Socrates

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) 1 - 0 Arturo Vidal (57′-PG) Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Attendance: 38000 Impotent Devils Fall at Juventus Stadium Apr 21, 2013 Milan needed to win this match. While unbeaten in calendar year 2013, the Rossoneri only sat 1 point ahead of 4th-placed Fiorentina going into this match. Milan were no longer trying to meet Napoli in 2nd to avoid the Champion’s League preliminaries, but now attempting to preserve their status in the elite competition for the coming football year. Juventus had already more or less sealed the title, but this was a battle against old rivals. While it wasn’t too shocking that the Bianconeri played this match without much urgency, Milan’s apathy was quite surprising, as they fell to Juventus 1-0 in a dull and uneventful affair. MATCH ANALYSIS by John Cascarano Napoli began the day with a 3-2 win over Cagliari, leaving Juventus with seven points left to clinch their second consecutive and 31st overall Scudetto. Antonio Conte decided to line up with the 3-5-1-1 which was teased during Champions League training, and served the team so well last week in Rome against Lazio. Milan meanwhile had to do without Mario Balotelli who is rather surprisingly serving a ban for misconduct, and thus started a trident of Pazzini, El Sharaawy, and Robinho. Milan looked to control possession from the outset, serving up a couple of runs coordinated by their trident resulting in two outside shots from Robinho and El Sharaawy within the first five minutes. Both, however, were fired straight at Buffon, who had little trouble stifling them. At the 7th minute, Juventus had a dangerous opportunity in the zona di Pirlo, after a handball by Robinho just outside the penalty box gave a free kick in the Maestro’s comfort zone. Pirlo’s direct shot ricocheted off the box nearly resulting in an Alaba-on-Buffon type goal, but Abbiati was somehow able to turn his body back despite moving in the opposite direction, and pushed the ball aside. Not much occurred for the next few minutes, with both teams looked to at a stalemmate early on, until the 15th minute when Marco Amelia was subbed on for Abbiati. The Milan keeper walked gingerly off the pitch, while fans whistled for Amelia to begin play again. He did and shortly thereafter Paul Pogba almost scored a Quagliarella type bicycle kick wonder goal off a perfectly placed cross by Lichtsteiner. In the 27th minute, Milan again looked to build a fruitful play when Montolivo cheekily deflected a pass onwards to Abate running down the right side, who crossed low to Robinho, but the Brazilian just couldn’t put it away at the near post. Shortly thereafter, Pirlo had another chance on a free kick in almost the same spot as earlier, which appeared to again be deflected but this time right into the hands of Amelia. Things continued rather slowly for the rest of the half. A buildup of play from the right side by Juventus lead to another near-perfect cross by Lichtsteiner to Vucinic who surprisingly could not finish. At around the 40 minute mark, Marchisio — playing as a more advanced trequartista/second striker — looked to break through on goal and was one-on-one with Amelia, but Amelia got a foot on principe’s low shot. Although it didn’t matter as Marchisio was flagged offsides anyway. Moments later Pazzini did well to muscle Bonucci off the ball deep into the box near the touchline, and nearly created a dangerous opportunity for Milan, but luckily Chiellini was there to sweep away the danger with a well-timed tackle. And that was pretty much it for the rest of the half. The second half kicked off with each side seemingly eager to grab an advantage. A quick corner from found Chiellini in the center of the box, but the nose/header was too high for goal. Second later, Marchisio was able to find space at the edge of the box, but his shot was right at Amelia. Milan would not sit still however. Mexes did his best Maradona impersonation to dribble a distance with the ball, but his shot was placed right at Buffon. A little while later, Vucinic would get one-on-one with Zapata on the other end, but the ball was scuppered neatly by the Colombian defender while Vucinic seemed to trip over his own shoe laces. And then, there it was, during the 56th minute. A beautiful long ball by Pirlo found Asamoah at the left side of the box, and all Amelia could do was take the Ghanian wingback out at his knees, earning a yellow card and surrendering a penalty kick. Arturo Vidal unsurprisingly stepped up to the spot, and sent a rocket into the right upper 90, with the precision of a heat-seeking missile. Amelia guessed correctly, but there was nothing any goalkeeper could have done. 1-0 Juventus. Juventus kept the pressure on, and Lichtsteiner found his way down the right edge of the box at around 62’, trying to split two defenders but couldn’t find room. He went down in the face of minor contact, but in classy fashion, pointed to the corner flag rather than looking for the free kick. The ensuing corner saw some messy shoving in the box between Chiellini and Mexes and, believe it or not, Mexes actually appeared to strike Chiellini in the face. That is not the Mexes that