Socrates

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) 1 - 2 Andrea Pirlo (14′) Emanuele Calaiò (45+2′) Claudio Marchisio (85′) Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Attendance: 15373‎ Marchisio rescues Juve Claudio Marchisio left it late to snatch a 2-1 Juventus victory at Siena after a few scares. Oct 7, 2012 Antonio Conte was in the stands and given a warm welcome by his former club, who he took to promotion from Serie B before quitting to follow his Juventus dream. This week the Coach saw his 10-month ban reduced to four on appeal, a suspension awarded due to the same betting investigation that cost Siena a six-point penalty. Leonardo Bonucci was suspended and Simone Pepe still injured, while the home side missed Gaetano D’Agostino and Matteo Contini. Luca Marrone stepped into the Juve defence, but despite expectations there was no first start for Nicklas Bendtner. Alessandro Rosina had a great start after two minutes, but scuffed his finish straight at Gigi Buffon. Juventus took the lead on 14 minutes with an Andrea Pirlo free kick. Sebastian Giovinco was brought down on the edge of the box and Pirlo kept his free kick daisy-cutter low to go under the jumping wall, surprising Gianluca Pegolo at the near post. Siena should’ve equalised on 22 minutes when Emanuele Calaio exchanged passes with Ze Eduardo, but the Italian pulled his angled drive wide from a very promising position. Giorgio Chiellini risked a second yellow card on the half-hour, but was given a warning. Mirko Vucinic toe-poked into the arms of Pegolo and Giovinco blasted over. Pirlo nearly got a second from one of his trademark free kicks, this time curling over the wall to smack against the crossbar. Pegolo flew to push a Claudio Marchisio screamer out of the far top corner with his trailing hand. Serse Cosmi was sent off from the touchline for dissent, but refused to leave and it took some time to convince the fiery Siena Coach. The red card meant both Cosmi and Conte watched the second half in the stands. In first half stoppages Siena got their equaliser to drive the Stadio Franchi crowd wild. Angelo surged forward down the right and crossed for Calaio’s cushioned header at the back post to beat Buffon. Kwadwo Asamoah replaced ex-Siena winger Paolo De Ceglie for the second half and Neto needed a goalline clearance to keep out Giovinco’s shot, which Pegolo had got his hand to. Buffon had to fingertip a wayward Chiellini header out from under the bar to prevent an own goal. A Mirko Vucinic angled drive skimmed the far post, then Giovinco sprung the offside trap and dribbled round the goalkeeper, but went too wide and his assist to Arturo Vidal was cleared by Cristian Del Grosso. Pegolo needed a great save to deny Vidal’s angled drive on the half-volley at the near post, practically from the by-line. Siena wasted a double opportunity to take the lead on 78 minutes, as first Calaio and then Rosina only glanced headers wide when undisturbed in the six-yard box. Juve laid siege to the Siena box and eventually broke through five minutes from time. Rodriguez cleared a corner to the edge of the box, where Marchisio thumped a scorching volley that left Pegolo rooted to the spot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Siena: Pegolo; Neto, Paci, Felipe; Angelo (Bolzoni 68), Vergassola, Rodriguez, Del Grosso; Rosina (Reginaldo 81), Ze Eduardo (Sestu 54); Calaio Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Marrone (Quagliarella 80), Chiellini; Lichtsteiner (Giaccherini 67), Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie (Asamoah 46); Vucinic, Giovinco Ref: Mazzoleni http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) 1 - 2 Andrea Pirlo (14′) Emanuele Calaiò (45+2′) Claudio Marchisio (85′) Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Attendance: 15373‎ Marchisio fires late winner as champions march on The Italy midfielder drove home with just over five minutes remaining to secure three points and ensure