start kicking the ball around, Galatasaray are, well, a team Juventus should beat simply based on form.</p>
<p>But there's one thing we do know: This is Juventus' chance to get some breathing room between them and their closest competitor, as the group stands right now, for the No. 2 spot behind Real Madrid. Simple math, guys. And maybe something more than one point would help everybody forget about that stupid draw in Denmark.</p>
<p><b>GOOD NEWS</b></p>
<p>Juventus are trying to claim three points at home, rather than having to travel all the way to Istanbul at such a busy time of the year schedule-wise. We know the home crowd will be buzzin' when the teams take the field because that's the only way Juventus Stadium knows how to do things. I love that place.</p>
<p>And there's that whole thing about Gala being a little bit of a wild card card right now. They could be equally as meh as they can be good. It's just one of those things where there just a mystery right now with a new manager taking over two days before a Champions League tie.</p>
<p><b>BAD NEWS</b></p>
<p>Courtesy of Ciro Immobile, Carlos Tevez's ankle resembled some kind of Halloween decoration meant to scare children rather than a body part of one of the best strikers around. Juventus waited little time saying that the 29-year-old Argentine <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2013/9/30/4784804/carlos-tevez-injury-juventus-torino-champions-league">would be a doubt for the Galatasaray game</a>. Now we'll hear for two straight days "Will he play or won't he play?" throughout the Italian media. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?</p>
<p>I guess we'll have to wait for the squad list to be released to see whether or not Tevez is good to go or not.</p>
<p><b>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</b></p>
<p>1. The health of Carlos Tevez.</p>
<p>And you thought it was over in the last section. Too bad, you get more Tevez talk! The extremely rash tackle from the former Juve youth product has put Juventus' best striker's status for tomorrow night is completely up in the air right now. Logic tells me "Eh, let him make sure he's fully fit and bring him back when his ankle isn't looking so gruesome." But the devil on my shoulder tells me "If he can play immediately after sustaining said injury, a couple days of rest won't really hurt him, right" It all depends on how the medical team thinks Tevez has recovered.</p>
<p>2. Who starts for Tevez if he can't go?</p>
<p>Which, of course, is a very good possibility. The smart money's on Fernando Llorente and Mirko Vucinic getting the start if Tevez isn't available from the opening whistle or at all. But Antonio Conte has been known to throw a curveball our way when it comes to his striker pairings every now and then. Could that mean Fabio Quagliarella, who score Juve's only goal in Denmark, may get a spot in the starting lineup? I don't know, but it's definitely an interesting choice awaiting Mister Conte.</p>
<p>3. The center-of-the-midfield conundrum.</p>
<p>So if Andrea Pirlo is coming back into the starting lineup after being rested in the Turin derby, that leaves three guys vying for two spots. Paul Pogba is playing as well as anybody in the squad right now, so that means he deserves to be one of the first names on the team sheet. Arturo Vidal is Arturo Vidal. And Claudio Marchisio has been effective since his return from injury. So who is Conte going to "bench" for Galatasaray? If there wasn't a striker issue to worry about, that'd be this Wednesday's million dollar question.</p>
<p>4. What kind of positive impact Roberto Mancini has — if any.</p>
<p>As of this preview being published, our old buddy Roberto Mancini has been Galatasaray boss for all of about 20 hours. That's not exactly a lot of time to install his tactics and implement his complete system. But that's the situation the Galatasaray squad currently finds itself in. It's certainly an interesting scenario and a little more added drama to an important Champions League fixture.</p>
<p>5. Containing Galatasaray's attacking talent.</p>
<p>I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I think the strikers Juventus will be facing are a little bit better than those they went up against in the derby over the weekend. We saw last season what Burak Yilmaz is all about. We know what kind of pedigree Didier Drogba has in the Champions League from <a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/521668/14ui442_jpg.gif">his time wearing blue with Chelsea</a>. Throw Wesley Sneijder in there and you've got some talented folks leading the Galatasaray attack. That could mean Juventus' defense is in for a busy night. Or they can just do what they did against Torino and have Gigi Buffon stand around for 90-plus minutes.</p>
<p><b>My starting XI (3-5-2): </b>Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Llorente, Vucinic</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>OFFICIAL KICKOFF TIME: 8:45 P.M. IN ITALY; 2:45 P.M. ON THE EAST COAST; 11:45 ON THE WEST COAST</b></p>
https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2013/10/1/4779550/champions-league-preview-juventus-vs-galatasarayDanny Penza