I know. The referee and even Paul Pogba needed to intervene. Eventually, the corner found the young Frenchman’s head, but he could not put it on target. In the 66’, Zapata surrendered a free kick on the right edge of the box which Pirlo lofted towards the far corner for Pogba, who could not do anything with it. Juventus would look to continue the pressure from there. In the 67th minute, Pirlo initiated a long ball from the center circle to Pogba on the left side of the box, who then found Vucinic, but his shot was deflected by Mexes for a corner. Three consecutive corner kicks ensued, with second one showing some dangerous moments with the ball trickling around the edge of the goal mouth. Neither Chiellini nor anyone else could get a foot on it, however. The third one saw Pirlo loft the ball to the far corner right to Bonucci’s feet, who could only one-time it straight at Amelia at the near post. By 71’, Mexes finally got that ever elusive yellow card despite his always gentlemanly conduct, on a hard foul on Vucinic on the top right edge of the box. Again, Pirlo’s swinging cross could find nobody, and was cleared out safely by the Milan defense. This time, a nearly dangerous counter-attack ensued beginning with an El Sharaawy run on the left side, but the Juventus defense was able to quickly smother out any danger. Milan would keep the pressure on minutes later, but Boateng could not find anyone at the other end of his low cross after beating Chiellini on the right side. Seconds later, Muntari would find space at the top of the box, but another “ghost goal” would not ensue as his ambitious effort was sent straight into Buffon’s welcoming arms. By 81’ Milan had burned through all three of their substitutions, having had to replace Abbiati, then swapping in Muntari for Ambrosini and the enemy-of-the-consonant Krkic with Robinho. By that time Conte decide to add Simone “the Game Changer” Padoin in for Lichtsteiner, who had a typical Lichtsteineresque game controlling the right side. At 89’ Milan had a dangerous chance to make things level, as Montolivo’s free kick from distance met Pazzini in the box (who on replay appeared to be at an offside position), before Mexes mistimed the second chance effort. Two additional late substitutions (Quagliarella on for Vucinic and Peluso for Asamoah) by Antonio Conte would ensure that enough time was spent to seal the precious 1-0 victory. LE PAGELLE by Aaron Giambattista Buffon 6.5 - Almost all of the shots were square in Buffon’s chest, but he did well to never spill an effort and claim it 1st-time. No nerves from Superman, despite Iron Man crowding his turf. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barzagli 7 - Made a brilliant tackle or two, and otherwise kept either Robinho or SES locked in his pocket. A very ordinary Barzagli game, a testament to his incredible form over the last few years. That was his 100th game in a Juventus shirt. The two games he’s really struggled in recent years were the Euro 2012 final and the Bayern match- does a huge occasion rattle him? Bonucci 6 - Ordinary administration at the back, in general, with only one big mistake when he let Pazzini beat him at the byline. Made sure that he was heavily marking anyone in the box. Chiellini 7 - Giorgio wanted to play in this match, despite recently recovering from injury, and did so, with the approval of the Juve doctors. Looked like the Keyser Giorgio of all, mopping up everything at the back, playing with grit and steel, always at the heart of the big moments. Only demerit is some silly diving (following a great tackle) that Montolivo rightly called Chiellini out on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lichtsteiner 6.5 - Marked Stephan El-Shaaraway well on the flank and moved up the field well. Was always ready to take on Milan offensively, but didn’t really receive a lot of support from the midfield. ’81 Padoin s.v. -Sent on to give Lichtsteiner a bit of a break. Nothing of note. Vidal 6.5 - Ran with two lungs in midfield, supporting the team defensively but also pushing up the right side of the field with Stephan Lichtsteiner. Scored the most accurate penalty I’ve ever seen. Juventus are not a selling club, and Arturo Vidal is a champion, thus, we cannot sell Vidal. Pirlo 6.0 - Had a few illuminating passes in the first half, then a few poor long passes. An average game for Andrea, but a good enough performance. Didn’t pass often (“only” 69 passes) but did so with relatively high accuracy. Pogba 6.0 - This was the game that really shows where Paul Pogba is right now. Occasional moments of brilliance, holding off Milan players, dribbling through opponents, but often disappears for stretches of time. That’ll fade with more playing time and mental maturity. Asamoah 6 - Kept with his man defensively but rarely did anything offensive of note. It was a pretty positive game for how well he played defensively, but winning the penalty came from one of the very few offensive actions from Asamoah. Better than we’ve seen, but still, not really a natural wingback and it shows. ’92 Peluso s.v. - Managed a stunning 36 seconds of play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marchisio 4.5 - The Prince’s performance against Lazio