Socrates

Grande Barzagli.

Lamannacci tua.

Bravo Matri!

Pepe e Matri in campo.

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello HT 1-0: Tevez rocket stuns Genoa Mar 22, 2015 A Carlos Tevez rocket off the underside of the crossbar has given Juventus the 1-0 half-time lead over Genoa. The Grifone had only ever won this fixture twice in 1937 and 1991, since that Tomas Skuhravy goal managing just three draws and eight defeats. However, they were the only Serie A side to have beaten Juve this season, a Luca Antonelli goal at the 94th minute securing that October result. Alvaro Morata, Iago Falque and Tomas Rincon were suspended, joining the injured Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo, Martin Caceres, Paolo De Ceglie, Romulo and Lorenzo Ariaudo. M’Baye Niang curled wide after two minutes when Leonardo Bonucci gave away possession, while Fernando Llorente’s effort was charged down in the box. Andrea Bertolacci’s deflected shot turned into an assist for Maxime Lestienne, Gigi Buffon having to rush out and palm the ball off his feet during a period of Genoa pressure. Carlos Tevez is on stunning form and got his 16th Serie A goal of the season. He gathered outside the box, burst past a defender and smashed an unstoppable strike in off the underside of the bar from a tight angle. The ferocity of the shot made it impossible to reach. Diego Perotti and Bertolacci failed to trouble Buffon from distance, but Juve almost made it 2-0 before the break. A corner found Llorente’s header, beaten off the line by Mattia Perin, then Tevez’s attempt was charged down and Giorgio Chiellini fired the rebound on to the crossbar. Juventus 1-0 Genoa (Half-Time) Scorers: Tevez 25 (J) Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pereyra, Padoin; Tevez, Llorente Genoa: Perin; Roncaglia, Burdisso, De Maio; Edenilson, Kucka, Bertolacci, Bergdich; Perotti, Niang, Lestienne Ref: Di Bello http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

Traversa di Chiellini al termine del primo tempo.

Tevez indemoniato

E Matri ci riporta in vantaggio.

Tevez in difesa!

Marotta: 'Juve win without Pogba' Mar 22, 2015 Beppe Marotta pointed out Juventus beat Borussia Dortmund “without Paul Pogba,” but denied negotiations. The transfer guru spoke to Sky Sport Italia ahead of the Serie A meeting with Genoa. “We had a specific objective when starting a new era with President Andrea Agnelli, which was to put Juventus back where they belonged, at the top of European football,” said Marotta. “From season to season we climbed the positions. Being in the Champions League quarter-final is a reward for the maturity and professionalism of all involved.” Pogba limped off during the opening minutes of their 3-0 win at Borussia Dortmund and will be out of action for seven weeks. Marotta was asked whether reaching the semi-final would convince the 22-year-old Frenchman to stay. “We are here celebrating a victory achieved by a team, a team that played without Pogba,” he noted. “This means football is a team sport and not just about individuals. The value of individual players is important, but the attitude of the group and club are decisive. “We’ve already discussed Pogba’s future many times. He exploded on to the scene rapidly, we want to win and do not necessarily have to sell our young champions. That’s it. “Clearly a young player of such quality is going to attract interest from more prestigious clubs than us at this moment, but we are not looking for buyers. We have had no talks. “The more champions you have in your squad, the more likely you are to win, but there are other important components too. “We try to unite the two elements, giving the group a winning mentality and also taking advantage of market opportunities. “We continue our objective of improving, as we have done over the years. The squad must be competitive, made up of champions and players who might be less prestigious, but are just as important.”

