Derby della Mole – Torino 1 – 1 Juventus
Torino certainly aimed for a counter-attacking routine, hopeful of taking advantage of whatever chances came their way through the rebounds of our constant, ponderous attacking play and possession. I saw that same predictable pressure game, where we move the ball left, then right, then left, then right, trying slowly, slowly to find a through ball. Its an area where we truly have to improve if we are to develop further as a team. Its not a lack of zeal or tactical nous on Conte’s part…more a reflection of making the best of what we have at our disposal.
Vucinic was yet again, as he is at least 3 games out of every 5; pathetic. His touch, vision, strength, pace were all atrocious for a trequartista/lone striker/attacking midfielder…whatever position in an offensive role you can imagine. And everyone who watches Juve regularly will accept that this was not an isolated incident. I hope he is sold in the Summer.
The 3-5-1-1 is an interesting idea, but Marchisio is far from a world class support striker (his best work is more central in the midfield where he can hustle/intercept/begin and be a part of the attack/arrive in the box late) and Vucinic is never a man to lead the line with any potency (for starters his shooting is regularly woeful and he can’t head the ball)
This lack of dribblers, of flair, of players confident enough to take a man on other than with a quick burst of pace down the flanks, will hurt us when we come up against robust defensive teams and also, teams which can match us defensively and dribble past our players in our own half. We have hugely lacked a fantasista since DP left the fold and I strongly expect Beppe, Paratici and Conte to focus on this gaping hole in our repertoire over the summer mercato period. Muriel would be interesting…Quintero is another option. We can not afford the Riberys and Ronaldos and Hazards, so we must take a punt of sorts on a natural dribbler/ flair merchant who is young, hungry and relatively cheap.
Llorente is a great piece of work by Beppe and his team and also a sign of the progress we have made since Conte picked up the reins. The spaniard would not have been short of better paying suitors, but he has decided to invest what are often a striker’s best years age-wise, into the project well underway at piedmont. Our allure and prestige are growing.
Add to the team a proper left back and allow Asamoah to challenge at CM and back-up at LB. Also a fantasista in the channels between midfield and attack or a Jovetic, and we will be making very sure progress.
As for the formation…If we can add some flair and creativity to the front line, a la Jovetic or Muriel, we could well try a Marchisio Pogba Vidal midfield. Also…we will have Pepe back for next term, so a 4-3-3 returns to the table of options.
We have improved this term when it comes to breaking down resolute ten men behind the ball opponents. However it still often seems at times that we win through on the luck we have forced and through attrition, rather than through a moment of magic. A split second piece of fantasy which would unlock any defence and present a clear goal scoring chance. Pirlo’s passing is often a joy to behold, but its not enough. Pogba takes more weight of responsibility to drive forward from Pirlo’s shoulders than any other in our team. That much becomes more apparent the more they play together. Rather than just worry about Pirlo, opponents have to worry about Pogba, whose distribution qualities are blossoming beautifully. Add his brilliant passing and improving creativity to his immense strength, powerful shooting and eagerness to drive forward with the ball at his feet and we have a player on our hands, who by midway through next season I expect to be one of the the first two names on the team-sheet in midfield alongside Vidal. Both players make their presence and ability felt more heavily and more consistently than Marchisio and Pirlo. It would be interesting to see a midfield-attack combination such as…
Vidal Pogba Asamoah
Llorente Jovetic/Muriel
Such talk can wait.
A welcome victory in the derby della mole. Let’s crunch Palermo and take the title in style next weekend…
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