earned rave reviews, his pressing and movement caused the Rome-based squad a lot of issues. Today was very much a game that grounded those reviews, as il Principino was virtually missing all match, only popping up once to threaten Amelia when he was already offside. Very much out of his natural position and didn’t know what to do or where to play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vucinic 4.5 - Mirko was sensational a year ago when Juventus won 8-games in a row in the Spring to win the title, destroying Fiorentina, Milan, and Roma singlehandedly, but “Big Game Mirko” hasn’t showed up in a single big game this year. His passing was poor, he only managed 2 shots (none on target) and was dispossessed or turned over the ball more than double anyone else on the pitch. A very, very poor game that likewise calls into question if a 3-5-1-1 suits Mirko at all. ’90 Quagliarella s.v. - Once scored the winner vs Milan as a starter alongside Del Piero, now comes on in stoppage time to waste time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Antonio Conte 7 - Juventus won a very ordinary game over a big rival, and Milan never genuinely threatened Buffon. Looking back, it’s really amazing how muzzled Milan were and how nonplussed Juve looked. That said, his substitutions and lack of rotation drive me nuts. There was only one sub in a game that was very subdued, and it was Padoin. Conte speaks highly of players like Giaccherini, Marrone, etc, but if he won’t ever play them, why would they want to stay? ANALYSIS WRAP-UP by John Cascarano It wasn’t the most exciting of games and certainly not the prettiest victory, but Juventus did what they needed to do. When they visited the San Siro back in November, they fell to a Diavoli side which had very much bottomed-out. Since then, Milan has only played better, and the addition of Balotelli during the winter mercato means they’ve only gotten stronger as a squad. It’s crazy to think about, but this loss to Juventus was their first one in Serie A in 2013. With this victory Juventus’ magic number drops to 4. Any combination of Napoli dropping and Juventus earning four points within the five remaining games would give Antonio Conte his second Scudetto in as many seasons at the helm of Juventus. And speaking of Conte, he seemed to have gotten it perfectly right. The 3-5-1-1 answered Milan’s tactics well, and I’ve long been of the opinion that Marchisio has the skillset to play in a more advanced role. While the new formation is by no means a silver bullet or a necessary permanent switch, at the very least freshening things up from time to time means that opponents have less film to study and compare their pending opponents to during training. And perhaps appropriately, the winning goal against Milan was scored on a penalty. Bravi ragazzi! http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) 1 - 0 Arturo Vidal (57′-PG) Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Attendance: 38000 Juve four points from title defence Apr 21, 2013 Juventus need four points to successfully defend the Serie A title after Arturo Vidal's penalty decided a crucial victory over AC Milan. While the Rossoneri sweat over their chances of competing in next season's Champions League, Juve can seal a second straight Scudetto by winning next Sunday's derby meeting with Torino, should second-placed Napoli fail to beat Pescara. A Vidal penalty in the second half was the difference between the two sides, who are now separated by 18 points with five games remaining. The result means the Bianconeri are assured of their place in the Champions League next season while, with an 11-point cushion over Napoli, they could wrap up the title with four games to spare. Milan, however, are looking over their shoulders with fourth-placed Fiorentina now just a point behind in the race for Champions League football. Rossoneri head coach Massimiliano Allegri picked an attacking line-up in response to Napoli's earlier 3-2 win over Cagliari which opened a seven-point gap between second and third place. Robinho, one of three forwards in his starting XI, tried his luck in the early exchanges but just missed the target. Andrea Pirlo went closer to breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute with a free-kick that took a deflection off Massimo Ambrosini in the wall, making life difficult for Christian Abbiati who somehow managed to change direction and turn the ball behind for a corner. Milan's top goalscorer Stephan El Shaarawy responded by giving Gianluigi Buffon his first test of the evening in the 24th minute. Marco Amelia soon came on for the injured Abbiati and he had to deal with another deflected Pirlo free-kick as the two sides reached the break on even terms. The substitute keeper negatively affected his team, however, as his foul on Kwadwo Asamoah in the 57th minute earned Juve a penalty. Chile international Vidal made no mistake when placing his spot-kick high into the net to give the hosts the lead. Milan responded brightly with Sulley Muntari and Riccardo Montolivo both testing Buffon. But the visitors just could not find an equaliser, despite introducing a fourth striker in the shape of Bojan Krkic, and Juve rode out the final