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Line-ups: Juventus-Genoa Mar 22, 2015 Juventus aim to further extend their 14-point lead, but host the only team that beat them in Serie A this season – Genoa. It kicks off at 15.00 CET. Back in October, Luca Antonini struck at the 94th minute to give Genoa victory at Marassi. Alvaro Morata is suspended, while Paul Pogba has been ruled out for 50 days by a thigh injury he sustained during the 3-0 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund. Also absent are Andrea Pirlo, Martin Caceres, Kwadwo Asamoah, Paolo De Ceglie and Romulo. Max Allegri switches back to the 3-5-2 system, mirroring Genoa’s 3-4-3 approach. Carlos Tevez is Capocannoniere and fresh from his brace in Germany, here partnered by Fernando Llorente, while Claudio Marchisio has shaken off flu symptoms. Alessandro Matri can expect to come off the bench and face the club he left in January. Genoa suffered a surprise 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Chievo last week, so are determined to get back on track. Iago Falque and Tomas Rincon sit out bans, while Lorenzo Ariaudo is injured, but Tino Costa returns from a lengthy injury lay-off. Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pereyra, Padoin; Tevez, Llorente Juventus bench: Storari, Rubinho, Ogbonna, Evra, Sturaro, Pepe, Vitale, Coman, Matri Genoa: Perin; Roncaglia, Burdisso, De Maio; Edenilson, Kucka, Bertolacci, Bergdich; Perotti, Niang, Lestienne Genoa bench: Lamanna, Sommariva, Borriello, Mandragora, Tambe, Marchese, Tino Costa, Laxalt, Pavoletti, Izzo http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Juventus vs. Genoa Preview: Round 28 — A newfound calm after the storm Mar 22, 2015 I don't want to sound overconfident or anything, but life in Juventus land is pretty good right now. These days, things are understandably very pleasant and cheerful around the training grounds at Vinovo. Juventus are cruising to another Scudetto, have gotten a relatively favorable draw in the Champions League quarterfinals, and can only extend their Serie A lead further with a win Sunday afternoon. Doesn't that just sound like a wonderful thing? Just think about it for a second: With a win over Genoa on Sunday, Juventus would push the Serie A lead to a completely ridiculous yet wonderful 17 points. With draw-happy Roma playing Cesena later in the day, it may not stay there for very long, but as we've seen with Rudi Garcia's squad lately, anything is possible. Well, except picking up three points on a consistent basis — especially against low-table teams just about everybody around the country assumes they will beat. (Too soon? Nah...) JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen .@OfficialAllegri: "It's a great moment of form for us but we still have plenty of room for improvement." You know how you keep that moment going into the international break? By getting some sweet, sweet on Genoa. The same Genoa team that beat Juventus thanks to Luca Antonini's goal with about 10 seconds to spare in stoppage time back in late October at the Luigi Ferraris. The same Genoa team that saw Juventus put in one their worst performances of the season. It was one of the final games in which Max Allegri used the 3-5-2 formation as his default tactical layout. What would enacting revenge mean to the Juventus squad? Considering that the loss to Genoa was one of the low points of the season, I would like to think they want to show Genoa just how far they've come since that day. It'd be just another day in paradise, right? Well, that is if the forecasted rain lets up a little bit. But other than that, things are feeling pretty grand in the Juventus part of the world. GOOD NEWS Same it with me now: Fourteen-point lead atop the Serie A table. Fourteen-point lead atop the Serie A table. Fourteen-point lead atop the Serie A table. Fourteen-point lead atop the Serie A table. I'll just tell myself this because... BAD NEWS ...I am about to list the players who will miss out on Genoa's annual visit to Juventus Stadium tomorrow night. Here goes nothin': Andrea Pirlo Paul Pogba Kwadwo Asamoah Luca Marrone Romulo Martín Cáceres Paolo De Ceglie Oh, and Álvaro Morata is suspended. Just because, you know, the strikers all agreed that they wanted to get in on all the action when it comes to players missing out on Genoa's visit to Juventus Stadium. WHAT TO WATCH FOR 1. Will there be a Champions