Riise late show sinks Juve, leaves Ferrara on brink

January 24, 2010

Norway left-back John Arne Riise popped up in injury time to head home the winner as AS Roma condemned 10-man Juventus to an eighth defeat in 11 matches with a 2-1 success in Turin on Saturday.

The defeat will surely leave Juve coach Ciro Ferrara on the brink as his mis-firing team slumped to a sixth defeat in eight Serie A clashes, and to make matters worse Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was dismissed.

The win moved in-form Roma to within two points of second-placed AC Milan, who play Inter Milan on Sunday.

They now have eight wins and three draws in their last 11 league matches but club captain Francesco Totti doesn’t want to get carried away.

“We’re going through a great period in terms of results, we stood up to Juve,” he said.

“Where do we want to get to? Right now we’re not thinking about anyone else than ourselves.”

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, who was fired by Juve two games before the end of last season, earned his first win as a coach away to Juve but denied there was any extra satisfaction.

“The city (Rome) is starting to believe in this team, we’re having fun and we’re playing well,” he said.

“I feel nothing personal, I’m part of Roma and I’m happy because we’re in top four.

“It’s an important win because Juve want to stay in race for a Champions League finish and a win today puts them further behind us.”

Ferrara sprung a surprise in his line-up, leaving out former World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro in favour of Nicola Legrottaglie, possibly in order to combat the aerial threat posed by Roma forward Luca Toni.

But both coaches’ plans were thrown out the window a couple of minutes in as Toni pulled up with a calf injury and was replaced by Totti, making his comeback from injury.

The switch seemed to suck any attacking threat out of Roma and Juve dominated the first 45 minutes.

Bosnia veteran Hasan Salihamidzic fired well over from distance on nine minutes before Brazilian forward Amauri rose highest in a crowded box to meet Zdenek Grygera’s right wing cross, heading wide under pressure from Nicolas Burdisso.

Juve’s best chances were coming from the flanks and Amauri won another header on 31 minutes, this time from Fabio Grosso’s left wing cross but again he directed it wide.

Next it was a devilish free-kick from Diego that caused a problem in the Roma defence but Alessandro Del Piero couldn’t get enough contact to direct his header on target.

Juve needed a stroke of luck or a moment of genius to break the deadlock and they got both six minutes after the restart.

Diego’s low ball into the box spun up off Juan’s foot, Del Piero was perfectly placed for the dropping ball and his left foot volley from a tight angle low into the far corner was pure vintage.

But if Juve had needed something special to find the net, Roma needed a helping hand, and they got it courtesy of Grosso and the referee.

Rodrigo Taddei ran onto a through-ball into the box and tried to turn inside Grosso but the full-back left out an arm and although contact was minimal, Taddei flopped to the ground and the referee pointed to the spot with Totti slotting home the penalty.

Juve resorted to the tactic that served them well in the first period and substitute Antonio Candreva lofted a high ball into the box but Amauri’s header was straight at goalkeeper Julio Sergio.

The hosts were almost made to pay as Taddei released the breaking Riise with Juve caught upfield but Buffon sacrificed himself, charging out of his area and bringing down the marauding Norwegian full-back to prevent him going through on goal.

Buffon barely even waited for the red card before walking off the field.

But then Riise it was who charged forward deep into injury time to meet a David Pizarro cross at the back post and heap misery on Juve.

Earlier, Catania cruised to a crucial 3-0 victory at home to Parma to improve their chances of beating the drop, leaving them 18th but just one point from safety.

ROME (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, amauri, calf injury, Claudio Ranieri, club captain, coach claudio, couple of minutes, fabio cannavaro, Ferrara, francesco totti, gianluigi buffon, injury time, inter milan, john arne riise, juventus, legrottaglie, world player of the year, Zdenek Grygera

Ferrara defiant despite Juve tailspin

January 18, 2010

Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara brushed off questions about his future despite his team slumping to a seventh defeat in 10 matches following Sunday’s 1-0 reverse at Chievo.

Gennaro Sardo scored the only goal as Juve suffered a fourth defeat in five league matches.

Since defeating Serie A leaders Inter Milan 2-1 in Turin in December, they have lost to Catania, Bari and AC Milan as well as Chievo and slumped to 13 points off top.