throes to edge closer to their 31st domestic title. http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) 1 - 0 Arturo Vidal (57′-PG) Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Attendance: 38000 Vidal sees off toothless Milan Arturo Vidal’s perfect penalty gave Juventus victory over an uninspired Milan, putting them closer to the title and leaving the Rossoneri only one point clear of Fiorentina in third. Apr 21, 2013 Last season this was a Scudetto showdown, but this time round the Rossoneri were pushing to challenge Napoli for second place and aiming to stay clear of Fiorentina in fourth. Mario Balotelli and Mathieu Flamini sat out bans, but Massimo Ambrosini returned from injury. Stephan El Shaarawy was back in the starting XI after he was surprisingly dropped against Napoli, but Kevin-Prince Boateng moved into midfield to make way for Giampaolo Pazzini and Robinho. Juve had Giorgio Chiellini after an ankle injury, though Sebastian Giovinco, Nicolas Anelka and Simone Pepe were sidelined. Once again, Claudio Marchisio acted as support striker so there was room for Paul Pogba. Andrea Pirlo almost opened the scoring against his former club, as a free kick took a deflection off the wall and Christian Abbiati changed direction to palm it off the line. The goalkeeper hurt his knee during that move and after a while limped off to make way for Marco Amelia. This was the fifth time in three seasons Abbiati had to be substituted due to injury. An acrobatic Pogba overhead kick from Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross whistled wide, then Ambrosini pounced on a Pirlo error only to drill off target. Robinho also hit the side-netting after Mirko Vucinic gave possession away. Another Pirlo free kick went over the wall, but into Amelia’s arms, while Vucinic was just unable to get a touch to Lichtsteiner’s assist as he came sliding in. Ambrosini also needed treatment with a strong bandage applied to his ankle before the break, as injuries were beginning to take their toll on the Milan squad. Sulley Muntari replaced the captain for the second half, as the armband want to Riccardo Montolivo. Chiellini nodded over from a corner and a deflected Marchisio strike was smothered by Amelia, while Philippe Mexes pushed forward and fired straight at Buffon. Cristian Zapata used his strength to prevent Vucinic pulling the trigger from a defence-splitting pass. Just shy of the hour mark, Ignazio Abate let a pass go through so Kwadwo Asamoah burst into the box and Amelia rushed off his line, clattering into the Ghanaian for a clear penalty. Arturo Vidal stepped up and placed a perfect spot-kick into the top corner. Pogba nodded a corner over the bar and then set up Vucinic for a shot that Mexes crucially charged down. A dangerous Pirlo cross was not cleared effectively, but Chiellini couldn’t quite get it out from under his feet. From that corner, Leonardo Bonucci shinned a volley into Amelia’s arms. A fine Boateng run down the right saw him roll the ball across for Pazzini, but Bonucci got there first to prevent the tap-in. Muntari’s snapshot and a swerving Montolivo long-range effort were smothered by Buffon. Mexes fired wide from a free kick, but Pazzini had been flagged offside anyway, while Montolivo’s angled drive was again easy pickings for Buffon. These attempts summed up Milan’s performance, as they had 58% of possession in Turin, but barely troubled the goalkeeper. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner (Padoin 81), Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal, Asamoah (Peluso 92); Marchisio; Vucinic (Quagliarella 90) Milan: Abbiati (Amelia 15); Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant; Montolivo, Ambrosini (Muntari 46), Boateng; Pazzini, El Shaarawy, Robinho (Bojan 70) Ref: Banti http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Madrid were also interested in Llorente, reveals Perez The Blancos president is in no doubt that the Spain international, who is joining the Bianconeri on a free transfer, will prove a big hit in both Serie A and the Champions League. Apr 21, 2013 Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed that he was interested in signing Fernando Llorente before the forward agreed to join Juventus. The Bianconeri announced in January that the Spain international will move to Turin on a free transfer upon the expiration of his current contract with Athletic Bilbao at the end of the season. Despite Llorente's imminent arrival at the Juventus Stadium, the Italian champions are still said to be pursuing another striker, much to the bemusement of Perez who remains a keen admirer of Llorente. "You [Juventus] are really looking for a forward?" the Blancos supremo is quoted as saying by Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport. "But you have already taken a really good one: Llorente. "He's really good. I am certain that he will score a lot and that he will also do well in the Champions League. "He was also liked by us, but our [transfer] policy does not allow us to take a player whose contract is expiring away from another team." Despite Perez's recommendation, the 28-year-old Llorente has scored just one goal in 19 appearances for Athletic in La Liga this season.

