Juventus 0-0 Benfica…The end of the road.

By tdf, May 2, 2014

 

 A disappointing european journey which began with a costly 1-1 draw in Copenhagen reached its conclusion last night in Turin, as Benfica refused to cave in under the pressure of our home advantage and partisan support to progress to the final of the Europa League.

Whilst the quality of the opposition is of great difference, parallels can be found in the difficulties encountered by Conte in defeating resolute, well organized defensive tactics. Despite the arrogant and in some ways disrespectful comments from Jorge Jesus of his side proving the better team in both legs of the tie, Juventus were not outplayed in Portugal and were by far the more entertaining and dominant side in Turin. However, perhaps Jesus has a point in that he aimed to build an advantage at home then defend that advantage in Italy. On both scores, his team performed very well. However, it must be noted that Benfica were lucky. Ricochets, goal line clearances, some of the worst time wasting and play-acting I have seen for many moons all helped their cause. Still, the major reasons we have failed to move past a team which I feel we would beat more often than not if we played them regularly, need to be examined.

It was a good performance by Juve. Only Caceres and Lichsteiner appeared under-par, with every other player involved from the start showing great enthusiasm and grit. As for the substitutes, Giovinco did absolutely nothing. Marchisio and Osvaldo’s opportunities to impress were too truncated by the sickening lack of sportsmanship of our portuguese rivals.

Defensively Benfica were magnificent. Blocking off the runs and through-balls in the middle, allowing us only to pepper the box with crosses from either side which they invariably mopped up with strength and aerial superiority. They were absent as an attacking force, other than an effort early on from inside the 18 yard box. Luisao and Pereira are two of the finest defenders I have seen all season, in any league. They would both find space in our starting XI.

We were confident to shoot and created enough chances to win the game. Tevez could have done better on a couple of occasions yet the Argie was generally facing three defenders. Lichsteiner missed a wonderful opportunity to strike on goal when found unmarked in space, much like the late chance for Chiellini in the first leg. Pogba was immense in the opening 45 minutes, but ran out of steam after the break. Our creator in chief Andrea Pirlo gave a battling performance, yet his set-pieces were average, with only one shot looking likely to trouble the keeper.

As the game wore on, Benfica’s policy of aggressive defence led to a red card for Perez which precipitated the beginning of the end of the game’s fluidity as Jesus put into action a plan to disrupt, time-waste, aggravate and bend the rules as much as possible. In the final twenty minutes of the match, Benfica fouled, required the stretcher several times and did everything they could to halt play. The mass brawl sparked by an exchange on the sidelines between Serbian Markovic (who seemed an obvious cunt throughout the game) and Montenegrin Vucinic ended our chances of laying siege to their goal for a dramatic late onslaught. Concentration and pressure were lost and not regained.

Part of me ponders it was all part of the game plan of the confrontational Jesus. Despite the reputation of the Italians as the worst divers, which stretches back to the 80s and 90s, I watch enough Italian football to find it far more spiteful and vicious than any other league I follow. The flimsiest and very worst for affectation and simulation I have witnessed has been for a long time now, the portuguese. 

and flimsiness have seemed for a very long time to be the Spanish and the Portuguese.

The bottom line is that we were not outplayed, but outfoxed, both on the bench and field of play. Also our problems with penetration and clinical finishing remain a work in progress.

Tevez and Llorente have helped add sharpness to the front-line, enough to make the scudetto a certainty even with Roma achieving perhaps their best season on record. Pogba’s development has also improved our potency in the final third. It is still not enough for Europe. That much has been made clear during the failed campaigns in first the champions league, and secondly the Europa.

We lack both the personnel and tactical flexibility to progress past well organized, quality teams. Especially if they choose to sit back. Watching the war of attrition against Bologna few weeks back is a useful example of where our troubles lie. Everyone knows our movements. Pirlo will look left, right and through the middle, Pogba will try to drive through to the box, our wing-backs provide the most common route into the final third. Cut off these supply lines and all we can do is continue with the same, at times laboured passing game, slowly repeating the same movements, the same passes, until we force a breakthrough. Against a side as well organized and confident as Benfica, we needed luck and did not get it. Failing which we needed to be clinical with our chances when they came.
The effort of the troops cannot be faulted. And in this tie – even though it took a red card for the opposition – Conte finally showed that he is willing to take risks by sacrificing Bonucci for an extra body up front. That it took such an extreme to see it happen is now besides the point. For it’s the lack of quality at the top level which is responsible for our misgivings.

For all the industry of our wingbacks, neither Asamoah or Lichsteiner have the natural ability to provide consistent quality from the flanks in the final third. Both players have wonderful engines but the Swiss locomotive is far more suited to a straight full-back role and the Ghanaian excels in the central midfield area. Good enough for Serie A but not for Europe.