League hangover? With a huge and comfortable 14-point Serie A lead, these kinds of things are probably little more forgivable compared to a close race for the Scudetto. But still, Juventus' win over Dortmund on Wednesday night was thrilling and certainly didn't lack when it came to physical exertion. There are so many injuries within the Juve ranks right now that squad rotation after the Dortmund win is pretty much non-existent outside of a few selective positions. There will obviously be a Fernando Llorente sighting because of Morata's suspension, maybe a different defender or two in the starting lineup, but not much else because of all the limited options Allegri has at his disposal. That means a lot of the same players who were on the field on Wednesday will be starting against Genoa, boys and girls. 2. What formation is Max Allegri going to use? Allegri hasn't been shy this season about switching formations based on the players available to him. But what he hasn't experienced yet as Juventus manager is this kind of injury situation at one position like is currently going on in the central midfield. No matter if it's 3-5-2 (the most likely formation at this point), 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-3, there will be the need for at least three midfielders to play in the center of the park. Luckily for Allegri, he's got a couple versatile players to turn to and an extremely friendly 14-point lead to ease the pain entering the final game before the first international break of the calendar year. With Claudio Marchisio recovering from the flu, I'll put my money on Allegri rolling with a 3-5-2 based on the fact that the team's centerbacks are pretty much all healthy sans Cáceres. He's done it once before, and he's likely to do it again. (You've been had, Max!) 3. Slowing down Genoa's success away from home. You don't need to tell Max Allegri twice when it comes to how well Genoa have played away from their home ground this season. JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen .@OfficialAllegri: "Genoa have taken 20 points away from home, beat us in this term's first game and have had a week to prepare" Why yes, all of that is true. In fact, there are only five teams in all of Serie A who have been better away from home than Genoa has this season. Out of their 37 total points, 20 of those have come on the road. The only other teams who are better than Genoa in that aspect of things are either going to be playing for Europe next season or are at least in contention for a top-five finish. That's part of the reason why Gian Piero Gasperini's squad were hanging around one of those European places earlier this season. While they've cooled off a little bit since then, Genoa are far and away the more rested side between themselves and Juventus, like Allegri said at his pre-match press conference. 4. Will Mattia Perin go H.A.M. against Juventus once again? WhoSocred's Opta-based rating system isn't really oriented to show you the full impact of a goalkeeper, but Mr. Perin sure does know how to make the darn thing love him. Since putting on a Genoa jersey, Perin has finished with ratings in the 8s and been named Man of the Match once in three games against Juventus. Of course, the WhoScored ratings aren't the be-all, end-all figures for evaluating players, but I can tell you this — Perin is good, and especially so when he plays against Juventus. And at the tender age of 22 years old, there's no reason to think he won't get better as the months and years go by. Maybe it's because one of his idols, Gigi Buffon, is in the other goal, but Perin doing insane things in goal against seems to be a common occurrence. It's like the teacher watching the student do exactly what he taught him to do, only with Perin looking like a member of the Beatles or something. JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen Perin is the goalkeeper to have made the most Serie A saves from shots within the penalty area (61). My starting XI (4-3-3): Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Evra; Padoin, Vidal, Pereyra; Coman, Llorente, Tévez OR... My starting XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Ogbonna; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pereyra, Padoin; Tévez, Llorente OFFICIAL KICKOFF TIME: 3 P.M. IN ITALY; 10 A.M. ON THE EAST COAST; 7 P.M. ON THE WEST COAST http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