In fact, the title is no longer a realistic objective for Juve who dropped to fourth and could drop another place if Napoli avoid defeat in Sunday’s late match.

It leaves Juve desperately fighting for a top four finish and Champions League football next season.

This season they have already been dumped out of the Champions League following successive defeats to Bordeaux (2-0) and Bayern Munich (4-1).

“The management are evaluating the team, the coach and the staff. If the problem is the coach the club will tell me,” said Ferrara defiantly.

“Nothing has been said to me directly in this sense. The team has ability but they’re not expressing it at the moment. We need to understand why.”

Ferrara described himself as “Rocky” earlier this week for his ability to keep taking punches without going down, but many commentators will be stunned that this latest defeat has not delivered the final, knockout blow.

Juve were missing three forwards — David Trezeguet, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Amauri — as well as Italy winger Mauro Camoranesi and defensive midfielders Momamed Sissoko (on African Nations Cup duty) and Christian Poulsen (who suffered a broken leg last week).

But they welcomed back Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon meaning they started a team including 10 internationals, amongst them four of Italy’s back five.

“It’s a negative period and I don’t want to make excuses. We had important players missing but those who did play gave their all,” said Ferrara before blaming the pitch.

“We conceded the goal and then there was no great comeback. In the seocnd half we tried to close down Chievo.

“At the end we gave it everything, putting on an extra forward but there were other difficulties.

“The pitch in Verona of course is not up to Serie A standards but it was the same for Chievo.

“I still have a lot of belief (in myself) even if I didn’t expect to face such problems. We have players who aren’t in great shape who need a rest but we can’t afford to give them that.

“From a morale perspective the lads are paying for their results.”

Juve general director Roberto Bettega insisted they would come through these dark times, much as AC Milan managed to do after a poor start to their season.

“The team has a lot of talent but they’re finding it difficult to adapt to the way their opponents are playing, and then there are the injuries,” he said.

“If Milan managed to recover from their presumed crisis by keeping faith with their players and coach, then we too will do the same.”

Milan had a disastrous start to their campaign winning just three and scoring a paltry six goals in their opening nine games of the season.

But now they are breathing down Inter’s necks and are through to the Champions League knock-out rounds.

Things won’t be getting easier for Juve either as next up they have AS Roma and former coach Claudio Ranieri to contend with.

Roma have just moved above Juve into third as they put together a run of seven wins and three draws in their last 10 league games.

Ranieri was fired by Juve two matches before the end of last season to be replaced by Ferrara but said he is not looking for revenge.

“Our paths divided but now I’m happily the coach of Roma. I have no revenge to take, I know I didn’t do well there, I did very well in Turin and now I’m in my home city with the team of my heart,” he said before suggesting he would not be surprised if Ferrara bit the dust.

“This is the destiny of a coach. I did well in Turin and so did (Carlo) Ancelotti and (Didier) Deschamps but they too left.”

ROME (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, african nations cup, amauri, bayern munich, bordeaux 2, broken leg, champions league football, chievo, christian poulsen, commentators, david trezeguet, gianluigi buffon, inter milan, internationals, knockout blow, sardo, sissoko, vincenzo iaquinta, winger

Late Napoli show stuns Milan as Juve hit five past Samp

October 29, 2009

Napoli scored two goals in injury time to hold 10-man AC Milan to a draw in Serie A on Wednesday and end the seven-time European champions recent winning run.

Juventus went second in the table as they thrashed high-flying Sampdoria, who drop to third, 5-1 in Turin.

But the real drama came in Naples where late goals from Luca Cigarini and German Denis earned Napoli a richly deserved point after Ignazio Abate was sent off four minutes from time.

Having developed a habit of starting slowly this season, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani had promised president, and Italy Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi that they would stop torturing him.

The team seemed to heed the advice and came flying out of the blocks, only to then collapse late on.

After 6min they were already 2-0 ahead as Napoli’s defensive line was ruthlessly exposed.

Filippo Inzaghi ran onto Clarence Seedorf’s chip over the top on 2min before finishing left footed.

