'Its matches like these where we lost points last year'

These words by Alessandro Matri, lone match-winning goalscorer of the day, serve to perfectly summarize Sunday’s Siena vs. Juventus. The Bianconeri did not excite us, they did not wow us, they did not entertain us. They traveled to Siena with a clear objective: to prove Juve could overcome its psychological instability against small teams. That this “dread of the provinciali” is a myth. Existing halfway between the Italian media and the players’ minds, something that Antonio Conte has never heard of in his playing career, and certainly does not want to discover during his managerial one. Today Juve’s mission was to get all the three points at stake. And that they did.


To put it very plainly: this was a boring game. And a different Juventus. Not the same team we saw in Turin last week, that marveled us with technique, flair, and a boatload of goals. In honesty, the Bianconeri didn’t exactly have the same type of opponents either. Siena was no Parma: the home team were very organized defensively and entrenched deep within their half, leaving their (very) rare counter-attacks almost exclusively in the hands of Calaiò (their other striker Gonzalez was a complete non-factor). Coupled with the rather timid display of the Bianconeri, it seemed as if Giuseppe Sannino’s men had all the right ingredients in play for a draw, perhaps even an upset if lady luck swung their way a little bit.

The first 45 minutes certainly showed that, with Juventus shouting from outside Siena’s castle but unable to get the draw bridge lowered: Pepe/Giaccherini struggled to send any type of good cross into the box, Matri/Vucinic were virtually absent from the field altogether. I won’t even mention their ability to play off each other and if one considers their already disappointing displays as a pair in the pre-season, we have to wonder how long it is going to take for our best (on paper) two strikers to finally create some chemistry together (not to mention how patient Conte will be). In the midst of all this mediocrity, an ever-present Andrea Pirlo looked by far the most inspired of the whole Bianconeri lot, dictating a higher quality tempo his teammates had unfortunately considerable trouble following.

However as soon as the 2nd half started, Juventus threw a wrench into the gears of Siena’s plan, and their whole “drawn-out 90 minute-deadlock” scheme fell apart in a single play. Capitalizing on what essentially was their only chance of the match, the Bianconeri took the lead after a combination of passes between all 4 Juventus “strikers” (Pepe to Giaccherini to Vucinic to Matri) put Mitra-Matri right in front of the net. The ex-Cagliari forward only needed to apply the finish, and his very easy goal (his first of the season and 10th of his Juve career) signified the Bianconeri had opened the score. At last.

What ensued was something rather uncustomary for the Juventus of these last few years: they actually held their lead!! Conte immediately brought on Vidal to replace Vucinic, changing his lineup to a strange 4-4-1-1 (with the Chilean midfielder operating as trequartista) which alternated into a 4-3-3 (Vidal-Pirlo-Marchisio in the center) whenever Juve lost possession. The match finally became somewhat entertaining, with Siena being forced out of their shell and leaving good avenues for a Bianconeri counter-attack. One such counter nearly resulted in Juve’s second goal, when Del Piero (on for Matri) slid the ball through for Vidal, and saw his pass repaid with an effort which can only be described as painful (to watch, and for the curva spectator to receive on his head).

On the other end, except for a Calaiò header onto the crossbar (whistled offside anyway) there was nothing at all Siena did to worry Buffon. Though the Juve #1 did worry US, when he picked up a backpass outside of his box and continued to venture forward, attempting a dribble on a Siena player and very nearly losing the ball. Buffon-brainfarts aside, the lack of Siena opportunties was primarily the merit of a very attentive defense, from Barzagli to Chiellini to Bonucci (on for an injured Giorgio), including Lichtsteiner and… (gasp!) even Grosso! Yes, to borrow a popular Aaron expression, Fabio Grosso didn’t sh** the bed today.
That, coupled with the fact we played badly and still took home the three points today, is quite a good omen for this Juve’s future.


LE PAGELLE

Buffon 5.5 – Nothing to do. Literally. Except not fu**-up a seemingly simple backpass by doing a hazardous dribbling attempt. Games go by and we keep seeing these “episodes” from Gigi. Except at the moment, they aren’t mitigated by miracle saves.


Lichtsteiner 6 – Defensively: solid display (6.5), much like his colleagues. Offensively: struggled to provide overlapping support for Pepe and then later Giaccherini (5.5). Averages to a 6.

Barzagli 7 – Literally owned the central defense and PWNED Calaiò on more than one occasion. Solid stuff from Andrea.

