tuddor wrote:We are in pot 4? OMG the other teams in the group will be the unluckiest ever

You think like Conte indeed

zarola wrote:

Joe wrote:That's completely wrong. Chiellini was solid, Canavaro was a complete mess. He left so many holes in our back line and Slovakia, and the other teams, punished us for that.

Chiellini + Barzagli (Juve & Italy's start CB pair) have the best defensive record in Europe right now.

Chiellini is a top defender, he was paired with Canavaro, in which Chiellini always had to be panicking and covering his mistakes.

first goal: chiellini leaves his position to try to cover De Rossi, and fails an interception, the pass slides through the gap Chiellini created... there was no need for him to make that challenge, and with Marchetti in net, the ball slides in.

2nd goal, off the corner, again.. you can't blame anyone but Chiellini and Marchetti, it's literally no one else's fault this time.

3rd goal: it was chiellini's terrible backpass to Marchetti which forced him to do the only useful thing he did in the world cup which was save a corner. unfortunately the ball slips between chiellini and cannavaro and someone else, and marchetti fails again.

All I can say from that video...
QUAGS WAS A BEEEEEEAST!

Surag wrote:

tuddor wrote:We are in pot 4? OMG the other teams in the group will be the unluckiest ever

You think like Conte indeed

Thanx.. They'll have to spit blood.. I can't wait to see Barca and others.. on Juventus Arena crying like little babies when Chielini and Vidal will break them in the cheers of the crowd!

Cotes wrote:
All I can say from that video...
QUAGS WAS A BEEEEEEAST!

then perhaps you should watch a more extended version to see his long range passes, quick one two plays, and what an impact he had in the 45 minutes he played... real passion that man has. I hope he's given the chances to regain form to secure a Euro spot.

Surag wrote:Zarola why do you need to go back to WC 2010 ?Move on man.

And tbf Cannavaro was absolute shit in the WC,Chiellini was the only impressive defender in the backline.I think anyone could see that.Criscito had a terrible first game and Zambrotta was poor too.

I remember when i finished watching Italy vs Paraguay i said to myself ,why doesnt Lippi just drop Cannavaro cuz for me he was an obvious liability in the backline.

Dont be so harsh on Chiellini ,concentration lapses aside ,he is a mosnter defender he does have few off games here and there but he more than makes up for it by delivering MOM perfomances for the team too.

Cannavaro was poor, there's no denying that. I thought Criscito and Zambrotta were mediocre, they didn't really get involved as much as I'd had hope but I think for Criscito's age and under the circumstances he did very well, the two of them didn't have much defensive faults.

Chiellini had a few impressive tackles here and there, but in the end he was the cause of 60% of our goals, mind you it was all in one game... but the fact still remains. As you admitted to, he has concentration lapses, and I'm not going to deny that he's a beastly defender because if you made a highlight reel of what he did, he'd appear unstoppable: he has ability. But when we're talking about the champions league, or the world cup, or even euro cup, that's when the real passion and pressure comes on. That's where the big players need to stand out and concentrate, performing at their best with minimal errors. What I am arguing is that Juve aren't as defensively solid as they appear because Chiellini and Bonucci are prone to slip-ups and big teams in big games will pounce on those mistakes. 2010 was not that long ago, it was only two years ago and the whole thing plays back in my mind periodically, I can remember it well. Perhaps if Chiellini is able to step up his game in euro, wc2014, cl etc. I will be able to picture him differently but for now I have clips of slip-ups cycling through my mind and everytime I see him play I'm able to pick out mistakes he makes.. he's not like someone like Nesta or Cannavaro '06.

Surag wrote:
There's a stable defense right now in the form of players like Barzagli ,Lichtsteiner and ever improving players like Bonucci and De Ceglie.with all the defensive support he's got around his perfomances has just got better by the season and you have to admit that.Stable defensive partners are essential you know,Its hard to be a one man show in the backline all the time.

This is true.

tuddor wrote:

OMG... Conte's choices and substitutions made us score 69% of our goals after break (even better than MAn utd)..

And about Chiellini.. Keep in mind how well he played against greatest serie a strikers Ibra and Cavani.. How many goal chances created those 2?

I think he has waited too long to introduce Quagliarella although I'm happy to see him playing now. The particular substitutions I am referring to are ADP and Quag's being subbed in the 82nd minute, which seems absolutely pointless to me because there's not that much you can do in that amount of time and I believe it's a huge cause of many of Juve's draws. The fact that Elia was good enough to play in the World Cup finals against Spain at such a young age yet he's not good enough in Conte's eyes to play more than 45 minutes for Juventus also absolutely astonishes me. I'm not sure where you got that percentage and what it refers to so I will not comment on that.

In response to your comments about Chiellini, I'll refer you to my response to Surag. I'm not doubting his ability I'm doubting his consistency.

Elia has not yelled well in the team, nobody passes the ball to him and it seems he has lost confidence

Just to go back on topic, this would be a great, albeit difficult, group:

Barcelona
Benfica
ManCity
Juventus