that the Bianconeri remain top of Serie A. Oct 7, 2012 Juventus made their second-half dominance pay with a late Claudio Marchisio strike securing a 2-1 win over a stubborn Siena side at the Artemio Franchi on Sunday afternoon. The Bianconeri took the lead 14 minutes in courtesy of a free kick from Andrea Pirlo, who struck the bar with another sublime set-piece later in the half. However, the two sides went in level at the interval, with Emanuel Calaió heading home just before the half-time whistle. Juventus bossed the second period but it seemed that their efforts would prove in vain. However, with just five minutes remaining, Marchisio came to their rescue to steal a win that keeps Antonio Conte's men top of the table. Juve had gone into the game on the back of a fortuitous draw at home to Champions League rivals Shakhtar Donetsk and the defensive frailty that was on show in Turin on Tuesday night was in evidence again at the Artemio Franchi. Indeed, Siena should have been ahead inside two minutes, but Alessandro Rosina, who was a constant thorn in Juve’s side during the first-half, miscued his first-time strike, after being picked out by Angelo’s pull-back, and the ball ended up bouncing harmlessly into the arms of Gianluigi Buffon. While the visitors looked vulnerable at the back, Sebastian Giovinco and Mirko Vucinic were causing problems every time they picked up possession at the other end of the field and it was no surprise that the pair played a key role in the Bianconeri’s opener. Vucinic left two Siena defenders trailing in his wake with a wonderful turn in midfield before slipping the ball wide to Giovinco, who ended up on the deck after bamboozling Felipe with his quick feet. Pirlo took the subsequent free kick and found the bottom corner by ingeniously firing the ball low underneath the feet of the players in the defensive wall, who had collectively jumped in an attempt to make the playmaker’s task more difficult. The goal unsurprisingly settled Juve and they could count themselves unfortunate not to have doubled their lead before the break, with Pirlo crashing another set-piece against the cross bar on 40 minutes before Claudio Marchisio drew a flying save out of Gianluca Pegolo moments later. However, Catania continued to threaten at the other end and Calaio squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to level matters midway through the opening period when he fired wide with the goal at his mercy, after being the recipient of a deft lay-off from Ze Eduardo. The veteran striker made amends, though, right on half-time, powering home a header at the far post after Angelo had beaten Paolo De Ceglie to the byline before whipping over the most inviting of crosses. Juve responded to that setback by replacing De Ceglie during the interval and they looked more defensively sound for the majority of the second-half. In saying that, Rosina had a tremendous chance to edge Siena in front with just over 10 minutes remaining, but he inexplicably failed to get his head on the end of Cristiano Del Grosso's cross. In the end it was Juve who struck late, and deservedly so, with Pegolo having produced a succession of terrific saves to keep out Juventus, and Giovinco and Arturo Vidal in particular, while Vucinic had seen a measured strike from the edge of the area drift just wide of the post. Again Giovinco was key, the former Parma man jinking past a couple of players before crossing into the area. The ball was nodded back across the box by Giorgio Chiellini and Marchisio arrived right on cue to drive the ball through a crowd of players and past Pegolo, thus securing Juve their sixth win from seven outings this season. http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) - Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Line-ups: Siena-Juventus Oct 7, 2012 Despite expectations, Nicklas Bendtner does not get his first Juventus start against Antonio Conte’s old club Siena. The Stadio Artemio Franchi fixture kicks