Socrates

Scusa Thiago ma abbiamo goduto .....

After a horrific start, Juventus explode to earn a draw against Bologna Football can be a really, really strange sport. Case in point: Juventus’ Monday evening match against Bologna at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara. For a game that had no real significance beyond positioning within the top five, there were a lot of subplots going on. It was Juve’s first game after Massimiliano Allegri’s post-match antics led to the coach being relieved of his duties earlier than expected, leaving primavera coach and club legend Paolo Montero as the interim manager. Across from him was Thiago Motta, the man considered by most media reports to be the favorite to replace Allegri in the summer. There are also reports that these two teams could be doing transfer business with each other this summer, too, particularly for Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori. For 70 minutes, Motta showed Juventus how to play modern football. Bologna were up 2-0 after 12 minutes and 3-0 eight minutes into the second half, thanks in large part to a brace by Calafiori. Then, over a period of about eight minutes, Juventus showed Motta what Fino alla Fine means. Capitalizing on a series of Bologna errors, they came back from the dead to score three quick-fire goals within an eight-minute span to even the score and came within a last-ditch tackle of winning the damn thing. The final 3-3 score kept the two teams level on points in third, and maybe gave Juve a little shot of pride going into the season’s final game. ............ Bologna came out of the gates pressing like mad, and Juve didn’t respond well — at all. Danilo almost gave up the ball deep in his own box within 30 seconds, and Freuler pilfered the ball from Cambiaso in the penalty area seconds later, only to be denied one-on-one by Szczesny, who fingertipped the ball around the post before the first minute was up on the clock. The shambolic start continued on the ensuing corner, which was only cleared far enough for it to be put back in low, where Danilo’s deflection put it right into the path of an unmarked Calafiori, who slammed it first-time into the roof of the net for his first-ever Serie A goal. All of 89 seconds into the game, Juve were chasing. For the hosts, the night was earmarked for celebrating the team’s first-ever Champions League qualification. The dall’Ara was rocking, and the Rossoblu were feeding off that energy. ............ It was clear that the Bianconeri weren’t anywhere close to optimal mentally. The whiplash of Allegri’s dismissal could’ve had something to do with it, but it was likely also a combination of a number of other things, including the hangover from winning the Coppa Italia on Wednesday and the fact that, in a rather meaningless game, some players may have cast their thoughts forward to the Euros or the Copa America. Regardless, they were disorganized, absent-minded, and devoid of any ideas on the rare occasions that they managed to actually control the ball for more than a few seconds. Frustration crept in quickly, and over a 13 minute span three Juventus players received yellow cards, including Cambiaso, who effectively ended his season by going over the suspension threshold. Juve’s only shot of the entire half was a long-distance effort by Bremer that was blocked in close, although Cambiaso did provide one moment of danger just before the interval when he put in a wicked low cross from the byline that was only kept from being an easy Vlahovic tap-in by a last-minute lunge from Lucumi. Montero came out of the half with a double sub, lifting two of his cautioned players, Cambiaso and Miretti, for Tim Weah and Carlos Alcaraz. Two minutes in, it looked like Juve might be able to claw out some sort of foothold when Rabiot tested Skorupski for the first time all day, forcing him to parry an angled drive past his near post. But just six minutes later it looked like the game was well and truly over when Bologna made it 3-0 on a lightning counter. Calafiori blocked Vlahovic’s attempt to turn a pass from Bremer around the corner, then continued charging forward as Urbanski pushed the ball to Castro, who left it on a plate for the center back, who beat an an outnumbered Danilo and put the ball in with a striker’s finish, gently lifting the ball over an onrushing Szczesny. An attempt to respond immediately was wasted by Gatti, who struck a free header well off-target. Montero then took a gamble, sending on Kenan Yildiz for Gatti and moving the team into a 4-3-3 formation. It looked like a desperation heave at the time, but it would turn out to be game-changing. Arkadiusz Milik and Fagioli soon followed him onto the field. ............ Seven minutes after Chiesa got Juve up off the mat, Yildiz was fouled about 23 yards from goal. Milik lined the ball up and reminded everyone that he is, in fact, a very underrated free kick taker, striking a laser beam into the top corner that gave his countryman zero chance to intervene. The crowd had barely been able to react to that goal when Yildiz jumped in front of a pass by Sam Beukema, charged down the middle of the field, and unleashed a 25-yard rocket past Skorupski. The time elapsed between 3-1 and 3-3 was 79 seconds. As improbable as everything had been, with two minutes left the impossible nearly happened. Chiesa made a difficult turn in traffic and executed a fantastic one-two with Yildiz to put himself into the channel. It looked for all the world like it was about to open up for him but Aebischer came to Bologna’s rescue at the last second, tackling it behind as Chiesa wound up to take the shot. ............ LE PAGELLE WOJCIECH SZCZESNY - 6. One of the only guys in the early going who looked like he gave a damn about doing his job. Made a couple of incredible saves in the first 15 minutes, denying Freuler in the first minute and then adjusting on the fly to parry Ndoye’s deflected effort. FEDERICO GATTI - 4.5. Lost his bearings on the first goal, where he really should’ve been sticking with Calafiori instead of dropping back toward the goal line. Missed a chance to start pulling Juve back a lot earlier too. BREMER - 5. Let Urbanski sneak behind him far too easily on Bologna’s second goal. His distribution out of the back (90.6 completion rate, one key pass) keeps him from dropping below 5. DANILO - 5. Had the best raw counting numbers (deuces wild for tackles, interceptions, clearances, and blocks) of any of the back three, but his defending on Castro on the second goal was atrocious. ANDREA CAMBIASO - 5. Very nearly got an assist at the end of the first half, but also lost his cool a little when he got booked and did very little else that was positive. One of his worst performances of the season for sure. His season’s over thanks to his yellow card suspension. FABIO MIRETTI - 4. A straight-up ghost in midfield, only touching the ball 17 times — and was dispossessed on three of them. A loan next year really ought to happen so he can have the time and space to pull it all together. MANUEL LOCATELLI - 5. ............ ADRIEN RABIOT - 5.5. ............ SAMUEL ILING-JUNIOR - 5.5. ............ FEDERICO CHIESA - 6. He just couldn’t get onto the ball much in the early going as the walls came crashing down around Juve’s ears, but his tenacity in the press earned him a good goal, and he was THIS close to a brace in the end. DUSAN VLAHOVIC - 5.5. Cut a deeply forlorn figure at the top of Juve’s formation. Often had no support around him, leading him to fight losing battles against multiple defenders alone. SUBS TIMOTHY WEAH - 4. ............ CARLOS ALCARAZ - 5. ............ KENAN YILDIZ - 7. The engine for the final phase of the comeback, earning the free kick that Milik scored and then created the last goal with a fantastic solo effort. ARKADIUSZ MILIK - 6. Similar to Vlahovic, he had to do some lonesome fighting, but that free kick was absolutely fantastic. NICOLO FAGIOLI - 5.5. MY BOY!!!!!!! He actually looked pretty good for a guy who hasn’t had live game action in seven months. Completed every pass he attempted, including one key pass. As he gets his feet back under him, he could pick up right where he left off. MANAGER ANALYSIS If this game had ended 3-0 I still wouldn’t have come down that hard on Paolo Montero. The dude had all of one training session between being officially named interim coach and Monday night’s game. Factor in the hangover from the Coppa final and the fact that there was very little actually riding on this game, and it’s hard to get much traction. And yet, Montero rode the horrific start to the match and made one key move that ultimately changed the game. The effect of introducing Yildiz and changing to a 4-3-3 wasn’t immediate, but ultimately it turned it on its head. I mean imagine that, if you put forwards on the field and use them to attack your opponent, you score goals! Took Montero one training session to figure that concept out, how did it not land with his predecessor in three years? That said, if the reports do come to pass and Thiago Motta does arrive at Continassa in the not-too-distant future, I hope he was paying attention. Those last 15 minutes are the baseline for what he has to work with. Get to it, man! Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2024/5/21/24161192/bologna-juventus-2024-serie-a-matchday-37-final-score-result-match-recap-montero-chiesa-yildiz-milik