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) 1 - 0 Arturo Vidal (57′-PG) Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Attendance: 38000‎ Vidal edges Bianconeri ever closer to title The Chile international scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, after Marco Amelia had clattered into Kwadwo Asamoah in the area. Apr 21, 2013 Juventus took a significant step towards a second successive Serie A title with a 1-0 win over AC Milan that simultaneously upset their opponents' hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Arturo Vidal scored the only goal of a desperately underwhelming encounter, the Chile international converting from the penalty spot after Kwadwo Asamoah had been felled in the area by Marco Amelia shortly after half-time. With Juventus in possession of an eight-point cushion at the summit of Serie A, the game was arguably of great importance to Milan, particularly with fourth-placed Fiorentina having defeated Torino earlier in the day to draw to within a point of the Rossoneri. Unsurprising, then, that the visitors began the brighter of the two, with Robinho and Stephan El Shaarawy both getting shots away inside the opening five minutes. However, it was Juve who went closest to an early breakthrough, with Christian Abbiati doing wonderfully well to change direction in time to scramble a deflected Andrea Pirlo free kick away for a corner. Unfortunately for Abbiati, that was to be his last contribution of note before being forced off through injury with less than 15 minutes on the clock. He was replaced by Amelia, whose first task was to deal with another Pirlo free kick, which he did with the minimum of fuss. The Rossoneri reserve goalkeeper had little to do for the remainder of the half, though, with Mirko Vucinic failing dismally to hit the target with a free header from yet another Pirlo set-piece. In truth, Milan looked the slightly more likely scorers during a cagey opening half. Massimiliano Allegri’s men were certainly the more composed side in possession, while Robinho and the recalled Stephan El Shaarawy buzzed about Giampaolo Pazzini with real intent. Their hopes of retaining control of the middle of the park were hit by the injury-enforced withdrawal of Massimo Ambrosini during the interval. Their hopes of winning the game, meanwhile, were hit by the concession of a penalty just 10 minutes later. Ignazio Abate and Amelia were both caught out by a seemingly innocuous diagonal in behind the Milan defence. Abate left it for his goalkeeper, who never had any chance of getting there in time and was powerless to prevent himself from clattering into the alert Asamoah, who had stolen in behind a hesitant Abate before cleverly nicking the ball past Amelia. Vidal buried the resulting spot-kick, firing high to Amelia's left to change the entire complexion of the game. Indeed, Milan suddenly looked completely devoid of any belief and the toothless visitors did not even go close to forcing an equaliser in the remaining 35 minutes, thus allowing Juve to coast to a victory that leaves them requiring just four more points to clinch the title. http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Ma il Milan non era allo stesso livello della Juve secondo Galliani?

