(coppa italia) Juventus 1-2 Fiorentina
The difference in quality within the Juve squad is huge in some cases. Out first XI- Buffon, Asamoah, Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci, Lichsteiner, Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba, Tevez Morata plus Marchisio, Caceres, Llorente so let’s say our first 15 seems the best technical 15 in Italy.
However, the squad quality lessens quickly and drastically when you start including and even playing players like…
Pepe – who has zero future at the club, his body is wrecked by long term injuries and he has hardly played since regaining match fitness, or something close to it.
De Ceglie – The most hapless player I seen in Juve colours since my support was born in the early 90s. A player whose only strength is determination. 1/10 hooked crosses look decent. His passing over short range is atrocious. he has the footballing intelligence of a blind donkey. Only brought him back from Parma as he wasn’t going to get paid, so we may as well keep him fit and hope to send him packing in the Summer.
Padoin- a solid and reliable performer, but nothing else. very low technical ability.
Coman- massively unproven, yet to make a major impact or earn regular playing time. Still very young.
Storari – was a fine keeper in earlier years, but without the chance to gain any semblance of match sharpness, at his age, he cannot be relied upon as a solid back-up.
I look at those above and don’t think many, if any would get a place in another serie A side in the top five of the table.
I expect all of them to leave in the Summer, albeit Coman on loan. Matri will also head out. Possibly Llorente. And one of our CBs. Rugani will come in, as will Zaza I assume and perhaps also Berardi. How wonderful it will be to add 3 italians to the squad!
It is a bother to lose to Fiorentina in our own stadium in a competition we have not won since 95. If we end up maintaining our lead in Serie A and progressing in the champions league it may be quickly forgotten. Yet I still question the method of Allegri…
Juve head honcho Allegri approached the tie like a training match
I prefer to see a team playing to their strengths as often as possible. Winning breeds a winning mentality. Momentum at this stage of the season is of immense importance. Now is not the time to be giving players a first XI berth out of charity a la Pepe. Nor to be resting so many key players who are not in need of a break.
I can understand playing Caceres, as he is ear-marked for more regular selection. And also Llorente, who is in dire need of a confidence boost. Yet why did we not see Barzagli at any stage? Surely our finest defender, now match fit.
Evra shows his best in a flat back four, though he was benched for the entirety. In his place we saw Padoin.
Poor selection of a side which has never played together before in this system, led to the defeat. And what a wretched way to end our undefeated two year run at home.
The tie is not over. We are more than capable of winning handsomely in Florence. However, we will lose again if Allegri tries to outfox Montella with a weakened line-up. His opposite number approached the game very differently. Man-marking Bonucci with Gomez was an intelligent move, for without Pirlo, this augmented our lack of distribution from the back. In terms of squad rotation, Montella appears potent. He alternates different teams between the Europa, Serie A and coppa italia. And it shows in the freshness and comfort with the system.
This was probably a chance lost to end our now two decade drought for the domestic cup. I hope that such disappointment can be trounced by progression in the champions league and continued dominance in the league.
“We want to achieve the maximum in every competition we take part in,” continued Marotta.
“The Coppa Italia brings lustre to Italian football and tonight we’ll try to honour it.
“We have a line-up that fully reflects the expectations of the club. We must do well to take any opportunity to raise the bar.” – Beppe Marrotta, speaking prior to our 1-2 home defeat to Fiorentina.
Those expectations were revealed when Juve began the match with 7, arguably 8 (when all midfielders are fit, Claudio is not an automatic starter) second string players in the starting 11. It basically their B team. Against what seemed a strong Fiorentina side.
One manager clearly wanted more strongly to win the match, for the coppa italia represents probably their main chance of silverware this season. Better teams in the Europa, most of whom put out their strongest side in every tie.
I dislike the way both Allegri and Conte before him approach the coppa italia. With calculated disrespect. I suppose you could argue that he misjudged Fiorentina, but Allegri has not suddenly become a mong. He rested so many players to avoid injury and to give Pogba and Caceres a chance to regain fitness. Pepe has no future whatsoever at Juve, yet he started the match. Llorente desperately needs goals to regain confidence…
this was approached like a training match by Juve, as has been seen in previous years. The competition is the least important one they enter.