And four minutes later he flicked on a long ball for Alex Pato to run onto from a suspiciously offside-looking position before outstripping the defence and finishing with aplomb.

Thereafter, though, it was all about goalkeeper Dida and some profligate shooting from the hosts, in particular Cristian Maggio who failed to beat a stricken Dida from six yards out early in the second period.

But after Abate earned a second yellow card Napoli finally found the finish they had been lacking as Cigarini lashed home a left-foot volley.

And then deep into injury time Denis headed home a cross from the right to send the San Paolo crowd into delirium.

In Turin Juventus rediscovered their form in a stroll against the only team that stood between them and leaders Inter Milan.

Juve leapfrogged Sampdoria into second and just one point behind Inter, who host Palermo on Thursday, thanks to goals from Amauri (two), Giorgio Chiellini, Mauro Camoranesi and David Trezeguet.

Amauri opened the scoring on 26min when the ball fell kindly to him, after his initial header hit team-mate Momo Sissoko, to shoot home.

He then turned provider on 42min as a marauding Chiellini, up from the back, found himself between Sampdoria’s centre-backs when the Brazilian’s deflected cross landed at his feet five yards out.

The game was soon over as Diego sent Sebastian Giovinco free down the left and he picked out Camoranesi to side foot home from the penalty spot.

Camoranesi then sent in a delightful curling cross from the right for Amauri to head home his second as Sampdoria crumbled.

Giampaolo Pazzini pulled a goal back for the visitors before French veteran Trezeguet rounded off the scoring late on.

Newly-promoted Parma moved up to fourth, and a Champions League position, as they beat fellow Serie A newboys Bari 2-0.

AS Roma lost for the third game in a row as they fell 2-1 at Udinese in a game in which both teams had a player sent off.

Lowly Livorno won their second match in a row since new coach Serse Cosmi took over as they beat Atalanta 1-0.

ROME (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, adriano galliani, alex pato, amauri, aplomb, Bari, clarence seedorf, david trezeguet, defensive line, dida, european champions, filippo inzaghi, foot volley, giorgio chiellini, Ignazio Abate, injury time, inter milan, Italy, mauro camoranesi, Milan, naples, napoli, Paolo, prime minister silvio, ROME, silvio berlusconi, team mate, yellow card

Bordeaux hold Juventus to Turin stalemate

September 16, 2009

French champions Bordeaux earned a deserved point in a 1-1 draw at Italian giants Juventus in Champions League Group A here on Tuesday.

Vincenzo Iaquinta gave the hosts the lead soon after the hour mark but Jaroslav Plasil equalised a quarter of an hour from the end for Laurent Blanc’s team.

It was not the start Juventus had expected but will give Bordeaux confidence they can qualify from a group that also contains Bayern Munich and FC Zurich.

Juve coach Ciro Ferrara said he was disappointed but admitted at times his team were saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

“Bordeaux were very organised, they played well, they’re technically good and quick,” he said.

“We took too many risks in the first half but we played better in the second. We played higher up the pitch and we were more aggressive.

“I’m disappointed but we still have the chance make up for this in the other games, although we had the opportunities to put this game to bed (at 1-0).

“Buffon was super but there’s nothing new in that. It’s a pleasure to coach him, he’s the best in the world.”

Bordeaux gave a good account of themselves in the first period, keeping Juventus at bay and even looking at times dangerous on the counter-attack, although they mostly lacked a final product.

Blanc said this game proved they’d moved on from last year.

“Not only did the players do what we expected but they’ve also retained the lessons from the Chelsea match last year (a 4-0 defeat),” he said.

“It was a great pleasure to see them play, compete and make problems for Juve and without such a great goalkeeper (Buffon) we could have won.”

Their best chance came in the opening minutes when Brazilian Fernando Menegazzo broke clear on the right but Buffon was equal to his low shot.

Juventus opened up Bordeaux down the left on 22 minutes following a quick pass from Sebastian Giovinco but Amauri’s first touch took him a little too wide and Cedric Carrasso dealt easily with his deflected shot.

Juventus seemed to be lacking the invention of injured playmaker Diego except that the Brazilian’s replacement Giovinco was their best player.

Bordeaux rarely threatened but Alou Diarra, released from shackling Giovinco at a corner, lashed wildly over when a cool head and a low finish was needed.