Montero leads dramatic Juventus comeback against Bologna Incoming manager Thiago Motta shown a thing or two about Juve's fighting spirit As far as starts go, it couldn't get more inauspicious than Juventus going 3-0 down away against Thiago Motta's Bologna. They had chased Juve down after a flat run of form to close the season for the Bianconeri, and when their soon to be ex-manager (if rumours are to be believed that he is taking over Massimiliano Allegri's vacated seat) watched the third goal chalked off for offside, he might have had an inkling something was afoot. Well, Bologna did get an insurance goal or so they might have thought early in the second half, but with fifteen minutes to go Juve pulled one back, and then two more in quick succession to stun the Renato Dall’Ara. Speaking after the game, caretaker coach Paolo Montero spoke about how the game went. “In my view, the draw is the fair result. The victory on Wednesday was important, mentally it drained them a little bit and to come here against one of the best teams at the moment like Bologna, you are going to struggle. “After that dip in mentality, they fought back with pride and showed how much they care about the shirt.” On his promotion from the Under-19 side. Montero spoke about the unity he found in the squad. “It is a special situation for me. I don’t know how to describe it, but the lads gave me this joy. I have been here for two days, they gave me a lovely welcome. When you are in important locker rooms, to achieve certain victories, you need great men in there and I think Juve have great men in this team. ............ Montero was deep in conversation after the final whistle with Motta, given that the pair had earned their Serie A coaching badges together. “I congratulated him on his season. We also had 45 days together at Coverciano, I got to know him there, we went to dinner every day and talked about football. His team plays really good football, he’s a great guy and deserves all this success.” Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2024/5/21/24161320/bologna-3-3-juventus-serie-a-match-recap-reaction-comeback-montero-thiago-motta-fino-alla-fine