Tevez has enjoyed a solid league campaign but questions must be asked of his capability to provide goals on the continental stage. Finding the net solely once in 12 european outings is not good enough. For his strike partner, Llorente, we find a similar story, yet he is a player whose aerial threat we do not have the players to capitalize upon.

The rest of our strikers should be moved on in the Summer. Mirko and Seba have proven themselves inadequate, and Quagliarella has been out of favour for most of the season.

Defensive errors have haunted us since the start of the season. Lapses in concentration costing us dearly at key points of the journey. The lack of leadership is one issue, as is the absence of a true libero to take the ball out of defence and drive up the field. The 3-5-2 could well work had we Beckenbauer or Matthaus in place of Bonucci. As things stand we are forced to watch Leonardo take a few steps towards the halfway line then launch a long ball or worse still, endure Chiellini bumbling his way forward before hitting a pass 20 yards too heavy.

 

The marauding style of Beckenbauer is at odds with the variant Conte deploys in Bonucci. The German would not simply sweep and clear then look for a pass, he would also choose when was best to take the ball forward at his feet. From spare man at the back to extra body in midfield or even attack. That is the key value of a libero.

Beckenbauer is not available and the lack of any other top sides adopting the same 3-5-2 shape (as us) is telling. Football of the modern era is focused at the top level on the movement and deployment of attacking players; the mix of battlers and skill merchants in midfield and up front. This is where we must recruit intelligently.

On balance, only our midfield is on par with the finest on the planet. Yet we must be proud of our progress and remember where we were not 10 years ago but 3 years ago. At this stage in 2011 we had exited the group stage of the Europa league without winning a match and were on course for our second consecutive 7th place finish in the league. The contrast is important to note. For we are on course for our third straight scudetto and reached the semi-final of the europa league bowing out in a very tight affair to the probable winners.

Progress takes time without billionaire backing. We are improving year on year and we should all be proud of our achievements and excited about the future.

Ratings

Buffon – A spectator for much of the match, comfortable when called upon. 6

Bonucci – Made no glaring errors, yet his passing was haphazard. 5.5

Chiellini – Took on responsibility for bombing forward but let down time and again by his lack of skill on the ball. Resolute at the back. 6

Caceres – I am nowhere near as keen on Martin as a CB as many others appear to be. His positioning is often worrying and he offered nothing going forward. 5

Asamoah – Worked incredibly hard and was afforded more opportunities to attack given Pogba’s immense presence nearby and the lack of adventure from his opponents on the flank. His final ball remains bereft of accuracy. 6

Lichsteiner – A poor showing. Found out at this level when asked to provide winger and full back duties combined. His cause wasn’t helped by a clearly lacking energy and sharpness Vidal. The failure to control a wonderful opportunity in the box was cringeworthy and his game suffered thereafter. 5

Pirlo – The bearded wonder was heavily involved throughout. Failed to make much impact from the set-pieces and lacked intelligent runners in the final third to aim for so was forced to focus his passing, like everyone else in black and white, on the flanks. 6.5

Pogba– Yet again our most dynamic midfielder. Unfortunately restricted to working between the midfield and attack and was unable to carve out any major openings. Showed wonderful strength on the ball with a few useful flicks and back-heels. 6.5

Vidal – Whilst wonderful to have him back, his lack of games of late was evident in his vision. Found some useful positions but as with his team-mates, all too often was surrounded by several opponents whenever close to a decent opening. Had he and Barzagli been fighting fit and available for both legs I suspect we would have won handsomely. Unfortunately, such is our present level of squad depth, removing two of our most vital components hugely weakens our ability at both ends of the pitch. 6

Llorente – His game is dependent on others finding him in space, but there was so very little space available to work with. Add to that the lack of quality with our crossing and the pickings were paltry for our towering hit-man. 5

Tevez – Worked like a trojan, as always, though found barely two chances to shoot with any real venom. Well marshaled and crowded out for the majority. 5.5

Giovinco – Admittedly he had barely 10 minutes to make any impact before the game was effectively over due to the fracas pitch-side. However, he did nothing of note and was not involved in any meaningful way. Out of his depth at this level. 4.5

Conte– Too little, too late. However, he is improving and if given the quality in the final third he demands over the Summer I have faith that he will continue the side’s evolution next to his own as a manager. A European semi-final is a solid achievement in his second stab at the competition. 6

 

In conclusion, we provided a strong account of ourselves. The absence of Barzagli and a fit and firing on all cylinders Vidal hurt our cause immensely. Rather than solely tactics, we came up short on quality in vital areas. This can only be remedied with an improvement to the squad as a whole. The result is disappointing, not so much due to out performances, but mainly due to that niggling feeling that we are a better team, on our day, than Benfica. We exit the tournament with our heads held with our eyes on the future. Conte and Beppe have brought us this far. I trust them to continue the wonderful journey we have undertaken. Progress takes time, intelligent moves in the market and luck. Everything is in place for the club to continue its return to the top table of continental football. Patience, my comrades. We are on the Right tracks.

Match highlights-

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