Quagliarella in Vucinic out

Conte imbestialito.

Constant

Inderdaad.

Anche io.

Bravissimo Pogba

Montolivo perdente

Mexes isterico

ARTURO VIDAL 1-0

Rigore Juve

Partita davvero noiosa.

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) - Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti HT 0-0: Juve-Milan stalemate Apr 21, 2013 Andrea Pirlo forced a tough save out of Christian Abbiati, who then went off injured, as Juventus and Milan are still goalless at the break. Last season this was a Scudetto showdown, but this time round the Rossoneri were pushing to challenge Napoli for second place and aiming to stay clear of Fiorentina in fourth. Mario Balotelli and Mathieu Flamini sat out bans, but Massimo Ambrosini returned from injury. Stephan El Shaarawy was back in the starting XI after he was surprisingly dropped against Napoli, but Kevin-Prince Boateng moved into midfield to make way for Giampaolo Pazzini and Robinho. Juve had Giorgio Chiellini after an ankle injury, though Sebastian Giovinco, Nicolas Anelka and Simone Pepe were sidelined. Once again, Claudio Marchisio acted as support striker so there was room for Paul Pogba. Andrea Pirlo almost opened the scoring against his former club, as a free kick took a deflection off the wall and Christian Abbiati changed direction to palm it off the line. The goalkeeper hurt his knee during that move and after a while limped off to make way for Marco Amelia. This was the fifth time in three seasons Abbiati had to be substituted due to injury. An acrobatic Pogba overhead kick from Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross whistled wide, then Ambrosini pounced on a Pirlo error only to drill off target. Robinho also hit the side-netting after Mirko Vucinic gave possession away. Another Pirlo free kick went over the wall, but into Amelia’s arms, while Vucinic was just unable to get a touch to Lichtsteiner’s assist as he came sliding in. Ambrosini also needed treatment with a strong bandage applied to his ankle before the break, as injuries were beginning to take their toll on the Milan squad. Juventus 0-0 Milan (Half-Time) Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal, Asamoah; Marchisio; Vucinic Milan: Abbiati (Amelia 15); Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant; Montolivo, Ambrosini, Boateng; Pazzini, El Shaarawy, Robinho Ref: Banti http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) - Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Marotta: 'Pirlo ultimate professional' Apr 21, 2013 Juventus director general Beppe Marotta praised Andrea Pirlo and commented on those Zlatan Ibrahimovic rumours ahead of tonight’s game with Milan. “Pirlo personifies the profile of a great player, both in terms of quality and his professionalism. More than fortune, it was a favourable coincidence and we made the most of it,” he said of the free transfer from Milan. “We know that sides like Juventus are obligated to win always. We have to get the most from every game until we have mathematically won the Scudetto.” Agent Mino Raiola told the media this weekend that Ibrahimovic would be ideal for a return to Juventus. “Raiola does his job, which is to sell a champion like Ibrahimovic. Juventus, just like every other Italian club, are not prepared to support such a big contract, especially as the wages include taxes. “If he were to reduce his wages, then I imagine many teams would come in for him. I’m fairly sceptical about that, to be honest, especially as it would have to be a radical cut. “Juventus have certainly won back their international appeal. When we arrived it was difficult to work on the transfer market, as every player we contacted expressed reservations due to the tough seasons we went through. “We have rediscovered our appeal in Italy and abroad, so agents are daily coming to us in order to offer important players. “The Coach and club are in sync, so we’ll discuss the strategy together after the end of the season. We’ll try to make him as happy as possible, but we are still administrators of a business and in financial terms Italian clubs are having trouble competing with the European giants.” http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A Week 33 - 21-4-12 (8:45 p.m.) - Juventus Stadium — Turin Referee: Luca Banti Tassotti: 'A balanced encounter' Apr 21, 2013 Milan assistant manager Mauro Tassotti expects “a balanced encounter” at the Juventus Stadium this evening. “We need to play well tonight. It is going to be an important match for both teams, as they are close to the Scudetto, while it is also crucial for us to keep hold of third place,” said Tassotti. “We met recently in the Coppa Italia, but the games have always been very balanced and I expected another balanced encounter this evening.” Earlier this season Milan beat Juventus 1-0 in Serie A with a dubious penalty, then the Bianconeri won 2-1 in extra time for the Coppa Italia quarter-final in January. Mario Balotelli and Mathieu Flamini are suspended, but Robinho, Giampaolo Pazzini, Robinho and Kevin-Prince Boateng start together. “El Shaarawy has been a very important player for this team for three quarters of the campaign, but it can happen that every now and then someone can sit on the bench. Things need to be understood,” added Tassotti. http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Marchisio non era in fuorigioco.

Partita noiosa di fine stagione.

Il pareggio va bene ad entrambe. Se consideriamo poi l'amicizia fra i due clubs ....