CARLOS TEVEZ 1-0

CARLOS TEVEZ 1-0

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Allegri: Genoa Have Had All Week To Prepare For Juventus Mar 21, 2015 Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has tried to tamper enthusiasm at the club as the Bianconeri prepare to welcome Genoa to the Juventus Stadium on Sunday. Spirits are high at the Turin club after securing passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions League thanks to a 5-1 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund and despite the achievement, the tactician knows that the Grifone will provide a stern test. “We made it through the round and now we will prepare for the quarter-finals,” Allegri pointed out at his pre-match press conference. “Genoa have achieved 20 points away from home, they’ve come back from losing positions on seven occasions. “They’ve been preparing all week and we only started today. They also beat us in the first match. “Then we have Empoli at home and Parma away from home which will be key for the season. We must be at our best to prepare for the quarter-finals and the Coppa Italia. “Matches are to be won because tomorrow’s starts at 0-0. Genoa are tough and do not allow you to play. “Good work has been done by everyone in order to improve, to compete in Europe we must still do more.” Allegri also commented on the future of star midfielder Paul Pogba, with Pavel Nedved confirming reports that Paris Saint-Germain are interested in his signature. “We now nothing about the future. We still have important matches to play. The fact that he is being looked at by important clubs is normal. “We are amongst the top eight in Europe and we hope to be in the top four, therefore I believe everyone would like to stay or come here.” http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello JUVENTUS V GENOA MATCH PREVIEW Mar 21, 2015 Juventus Juventus will be without Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba for the visit of Genoa as they look to avenge their only loss of the season. The Bianconeri are 14 points clear and seemingly have one hand on the title but injuries have taken their toll in recent weeks, with Paul Pogba being the latest casualty. The French midfielder will miss the much of the remainder of the season after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-0 win against Dortmund midweek. Claudio Marchisio was suffering from a bout of flu but has recovered in time to make the squad along with Stefano Sturaro who may get his chance to shine following Pogba’s injury. “Sturaro can fill Marchisio’s role in front of the defence, or can play where Pogba does” Allegri said of Italy U21 midfielder just last week. The injuries in midfield may force Allegri’s hand once again, meaning 3-5-2 will be the starting formation in place of 4-3-1-2. Buffon will play in goal with a back three of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and possibly Angelo Ogbonna who may play in place of Giorgio Chiellini. The midfield will choose itself given the injury problems with Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and one of either Roberto Pereyra or Stefano Sturaro on the left. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Patrice Evra will likely play as the full-backs while Alvaro Morata is suspended so Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez will start up front. Probable lineup 3-5-2 Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Ogbonna; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pereyra, Evra; Tevez, Llorente Injured Players: Asamoah and Romulo (Recovering from surgery), Pirlo, Caceres, Pogba Suspended Players: Morata Form (W-D-W-D-W) Genoa In the last six matches, Genoa have collected two wins, three ties and one loss, but it’s hard to draw any conclusion as the results have been very inconsistent. For instance, they deservedly beat Lazio and Hellas Verona and stopped Fiorentina (1-1), but they also stumbled against Empoli (1-1) and the last performance against Chievo Verona (0-2) was awful. It’s a rollercoaster ride. For most part of the season, they have been really good: they are in seventh position, eight point clear from the crosstown rival Sampdoria, which would qualify to Europa League as it stands. Genoa need to pick the pace if they want to make a real run at the sixth place. They need to improve their home record (4W, 6D, 4L), but they’ll face Juventus on the road, where they have been fairly good (5W, 5D, 3L). Two key elements of the squad are suspended for this match: the Venezuelan midfielder Tomas Rincon and former Juventus bust Iago Falque. The always tactically eccentric Gian Piero Gasperini often used a weird lineup with Rincon as RWB as of late, so he’ll return to a more normal formation without him, with two real energetic wing backs, Edenilson and Zakarya Bergdich. Replacing Falque (six goals, three assists on the season) is trickier from a “philosophical” standpoint: the coach could choose a dynamic player like Maxime Lestienne (who hasn’t matched the pre-season expectations) or Diego Laxalt and keep using Diego Perotti as falso-nueve, which has been their signature skill lately. Or he can field a real centre-forward (Marco Borriello or Leonardo Pavoletti), tweaking their recent strategy. Or he can complete the trident with Juraj Kucka as CAM à la Hamsik (the returning Tino Costa or Rolando Mandragora would fill in the midfield if that’s the case). Whatever he picks, I think there will be a drop-off in quality. The rest of the team is just solid overall. Facundo Roncaglia, Nicolas Burdisso and Sebastien De Maio, three physical centre-backs whom I don’t think are that good taken singularly, have benefitted greatly from playing with each with continuity. Andrea Bertolacci has deservedly become a regular start and the standout goalkeeper Mattia Perin has saved day in a spectacular fashion several times. Even when they don’t have a tall presence in the box, the flank play have always been very strong. Whatever the combination on the two wings is, they create many chances by crossing or cutting from a wide position. The move to Genoa has re-energized M’Baye Niang (three goals since January) and Perotti, even if he doesn’t score a lot, is their leader in the pitch. Surely defending a trio of wings in constant motion, should they field Lestienne, would be a bigger challenge for Juventus than man marking a true centre-forward. They like to play with a high defensive line and maybe Juventus could take advantage of that like they did in Dortmund. But, especially, Genoa like to play football and they don’t just park the bus and wait for the right opportunity to counter so it should be a fun match. Probable lineup 3-4-3 Perin; Roncaglia, Burdisso, De Maio; Edenilson, Kucka, Bertolacci, Bergdich; Niang, Borriello, Perotti. Injured players: Ariaudo Suspended players: Rincon, Falque Form (W-W-D-D-L) Formation http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Gasperini: Genoa Will Look To Beat Juventus Mar 21, 2015 Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini wants to put Juventus in difficulty as he looks to do the double over the Bianconeri. The Grifone earned a 1-0 win over Juve in the match at the Stadio Ferraris earlier in the season, though the last time Genoa won in Torino was back in January 1991. “The game will give us an opportunity to put in a good performance,” he told the press. “Bring home the points will allow us to make up for the dropped points against Chievo before the break. We can then reorganise and regroup. “Juve’s attack is of the highest quality and it is proving to be the best in Italy. “It wasn’t easy for [Massimiliano] Allegri to take over from [Antonio] Conte, but he has been very good over the months since he took over as he has made his stamp on the team. “It won’t be an easy match, but we want to do everything we can to put Juve in difficulty. We can only cope against his team with the right mindset.” http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