On 37 minutes Carrasso almost gifted Juve a goal as he missed Giovinco’s corner but Menegazzo saved him by heading the ball off the line.

Bordeaux started the second half well as Brazilian Wendel had a shot blocked and Buffon parried a devilish Yoann Gourcuff free-kick before saving from the same player with his feet when the French had opened up the home defence.

For a team beaten home and away by AS Roma last season, Bordeaux did not appear to suffer an inferiority complex against the Italians.

However, with Bordeaux’s increased confidence came greater vulnerability at the back which Iaquinta almost exposed on 51 minutes.

Bordeaux were on top and Fabio Grosso had to be alert to deny Plasil a tap-in before Grosso then forced a save up the other end out of substitute goalkeeper Ulrich Rame, who had replaced Carrasso when he was injured during Iaquinta’s opportunity.

Buffon came to the rescue to deny Mengazzo with a brilliant one-handed save before Rame was at fault on 63 minutes when Iaquinta beat him at his near post.

It was a goal against the run of play after Bordeaux had lost the ball in midfield and been exposed defensively by a visionary pass from Fabio Cannavaro.

Juventus started to take control and Amauri had two chances to settle the game, the first blocked and the second instinctively palmed away by Rame.

But Bordeaux equalised when Plasil prodded home from a suspiciously offside looking position after Menegazzo’s flick-on from Gourcuff’s dangerous free-kick.

Juventus almost stole victory two minutes from time when Claudio Marchisio smacked a shot against the bar.

TURIN, Italy (AFP)

Tags: amauri, bayern munich, Bordeaux, cedric, champions league group, ciro ferrara, fc zurich, first period, gianluigi buffon, giants, invention, juve, juventus, laurent blanc, match, pitch, plasil, pleasure, sebastian giovinco, vincenzo iaquinta

Is naturalising players for internationals a good idea?

September 3, 2009

Brazil-born Juventus striker Amauri failed to get an Italian passport in time for Italy’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria but he hopes the documentation will come through soon.

Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi has indicated he will then consider Amauri for international duty but said he did not want the situation to be repeated.

This seems to have ended any chance of Inter Milan midfielder Thiago Motta following Amauri’s lead. The former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid player could qualify for Italy if FIFA decided his two Brazil appearances in the CONCACAF Gold Cup did not count as full caps because it was a under-23 team.

After Diego’s classy brace in his second game for Juventus, many Italians became excited when they realised the playmaker has Italian lineage. However, they forgot the basic rule that Diego had played competitively for Brazil and therefore was not eligible for Italy.

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva plays for Croatia despite being born in Brazil while the London club’s uncapped Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has often been talked about as a potential England candidate.

Is the situation out of hand? I’m just old enough to remember when domestic clubs had a majority of players from the local town. Now few top sides have players from the same country.

Is international football going the same way? Why not have Premier League v Serie A rather than England v Italy?

Liverpool’s Alberto Aquilani and Andrea Dossena may feel a bit torn.

PHOTO: Juventus forward Amauri warms up during a training session at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin March 9, 2009.REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

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Will Juventus get signings right this time?

July 2, 2009

Ever since returning to Serie A following their demotion for match-fixing, Juventus have had a terrible run in the transfer market.

Third and second-placed finishes in their two years back in the top flight are largely thanks to players who stuck with Juve during their season in Serie B such as Alessandro Del Piero and Giorgio Chiellini.

In contrast, new recruits such as midfielders Tiago and Christian Poulsen have been frustrating at best while former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg lasted just a season before being shipped off to Olympiakos.

Juve have also tried to sell Poulsen and Tiago but both players have said they would rather stay.

Right back Zdenek Grygera has not convinced all the Juve faithful while striker Amauri had a good start to last term following a big move from Palermo but his form fizzled out towards the end of the campaign.

For this season Juve have re-signed Fabio Cannavaro from Real Madrid, a move which has angered fans who have not forgiven him for leaving the club following their demotion. (Cannavaro argues it was Juve’s economic decision to sell).

Brazilian playmaker Diego, who has arrived from Werder Bremen, obviously has the skill but supporters worry his style of play will not suit Juve’s traditional 4-4-2 formation and may upset the apple cart.