Chiellini 6.5 – Much like Barzagli, nothing went by Giorgio today. Was forced off due to a (hopefully) minor injury.

(57′) Bonucci 6.5 – Had little to do during the 30 minutes he was on the pitch, but the backline needed to be particularly attentive in the final minutes, and Leo stood his ground.

Grosso 6 – In ordinary player’s terms, Mr.Tan deserves a 6. Did what was asked of him, defended/covered well and even sent in a couple of dangerous crosses from that left wing he used to dominate with the Azzurri. In Grosso terms, Fabio deserves an 8. Eons above ANY of the games that he played last season.


Pirlo 6.5 – On the day of a rather anonymous performance from all offensive players, Pirlo was the one that stood out in midfield, dribbling, controlling, turning, passing (short & long)… succinctly: trying to make “stuff” happen.

Marchisio 5.5 – Rather anonymous in the first 75 minutes, doing no more than distributing the ball short. Then inexplicably (or perhaps because he picked up a small knock), turned into 2009-10 Felipe Melo the last quarter hour.


Pepe 6 – I increased his grade from 5.5 for two simple reasons: firstly the long pass towards Giaccherini that lead to the goal, and secondly his never-ending runs and limitless grinta he showed today. Not quite enough in terms of quality to merit more than a 6, but one thing you gotta give Pepe is that he never stops trying (one of our readers commented: “mediocre player, world-class teammate”… I nod in agreement).

Matri 6 – Gets +1 for the match-winning goal. Other than that, did virtually nothing the whole game. His entente with Vucinic still way below par.

(77′) Del Piero 6 – Very little time and very few touches for ADP, yet one of these almost turned into an assist for Vidal. Shame.

Vucinic 5.5 – Gets +0.5 for the match-winning assist. Other than that, did virtually nothing the whole game. His entente with Matri still way below par.
(55′) Vidal 6 – Lots of heart from the Chilean midfielder. I’m still not at all convinced by this trequartista role Conte has bestowed upon him, but when it comes to chasing after players and trying to win the ball back, Arturo’s da man! Should get -0.5 for squandering that good opportunity to make it 2-0 the way he did, but I’m gonna leave the 6 rating for effort.

Giaccherini 5 – I was going to give him +0.5 for being involved in Matri’s goal, but truthfully all he did was slide a short pass towards Vucinic. The rest of the game: running, crossing (poor), more running. Really hasn’t convinced me so far, but Conte apparently disagrees because he keeps starting him.


Conte 6.5 – If there was someone that was going to re-instill Juve pride at beating “small teams” it was Antonio Conte. He gets a 6.5 for the good Vidal substitution and for the good work he must have done at practice to drill this attentive Juve defense (not that we faced Barça today or anything, but let’s give the man some credit).


1st Half:

Buffon
Lichtsteiner,Barzagli, Chiellini, Grosso
Pirlo, Marchisio
Pepe, Vucinic, Matri, Giaccherini