off at 14.00 BST and you can watch this and other Serie A games LIVE on your computer. Conte saw his 10-month ban reduced to four on appeal this week, but as part of the same investigation Siena have a six-point penalty. Leonardo Bonucci sits out a ban, so Luca Marrone takes over at centre-back rather than Lucio. Juve were expected to rest some of their stars and give Bendtner his first start, but it’s the usual line-up with Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Mirko Vucinic and Sebastian Giovinco. Siena have to do without the injured Gaetano D’Agostino and Matteo Contini, forcing changes in midfield. Alessandro Rosina and Ze Eduardo support Emanuele Calaio'. Siena: Pegolo; Neto, Paci, Felipe; Angelo, Vergassola, Rodriguez, Del Grosso; Rosina, Ze Eduardo; Calaio' Siena bench: Farelli, Campagnolo, Dellafiore, Rubin, Reginaldo, Mannini, Verre, Sestu, Bolzoni, Paolucci, Bogdani, Valiani Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Marrone, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Vucinic, Giovinco Juventus bench: Storari, Rubinho, Lucio, Caceres, Isla, Padoin, Pogba, Giaccherini, Asamoah, Bendtner, Quagliarella, Matri http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) - Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Siena: 'Dear Conte...' Oct 7, 2012 Siena Vice-President Valentina Mezzaroma hope she can “play a trick on my old friend” Antonio Conte’s Juventus. Conte was in charge of Siena when he earned promotion from Serie B in 2010-11, but was released from his contract so he could make a dream come true and lead Juve. “What result do I predict? I would love to play a trick on my old friend Conte. I believe we can do it – I even have the symbol of victory tattooed on my arm,” she told Tuttosport. “Conte will receive a very warm welcome from the Siena fans. He is loved here, as he brought us back into Serie A and made all the right choices. His time at Siena was like a smaller version of what he has implemented at Juventus. “We have respect, affection and friendship with Conte. He sent me a text message of congratulations when we beat Inter at San Siro. He celebrates when we win and of course will do everything to beat us too. That is normal in sport.” Conte is in the stands due to a touchline ban for failing to report a potential fix to the authorities while he was at Siena in 2010-11. That same investigation saw Robur begin the campaign from -6. “I know Conte and he is a winner in all things,” continued Mezzaroma. “To think he was working with betting syndicates or any kind of match-fixing is just completely illogical. You just had to see how angry his face was when Juve ran into a series of draws. “I believe the investigation needed a big name to draw attention from the public.” http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Boakye: Juventus star Kwadwo Asamoah is Africa's best player Oct 7, 2012 Italy-based striker Richmond Boakye Yiadom says Juventus star Kwadwo Asamoah must be named the 2012 African Player of the Year. Asamoah has been in an outstanding form since joining the Italian giants from rivals Udinese in the summer. He handed Juventus the Italian Super Cup when he scored in his debut for and has since been rated among the best in weekly matches in Europe. His performances have been noted by CAF who have named him among the 34 players nominated for the 2012 African Player of the Year. Boakye, who played with Asamoah at Juventus before he was loaned out to Serie B side Sassuolo, says Asamoah deserves to be named the best player in Africa. “If we talk about the five best players in Africa now I will definitely say Kwadwo is the best and there is no doubt about the talent he possesses,” Boakye said. “I know him really well and I can tell you for a fact that he is a player who is very much committed to his football. ”Ghana is lucky to have a player like Kwadwo and the Black Stars will go places with him.”Asamoah was named as Africa’s best young player by CAF.”