Did Saelemaekers spill the beans on Thiago Motta future? Bologna winger Alexis Saelemaekers had a few words of praise for his manager Thiago Motta, and many believe the Belgian may have revealed too much. The Italo-Brazilian has been heavily linked with a switch to Juventus at the end of the season after guiding the Rossoblu towards a historic Champions League qualification while playing an exciting brand of football. ............ Nevertheless, many believe that Motta already has an agreement in principle to join Juventus next season. Moreover, Saelemaekers’ statement last night may have spilled the beans, as many fans and observers consider it a farewell message to the seemingly departing coach. “Thank you mister for everything you did for us. It was incredible,” said the former Milan winger in his post-match interview with DAZN following last night’s thrilling 3-3 draw between Bologna and Juventus. ............ Motta remains the heavy favorite for the role, and the only candidate that the Juventus management is currently in contact with, according to all accounts. Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/did-saelemaekers-spill-the-beans-on-thiago-motta-future/

Official – Juventus part ways with sporting director Giovanni Manna Juventus have announced the departure of sporting director Giovanni Manna after five years at the club. The 35-year-old worked at the club’s youth department, beginning with the U19 squad and then Juventus Next Gen. He also took charge of the first team in January 2023 when sporting director Federico Cherubini was slapped with a lengthy ban alongside other top club officials in the aftermath of the Plusvalenza trial. ............ This season, Manna acted as Giuntoli’s right-hand man for the most part, but has been out of sight recently, with several accounts in the Italian media expecting him to join Napoli at the end of the season. ............ “Giovanni Manna and Juventus are parting ways,” reads the official note “A mutual agreement was reached for the termination of his contract. “Manna leaves the club after five seasons, during which time he oversaw the Youth Sector as the Head of the Under-19s team, and then of the Under-23s – now the Next Gen – as Sports Director, with his objective being to work on the growth of the young players in the side. “We want to take this opportunity to thank Giovanni for the work he has done with the utmost professionalism over the last five years, and wish him the very best of luck for the future.” Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/official-juventus-part-ways-with-sporting-director-giovanni-manna/

Gli occhi della tigre

Bologna-Juventus 3-3

Remarkable comeback earns Juventus draw against Bologna 3-3 Where does one start with this game? It was definitely a game of two halves that showcased both the good and bad sides of Juventus. Bologna came out of the starting blocks at breakneck speed, scoring two goals within the first eleven minutes. Thiago Motta has done a brilliant job with Bologna, and it took his men just two minutes to find the back of the net, courtesy of Riccardo Calafiori. This was followed just nine minutes later by a goal from Santiago Castro, leaving Juve completely shell-shocked. ............ Just eight minutes after the halftime break, Juventus found themselves three goals down, thanks to another goal from Juve target Calafiori. ............ However, Paolo Montero’s men burst into life with three goals in a crazy eight-minute spell, starting in the 76th minute with a goal from Federico Chiesa. Seven minutes later, Arkadiusz Milik smashed the ball in, and Juventus was very much back in the game at 3-2. That scoreline lasted just one minute before Kenan Yildiz got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-3. Juventus were now in the ascendency, but time ran out for Montero’s men, and the game ended in a draw. ............ Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/remarkable-comeback-earns-juventus-draw-against-bologna/

No, quello che strappa le orecchie é un altro ........

Paolo Montero, Juventino Vero! https://x.com/i/status/1792655973083238502

Sporcacciono

Che gli avrá detto Montero a Thiago Motta nell'orecchio?

Non é che Thiago Motta l'ha fatto apposta?

Pigna Montero, Juventino vero!

KENAN YILDIZ 3-3

Milik 3-2

Esce Calafiori e segna Chiesa

Gli avrá chiesto scusa per la batosta di stasera

É vero, anche Mancini é disponibile

Vlahovic esce anche con Montero in panca

Abbiamo preso CR7 e De Ligt in passato. Ora tocca a Calafiori.

4-3-3 con Yildiz in campo

Calafiori fortissimo 3-0

Non sono rientrati dagli spogliatoi Cambiaso e Miretti. Montero che gli hai fatto?