Allegri: Clubs who avoided Juventus in Champions League got lucky The former Milan boss has dismissed notions that his side were fortunate to draw Monaco in the Champions League, insisting their victory dismantling of Dortmund was a warning. Mar 21, 2015 Juventus coach Massimliano Allegri has rejected claims his side were lucky to draw Monaco in the Champions League, suggesting the six other sides that avoided the Bianconeri were the fortunate ones. The reigning Italian titleholders avoided potential clashes against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich when they were paired with the Principality club on Friday, leaving them odds on to progress past the last eight for the first time since the 2002/03 season. Juve blitzed Borussia Dortmund 5-1 on aggregate to secure their clash passage to the quarter-finals, which Allegri insists should be seen as a warning shot to the rest of Europe. “I've read that Juventus apparently got a 'lucky' draw. But I think we can look at it a different way,” he told a press conference on Saturday. “Considering the way we played at home against Borussia and up in Dortmund maybe it's the other teams who breathed a sigh of relief after avoiding us.” The Old Lady have lost just one of their last 16 games in all competitions and Allegri went on to say that while his troops are high on confidence, they still have other things to work on. “I think the players have much greater belief in themselves now. We've all done an amazing job - myself and everyone who works with me, the club - to keep us on an upwards curve. That has to be our aim,” he said. “We have to kick on and try to iron out the things we're still not doing right.” Allegri's side sit 14 points clear of second-placed Roma in Serie A and are unbeaten in 18 league games – their last coming against Sunday’s opponents, Genoa. “We have a very difficult game against Genoa tomorrow, they're the only team that's beaten us in the league,” he said. “They've picked up 20 points on the road and have got themselves back in the game from losing positions on seven occasions. “It’s also going to be tough because they’ve had a week to prepare for it, while we basically only have today. So we'll have to come up with a big performance."

Yaph si chiama uomogazzo!

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Marchisio can face Genoa Mar 21, 2015 Claudio Marchisio and Stefano Sturaro are available for Juventus as they take on Genoa. It kicks off on Sunday at 15.00 CET. Marchisio has recovered from flu symptoms, while Sturaro has shaken off an injury, but Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo are still unavailable. Kwadwo Asamoah, Martin Caceres, Romulo and the suspended Alvaro Morata miss out. Juventus squad for Genoa: Buffon, Chiellini, Ogbonna, Pepe, Marchisio, Tevez, Coman, Llorente, Barzagli, Bonucci, Padoin, Vidal, Vitale, Lichtsteiner, Sturaro, Storari, Matri, Evra, Rubinho, Pereyra http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello MATCH PREVIEW Mar 21, 2015 Sunday afternoon will see Juventus welcome Genoa, as they look to avenge their only loss of the season. Massimiliano Allegri's men can be forgiven if they don't look entirely motivated against Genoa on Sunday. After their triumph in Dortmund midweek to reach the Champions League quarterfinals and a comfortable 14 point lead atop the Serie A table, the most difficult part of Allegri's job for the remainder of the season may be keeping his side focused on the task at hand. However, considering the club have only attained four straight Scudetti once in their history, the feat should provide all the inspiration Juventus need to see out the remainder of the Serie A campaign. Allegri will look to utilize his deep bench and give some playing time to those who haven't seen much of it in recent weeks. The Bianconeri will not have it easy on Sunday though, as they take on a rested Genoa side looking to do the double over them this season. Genoa had a brilliant start to the campaign, but have only managed to win two games since beating Milan on December 7th. Despite their struggles though, they remain in eighth place and in the hunt for a European spot next season. While Gian Piero Gasperini suggested his side's defeat against Chievo last weekend was 'unexpected', it could have been detrimental to their European aspirations. He will need to find a way to get his side back on track if they are going to have any chance of catching the teams ahead of them. Indeed, Sunday's tilt between Juventus and Genoa should be a wildly unpredictable affair that could see either team grind out the result. Keep an eye on: Alessandro Matri (Juventus) - When Genoa beat Juventus back on October 29th, Matri provided the crucial assist on Luca Antonini's game winner. Less than six months later, Matri finds himself on the opposite side. Given that his team travelled to Germany on Wednesday, don't be surprised to see Allegri use Matri from the start. Form Guide: Juventus (D W D W W) Genoa (W D D D L) Last season: Juventus 2-0 Genoa Stat Fact: Genoa are the only team to beat Juventus during the 2014-2015 Serie A campaign thus far. Juventus (probable): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pogba, Evra; Llorente, Tevez Suspended: Morata Genoa (probable): Perin; De Maio, Burdisso, Roncaglia; Bergdich, Bertolacci, Kucka, Edenilson; Pavoletti, Niang, Perotti, Suspended: Falque, Rincon http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