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) - Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Juventus-Siena Preview: Round 7 — Tuscany Tango Juventus travel to Tuscany to face a Siena team that have jerseys with the same kind of colors. Bianconeri on bianconeri crime! Beware! Oct 6, 2012 It seems like we've been here before, doesn't it? A mid-week meh-fest followed up by the chance, on short rest, to put the previous result in the rear view mirror. Pretty sums the past two weeks, doesn't it? Just change a few jersey colors and viola! It's the same. Kinda, I guess. Juventus travel to Tuscany to face Siena in the final game before the latest and greatest international break. This tie doesn't have as much pizazz as it did a year ago when Antonio Conte returned to the team he lead to a Serie A promotion, but it's still the chance to right the wrongs of Tuesday's showing against Shakhtar and get some momentum going again. That's what happened against Roma. Now there's the chance to rinse and repeat and do the same thing against Siena. That would be fun. I mean, who doesn't like when Juventus scores more goals than the other team and play incredibly awesome in the process? (If you raised your hand while answering that, lol u.) LE CHIAVI Siena enters the pre-international break clash with total bag of mixed results. Example: Beat Inter 2-0. Then, one week later, lose to Lazio 2-1.See? Totally unpredictable. But then again, can't we say that for just about anything in the calcio world these days? Siena's biggest strength this season has been keeping the opposition from finding the back of the net — there's only three teams (Napoli, Juventus, and Torino) who have allowed fewer goals (6) in the first six games of the Serie A season. Then there's the whole starting the season at minus-6 because of the match-fixing nonsense that continues to occupy or minds, but we won't get into that. Although, if it wasn't for starting the season with the big penalty, Siena would be sitting comfortably in sixth instead of hanging out in the relegation zone. GOOD NEWS We're at 45 games unbeaten and counting. That's pretty awesome. BAD NEWS The fellas may be a wee bit tired, as a lot of you guys probably already know by now. When the Juventus squad takes the field tomorrow, it will be their fifth game in the span of 17 days. That's something we knew going in that would happen, but when you reach the end and look back on it, it's still pretty darn impressive. WHAT TO WATCH FOR 1. Squad rotation. It's been rumored for a couple days now, and I understand why. Conte has made it no secret that with all the extra fixtures this season, he's going to take advantage of his squad's depth. You can likely count on hand where Juventus' strongest XI has been fielded. There's usually at least one player getting rest every game, and that's fine with me. Hopefully Juventus are busy for a lot of the season, that means they've advanced a long way in the Champions League and Coppa Italia. 2. Strikers. I know I say it pretty much every game, but you're just gonna have to deal with it. The non-Vucinic rotation plan seems like it's a go once again. If it were my guess, Sebastian Giovinco would be the next one to get a ride of the Magical Mystery Striker Tour. I'm done with the expectation that anybody but Vucinic will hold down a regular starting spot while they all struggle to find some good form. That's kinda expected, though, so I won't get too upset about it. 3. Luca Marrone. Why do I mention Mr. Brown? Well, because he's the name being thrown about in the media as the guy to replace the suspended Leo Bonucci. And let me just say this: I'm in full support of it. Marrone was fantastic in the preseason as a makeshift center back. To be honest, it looked he had been playing there for years. While Bonucci is a good passer out of the back, Marrone is a step up, which should add something to a starting lineup that looks like it will be Pirlo-less on Sunday. 4. How Juventus do against a three-man defense. We saw it against Fiorentina last week. We've seen it a few times last season as well. For whatever the reason is, when Juventus face a team that also sports a 3-5-2 — or some kind of variation of it — they seem to struggle. Who knows whether Siena will pack the midfield like Fiorentina did in the scoreless draw in Florence. If they do, however, things might not be as much of a piece of cake as it could possibly be. My starting XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Marrone, Chiellini; Isla, Vidal, Pogba, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Vucinic, Giovinco Siena probable (3-4-2-1): Pegolo; Neto, Paci, Felipe; Sestu, Vergassola, Rodriguez, Del Grosso; Rosina, Ze Eduardo; Calaió http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Serie A - Week 7 - 7-10-2012 (3:00 p.m.) - Artemio Franchi - Montepaschi Arena Stadium - Siena Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni Siena vs. Juventus PREVIEW – Begin Countdown to Conte’s Return… Oct 6, 2012 Last week was quite a wild one for our beloved Bianconeri. First we trounced Roma, most importantly humbling the always (for lack of a better adjective) douchey Zdenek Zeman who’s trademark kamikaze tactics proved to be even less effective than whatever psychological effects anyone would hope to achieve over an opponent with words. Several days later and playing the team’s fourth game in right around a fortnight, Juventus hosted Shakhtar Donetsk at home. That much more closely resembled the midweek trip to Florence before hosting Roma, and with little fan support at home due in part to the high ticket prices, a 1-1 draw and a single point was all that could be mustered from the first UCL game in Turin since 2009 (and first-ever at the Juventus Stadium). This Sunday, Juventus will travel South-East to face that other team in black & white stripes from Northern Italy (no, not Udinese). Rather poetically, the Siena trip is coming off the heels of the TNAS court reducing Antonio’s Conte ban for actions which allegedly occurred (or rather did not occur) while he was in charge at that very same club. Alanis Morissette might consider this ironic, if not for the fact that it bears too close of a resemblance to actual “irony”, but I digress. At any rate, our manager will return to active matchday duty on December 8, 2012, aka right before the away trip to Palermo. SIENA Siena, which has been docked six points from the start of the season for their alleged involvement in the Calcioscommesse scandal, have been in impressive form for a provinciale. Last month saw them rack up impressive wins against Bologna and Inter Milan (which we were all grateful for over here), before falling 2-1 to Lazio last week. Yet, they rest at 19th in the table currently with a paltry 2 points due to the aforementioned penalty. Likely to line up in a 3-4-2-1 to counter what has become a predictable 3-5-2, coach Serse Cosmi will likely try to exploit wide play and close down the midfield, thus neutralizing Juve’s biggest asset. Juventus meanwhile will hope to end the week on a high note, before the international break continues to toy with my emotions and delivers some much needed rest to some of the squad. Oh wait… SIENA (3-4-2-1) Pegolo Neto, Paci, Felipe Sestu, Vergassola, R.Rodriguez, Del Grosso Rosina, Zé Eduardo Calaiò BENCH: Farelli, Campagnolo, Dellafiore, Rubin, M.Martínez, Scoppola, Verre, Angelo, Bolzoni, Paolucci, Bogdani, Valiani Starting %: Sestu 60-40% Angelo Injured: D’Agostino (matchday #9), Contini (#9) Suspended: Larrondo (24 Nov 2012), Belmonte (9 Feb 2013), Terzi (9 Feb 2016), Vitiello (9 Sep 2016) JUVENTUS Juventus will undoubtedly look to tinker with their lineup a bit. Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal are looking a bit tired these days. Pirlo, meanwhile, is certain to feature in Prandelli’s plans for the upcoming qualifiers against Armenia and Denmark whether or not his presence is actually necessary. I would not be surprised to see youngster Paul Pogba earn another start. Meanwhile, Leonardo Bonucci is banned due to yellow card accumulation, so Lúcio, Martín Cáceres or even Luca Marrone — the young midfielder who deputized surprisingly well as a center-back during the summer friendlies — should all be ready to dust off their boots, the latter for either of two positions. Additionally, reports seem to indicate that Mauricio Isla may earn his first second Serie A start in Bianconero (no, I mean Juve Bianconero, not… oh, never mind). JUVENTUS (3-5-2) Buffon Barzagli, Marrone, Chiellini Isla, Giaccherini, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah Giovinco, Vucinic BENCH: Storari, Rubinho, Lúcio, Lichtsteiner, De Ceglie, Vidal, Pogba, Padoin, Isla, Bendtner, Quagliarella, Matri Starting %: Barzagli 60-40% Lúcio, Isla 60-40% Cáceres, Asamoah 60-40% De Ceglie Injured: Pepe (matchday #8), Conte (8 Dec 2012) Suspended: Bonucci (1) Here is where the depth of the squad is going to come in handy, as it will many times throughout the course of this triple-front season. Juve’s ability to patch together a starting XI stronger than most other Serie A teams out of a combination of A, B, and C teamers, should undoubtedly give them an edge. Siena do have a penchant for the occasional upset (and know Conte and his tactics well — and vice-versa), but despite the fact the Juve manager won’t on the bench again, Massimo Carrera has been deputizing and passing on the man’s word to pretty good effect so far. I am a big believer in numbers and odds and Juventus have to lose again in Serie A some time. However, I don’t believe it will be this time, even away from home. Vincere è l’unica cosa che… CONTE! http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/20122013/regular-season/

Il goal di Marchisio era maturo.

Forse solo un nostalgico.

Triadeforever é sparito. Ma il suo nick me lo sono segnato per la prossima volta.

GOAL DI MARCHISIO DEDICATO A TRIADEFOREVER!

Ti vedo un pó nervoso amico!

No, é Buffon che para, o no?

Speriamo di no.

Esce l'ex bovino

Quasi goal del Siena

Asamoah tremendo.

Asamoah si allunga troppo il pallone.

Conte .... un leone in gabbia.

Il goal é maturo.

Che ha visto Mazzoleni?

Lichtsteiner crossa male.

Dominio della Juve.

Seba di nuovo pericoloso.