• Pretty good welcome by the Siena faithful for Antonio Conte, the manager who took them to Serie A last season.
• Formations: Conte with Giaccherini again! Are you fu**ing serious?
1′ And we’re off.
3′ It’s Siena who’s looking more lively these initial minutes. Two incursions down the left side giving Lichtsteiner some trouble. Now FK for the home team.
4′ FK is deflected wide. Juve with the turnover. Giaccherini tries to penetrate on the left. Blocked.
8′ Good cross by Lichtsteiner from the right, tries to find Matri. Doesn’t manage to get the shot in.
9′ PIRLO TACKLE!!! PIRLO TACKLE!!! PIRLO TACKLE!!!
10′ Very poor passing from Juve at the moment. Not only can’t we seem to penetrate, we can’t hold possession longer than 20 seconds.
11′ Once again it would seem that if there’s anything that should happen today, it will originate from the feet of Pirlo. Some clever trickery sets up the ex-Milan playmaker for a good delivery towards Vucinic, but it’s a little too long.
14′ That’s about 3 times Pepe has had the ball on the right and ignored Lichtsteiner’s overlap choosing to cross (poorly) instead. Take off your blinders Simone!
15′ Muscular challenge by Chiellini on Calaiò. Good FK for Siena about 28 yds. out, in D’Agostino-zone.
16′ D’Agostino FK cannons Off the wall.
17′ Calaiò down on the left almost gets by Barzagli, but a last-ditch tackle by Andrea wins the ball back for Juve.
18′ First BIG CHANCE Juve! Looping Giaccherini cross, poorly cleared by the Siena defense, it lands to Pirlo. He fakes a player with his right, sets the ball up on his left but his low effort trickles agonizingly wide!!
19′ Gazzi with a bit of a studs-up challenge on Chiello. Mini-scuffle. No cards.
21′ Barzagli with a great challenge to dispossess Gonzalez in the 6-yard box, but then clears it right back to a Siena player!! Mid-range effort well saved by Gigi, making his first save of the game.
22′ Just like we saw against Parma, Pepe and Giaccherini have switched sides to confuse the opposition.
23′ Pepe cross following a throw-in, it lands to Chiellini who attempts and connects an overhead kick!!! Wide of the mark, but lovely effort by Giorgio!
26′ Possession shifting back & forth in this phase of play. Not much coming out of it at either end.
27′ In other news: Fabio Grosso hasn’t looked terrible so far.
29′ Mannini penetrates from the left wing and snaps a toe punt from the corner of the box. Over and wide.
32′ Vucinic attempts a powerful blast from 30 yards. Way over. Mirko’s looked rather poor so far. Not particularly “in palla” as we say in Italian.
34′ First yellow card of the game. Del Grosso, for a foul on Giaccherini.
36′ Interesting play from Juve’s wingers. Pepe on the left changes it completely for Giaccherini on the opposite side, the ex-Cesena player controls it and before the ball drops attempts a volleyed cross. The outswinging effort can’t find anyone.
37′ WONDERFUL slide tackle by Barzagli to stop Calaiò, about to pull the trigger on Buffon following a Siena counter.
38′ A good Vucinic-Pirlo-Vucinic one-two should have sent Mirko clear on goal, but a last-ditch effort from a Siena defender dispossesses Mirko.
41′ Siena defending with almost 11 players behind the ball. They’re certainly not making things easy for Juve, but the Bianconeri aren’t exactly shining with brilliance either.
43′ Long ball by Barzagli, tries to find Giaccherini. Too long.
45′ Lichtsteiner cross, good delivery for Matri who should have thrown himself in a poking attempt. Instead he tries to kick standing up and, finds the boot of a defender. The strike then pinballs off him and results in a Siena goal kick.
.

Neutral spectator perspective: boring game. Juventus supporter perspective: boring game. Siena supporter perspective: boring game.
Kidding aside, this isn’t the exciting Juventus we saw at Parma last week. Our players are having a very tough time not only holding possession, but also creating anything consistent when they do have the ball.
Individually: Matri & Vucinic I think NEVER passed the ball to each other once. Pepe/Giaccherini are virtually non-factors at the moment, though both have looked better since they switched sides. Pirlo is the one player standing above the rest, but his teammates aren’t exactly helping him much. Marchisio rather anonymous.
All in all, one gets the feeling Conte didn’t pick the right starting 11 this first half. Juve crucially needing some penetration power/skill/speed in the likes of Krasic (the good version) or Elia. Expect to see some changes at half-time, if not player substitution at least some kind of hairdryer treatment by the Juventus coach.
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2nd Half:
Buffon
Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Chiellini(57′Bonucci), Grosso
Pirlo, Marchisio
Giaccherini, Vucinic(55′Vidal), Matri(77′Del Piero), Pepe