JUVENTUS - GENOA .- Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 3:00 PM Juventus Stadium, Turin Referee: Marco Di Bello Allegri: 'No Juve hangover' Mar 21, 2015 Max Allegri assured Juventus have no Champions League hangover and will focus on Genoa, but “we’re not at our best yet.” It kicks off on Sunday at 15.00 CET. “We are absolutely not still ‘drunk’ from Dortmund,” smiled the Coach in his Press conference after a 3-0 Champions League triumph over Borussia. “We did great work, achieved our objective of qualification and now prepare for the quarter-final. If Monaco got this far, it means they have quality. It’s not easy to eliminate Arsenal, after all. “Were we fortunate to get them in the draw? I think the expectations can be overturned. Maybe the other clubs were the ones breathing a sigh of relief that they didn’t pick us out of the hat.” The Coach was not wanted by many fans when he replaced Antonio Conte, but is this now Allegri’s Juve? “I’m pretty sure that for over 100 years it has been Agnelli’s Juve... I believe in my work and in balance, then the quality of the squad will emerge. “We’re in great shape, but not at our best yet. The ambition is to improve this journey and to become consistently one of the top eight teams in Europe.” The Bianconeri are 14 points clear at the top of the Serie A table and hope to further extend that advantage against Genoa tomorrow afternoon. “It is a difficult test, as Genoa have already beaten us this season. They also had a full week to prepare for this match, so we need to be at the top of our game. “Genoa picked up 20 points on their travels and have fought back from a losing situation seven times. We cannot afford to underestimate any game, especially against a gritty Genoa side. “This match and the two after the break for international duty will be decisive for the end of the season, as we don’t want to get into trouble. If we do well, then we can focus on the Coppa Italia semi-final and the Champions League quarter-final with Monaco. “Right now we must grit our teeth, because we’ve got to be better than three months ago.” Allegri also stood up for Italian football as a whole, insisting the 14-point gap did not mean the other teams are poor. “I do not agree with this denigration of Serie A, as it is a very tough League. If there are three Italian clubs still in Europe, it means our football is not as disastrous as some would have you think. “In Italy we tend to get depressed and underestimate what we have here. It’s normal that there are going to be different eras, but Italian football has always been at a high level and this year is a good sign.” Paul Pogba is out for almost two months, but Allegri confirmed Alessandro Matri, Claudio Marchisio and Stefano Sturaro are available, while Andrea Pirlo will be back after the break. Andrea Barzagli is returning to full fitness after eight months out and could receive an Italy call-up this week. “At this stage of the year, those who haven’t played as much are the ones who can secure the most important points. “Roma can still get back into the title race, as I think we need 83 points to win it. Do I have advice for Rudi Garcia? No. It’s not at all easy to win in Italy, especially for a big club, as everyone puts in the performance of a lifetime against you.” http://www.goal.com/en/results-standings/69/italy-serie-a/table?ICID=SP_TN_111

Nedved: 'PSG offer for Pogba' Mar 21, 2015 Pavel Nedved told Le Parisien that Juventus “have received an offer from PSG for Paul Pogba, but Real Madrid and Barcelona are also interested.” The Bianconeri director was quoted in the French newspaper this morning. “Yes, we have received an offer from Paris Saint-Germain for Paul,” Nedved told Le Parisien. “But they are not the only club to want him. Real Madrid and Barcelona are also interested in the player.” Pogba is believed to be worth between €80m and €100m with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United also in the bidding war. PSG director of sport Olivier Letang quickly moved to deny Nedved’s claim that a formal proposal had already been sent to Juventus. French radio station RMC had suggested over the last few days that Pogba had met with PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi in Monaco. Juventus will play Monaco in the Champions League quarter-finals next month.