Juve’s bid for Udinese midfielder Gaetana D’Agostino looks to have failed and media reports say they are now targeting Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso having surprisingly opted to pursue Poulsen last year rather than the technically superior Spaniard.

Can they get it right this time and really challenge Inter Milan for the scudetto?

PHOTO: Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen (R) fights for the ball with Inter Milan’s Luis Figo during their Italian Serie A match in Turin April 18, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

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Tags: Alessandro Del Piero, alessandro garofalo, Alonso, amauri, apple cart, aston villa, Bremen, christian poulsen, Diego, economic decision, fabio cannavaro, Giorgio, giorgio chiellini, Inter, inter milan, italian serie, juve, Liverpool, luis figo, MADRID, Milan, olof mellberg, Palermo, photo juventus, playmaker, real madrid, reuters, Serie A, turin, udinese, werder bremen, Zdenek

In-form Cagliari dent Juve title hopes

February 1, 2009

ROME (AFP) – Serie A’s in-form team Cagliari stunned Juventus 3-2 at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico to put a huge dent in the Italian giants’ title hopes on Saturday.

Goals from Momo Sissoko and Pavel Nedved gave Juve the lead at half-time following Davide Biondini’s opener, but Brazilian Jeda and Alessandro Matri struck after the break to record a famous victory for the Sardinians.

It means second-placed Juventus, who lost their second game in a row, could fall to nine points behind leaders Inter Milan if the champions win at home to Torino on Sunday.

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri was magnanimous in defeat but admitted he didn’t know what was wrong with his team.

"They deserved it. They played great, they were organised and that’s not a surprise when you saw how they played against Inter and Lazio," he said.

"In the last two games we’ve conceded five goals so naturally there’s something that’s not right. We were hoping to create goalscoring chances but we didn’t."

For Cagliari it was a fourth straight victory and leaves them unbeaten in five matches — their only dropped points where in a 1-1 draw at Inter — since the turn of the year.

It also means that since the first five games of the season — all of which they lost — only Inter have won more points than Cagliari, who are now challenging for a Champions League qualification finish.

But Cagliari coach Massimiliano Allegri said his team couldn’t rest on their laurels.

"We have a great capacity to work hard but if we lose this desire to work, regardless of our technical qualities, we will become a normal team again, or worse still, the one we were at the beginning of the season," he said.

Juventus came close to breaking the deadlock on 12 minutes as the excellent Sissoko played a one-two with Amauri before poking wide as he stretched for the return.

Cagliari sprung a surprise on 16 minutes, though, as they took the lead following some shoddy defending by the hosts.

Michele Fini sent over a deep cross from the right to the back post where the dimunitive Marco Marchionni was left to mark Biondini who easily climbed above his man to head powerfully past Gianluigi Buffon.

The lead lasted only a quarter of an hour before Sissoko levelled matters, rising highest in the box to head home an Alessandro Del Piero corner.

Things got even better for Juve on 38 minutes as Nedved’s cross into the box was only half cleared and the Czech veteran himself followed up to smash home a half-volley from just inside the area.

Juventus were looking good at the break but Cagliari turned the match on its head after the restart with two clinical counter-attacks.

On 54 minutes, Andrea Cossu ran down the left flank and crossed into the centre where Jeda beat the onrushing Buffon.

Del Piero came within inches of giving Juventus the lead from a free-kick but on 78 minutes two Cagliari substitutes combined to stun the home crowd.

Matri played a one-two with Andrea Lazzari before finding himself in the clear and he comfortably slotted past Buffon. Earlier, Napoli gave up a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Udinese in Naples.

Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi gave the hosts the lead on 24 minutes with a deflected shot that wrong-footed Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.

Just three minutes later highly-rated Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik headed home a Walter Gargano free-kick.

But Udinese were level by half-time, thanks in no small part to a controversial penalty decision when Christian Zapata threw himself to the ground despite no contact from Paolo Cannavaro.

Antonio Di Natale scored from the spotkick before Fabio Quagliarella scored a stunning leveller on the stroke of half-time with a first-time volley from outside the box.

Written by: AFP