46′ No substitutions back from the HT break.
48′ Giaccherini cross from the right, trying to find Vucinic. Too long.
49′ We’re not gonna go anywhere if we keep up with this mediocre crossing and non-existent finishing.
50′ Another Pepe cross, straight into the arms of the keeper. Sigh.
52′ GOAAAAAAAAAAAALLL JUVENTUS!!!!!!!!!! Alessandro Matri!!!!! At last!!! 1-0 Juventus!!!
53′ The goal: at the halfway line on the left, Pepe sends a good aerial through ball towards Giaccherini on the opposite wing. Giac24 controls, rolls it towards Vucinic on the first post, first touch towards the byline and backpass towards Matri. MA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TRIIIIII can’t miss it!! Beautiful build-up and cynical finishing!
54′ Substitution Juve: Not even time for kick-off, Conte substitutes his assist-man. Out comes Vucinic (assist aside, not a good game for Mirko), on comes Arturo Vidal.
55′ Conte really seems convinced this is a good position for Arturo: trequartista.
56′ First LAMEASS Grosso moment of the day. A Siena player tries to penetrate, it deflects off Grosso and touches the Siena player again. Instead of preventing the ball from going out (which he had plenty time for), Grosso raises his arm 5 seconds before the ball rolls out of play. Then obviously, since the linesman missed their player’s little deflection, Siena get a corner out of it. IDIOT!
57′ Substitution Juve: Giorgio Chiellini comes off. Seems he picked up a knock. On comes Bonucci.
59′ Pepe tries to penetrate all by himself, full steam ahead. His stepovers don’t fool the Siena right-back. Good energy from Pepe though.
62′ Vidal advancing in the center. Low shot. No danger for Brkic.
63′ Two changes for Siena. I missed them.
64′ Much more pleasing match at the moment. And I’m not just saying this because we’re winning.
65′ Run by Pepe left towards center, obtains a foul. Now the Pepe-dynamo is showing.
66′ Pirlo FK from 30 yards. Great effort! Punched away by the keeper!
67′ Some more good work by Pepe on the left, obtains a corner. Then on the ensuing clearance by the Siena defense, attempts a speculative volley from an impossible position. But it’s not far wide!
68′ Great opportunity for Juve. Matri chests the ball down and turns, but his short pass towards Vidal is horrendous.
69′ D’Agostino FK from the left. Calaiò header off the crossbar!! But he’s offside anyway.
72′ Substitution Siena: Vergassola on for Gazzi.
73′ Fun (and completely useless) fact of the day: I just realized this match has Grosso, Del Grosso, and Grossi on the field all at the same time. Whose is biggest do you think?
74′ Great cross by Grosso towards Matri, can’t connect but this was a great chance right there!!
76′ Substitution Juve: Matri can’t continue. Limps off the field. On comes Del Piero.
76′ Just a minute ago we saw Krasic take off his warm-up pinnie and discuss with Conte. Then immediately sit back down with a puzzled look on his face. Which could either mean: “I guess I’m not coming on after all” (Matri injury), or “I didn’t understand a single word of what Conte just said to me”.
78′ Vidal attempts a 25-yarder. Low and no trouble for Brkic, but hey at least he took more shots in 20 minutes than Vucinic did the entire time he was on.
80′ VIDAL!! Wastes a caviar of a pass served him by Del Piero!!! Balloons the ball horrendously from an excellent position.
81′ Now Brienza on the turnover. Cannonball from 23 yards narrowly over the bar!
85′ Tense moments in these last 5 minutes, with Siena pushing forward in numbers, leaving potential counter-attacking gaps for Juve to exploit.
86′ Juve struggling to maintain possession. Commiting lots of fouls and backtracking into dangerous situations.
88′ More danger inside Juve’s area, all one/two-touch passing by Siena with multiple overlaps to get the ball there. Juve are making them look like Barcelona. Not good.
89′ These last 15 minutes by Marchisio have been awful. Constantly giving the ball away and leaving gaps. He seemed to pick up a knock earlier, but even so… sheesh Claudio!!
91′ A good counter for Juve lands the ball to Vidal, who tries to get by Terzi. Obvious handball by the Siena defender who earns himself a yellow.
91′ DEAR GOD ALMIGHTY. A difficult backpass to Buffon near turns into nightmare as Gigi ventures dribbling and almost loses the ball. I’m livid.
92′ Last minute of play, as a shot shows Fabio Quagliarella looking rather melancholic in Juve’s dugout.
93′ Full-time!! Three points in the bag for Conte & Juventus!!!
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My first gut impression: despite playing badly, Juventus win and take 3 points. DOES THIS RING A BELL????
A first 45 minutes to erase from our memories. A much better second half, especially the goal (lovely build-up) and its ensuing 20 minutes. The final 10-15 minutes were a bit iffy with Siena pushing forward and our defense holding (more or less).

Defensively we looked quite good today. Yes, Siena essentially played with 10-11 men behind the ball for nearly an hour, but our defensive line (Barzagli above all) looked very solid. And Grosso (drumroll please)… did actually quite well!! (aside from that brain fart I mentioned earlier)

Things Conte still needs to work on:

-Breaking down a well-organized defense;
-Pairing two strikers that can actually play together (Matri/Vucinic aren’t that);

wow +99999999999999

great thread

Thanks Devi , this is from juventiknows.com

Great website