Five reasons why Juventus should win the Serie A this season
The race for the Scudetto in Serie A heats up as Juventus trounced Napoli last week to trim down leaders AC Milan‘s lead to two points. With eight games to go, the Italian 1st division is certainly going to get more exhilarating with each passing day. With quite a buzz created about the revival of Juventus, let us look at six reasons why Juventus should lift their 30th Scudetto this year…
The phenomenal Zidane, ex Juventus player..
Re-Birth from Calciopoli: Calciopoli, the biggest scandal to hit Italian football in 2006, not only damaged the reputation of Italian football but Juventus’ all the more. With even AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina involed in it, the teams were accused of rigging games by selecting favourable referees. The relegation of Juventus also prompted a mass exodus of many important players such as Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even manager Fabio Capello. But few players remained loyal to club like Gianluigi Buffon, Captain Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedv?d, Mauro Camoranesi and David Trézéguet. Over the years after the Calciopoli, Juventus has accused the FIGC of unfair treatment in the trial. Juventus were not only stripped fo two titles that they had won, but were also relegated to Italy’s Second Division known as the Serie B. Even after Juventus were back in the Serie A the following year, they were never the same. Failing to win the Scudetto in the 08-09 season, Juventus missed out on Champions League and Europa League qualifying spot by being placed 7thin the Serie A. The Calciopoli is haunting Juventus till date, with many referee decisions going against the club this season. But it has been a different season altogether for the Bianconeri this season. With appropriate signings, including the manager, Juventus is presently second in the Serie A, and if they win the Scudetto this season, Juventus will regain its lost glory in a thumping manner and will thereby also qualify for the Champions League, Juventus’s rightful place.
New Vision, Conte’s JUVE: The 2011-12 season is Juventus Football Club’s 114th in existence and 5th consecutive season in the top flight of Italian football. Juventus started the season with a new Manager, Antonio Conte. A former center midfielder and captain of Juventus, Antonio Conte was given the task to re-instate the Juventus style of play into the current team. Conte joined after successful spells at Bari, Atalanta & Siena.
Antonio Conte: Helping Juve get their glory days back…
One did have faith that he would change the fortunes of the club, but at the same time, there were doubts about his appointment as former player Ciro Ferrera had failed as a manager in the past. It was a busy transfer period for the Italian giants as many players were sold and signed. Juve signed players like Mirko Vucinic, Reto Ziegler, Eljero Elia, Marcelo Estigarribia, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Emanuele Giaccherini, Arturo Vidal, Michele Pazienza and legendary Italian playmaker and former AC Milan man, “l’architetto“, Andrea Pirlo.
The signing of Pirlo was a transfer shock, as he was quite a legendary figure at AC Milan, but it turned out to be the deal of the decade for Juve. Juventus also signed permanent deals with Fabio Quagliarella, Alessandro Matri, Simone Pepe and Marco Motta. Juventus has remained unbeaten throughout this season, with 19 games won out of total 34 and 15 games drawn. It’s not just the fact that it is unbeaten, but the quality has been world class and hence also drew comparisons to previous star-studded Juve teams.
The mid-field of Vidal- Pirlo- Marchisio, known as the M-V-P, has reigned supreme till now. Pirlo with his amazing skill, calmness and vision orchestras the game with his trademark long balls, with Marchisio and Vidal venturing forward. Arturo Vidal has been instrumental, right from winning balls with his amazing tackles or aerial ability or venturing forward and scoring. No doubt he’s regarded by many as one of the complete defensive midfielders in the world. Marchisio on the other hand with his skill and tactical reading of the game has also contributed eight goals, drawing comparisons to the great Tardelli. The Juve midfield is regarded as the second best in the world after Barcelona, if stats are to be considered.
One area that Juventus has deeply suffered for years was in the Defence. But Conte has completely modified this, with the back-four of Lichtsteiner- Barzagli- Bonucci- Chiellini playing exceptionally together. The arrival of Martin Caceres in the January transfer window and the unearthing of Juventus youth product, Paolo de Ceglia in the Left Back position, has infused new vigor and versatility in this team. Conte has been rotating his backline which has just made it stronger. I don’t see any team, other than Barcelona, who change formation in the middle and get great results. The only domain Juventus is suffering this season is their Attack with inconsistent performances from Matri, Vucinic, Pepe (usually playing forward in a 4-3-3), Quaglirella, Borriello and not so young Del Piero. Due to lack of a proven scorer, Juve are lagging behind in the league. Another factor which has kept Juve unbeaten is Gigi Buffon. Buffon has clearly shown this season why he is regarded as the best in the business. As a result, due to all the hard work put up by the players it becomes a perfect scenario of Juve winning their Scudetto by staying unbeaten at their brand new Juventus Stadium.
Farewell to the great CAPITANO: Alessandro Del Piero regarded as one of the best forwards the game has spent almost his entire career at Juventus. Even after the Calciopoli he remained loyal to the club colors. At 37, this is his last season in Black and White. Alex Del Piero, nicknamed Pinturicchio, holds the all-time goal-scoring record at Juventus as well as the most-capped Juventus player. Del Piero has not just been a splendid player but also a role model for not only Juventino’s but also professional footballers around the globe.
Alessandro Del Piero
Juventus president has made it clear that this will be his last season. But this season he would draw the curtain over his glorious career of over 689 appearances and 288 goals till now for the Bianconeri. Thus the hunger to win the Scudetto is evident, not only as a sign of revival, but also as a perfect farewell gift to one of their greatest Players ever- Alessandro Del Piero.
Revival of Club’s Glory & Fortunes in future: Winning the Scudetto this year would not only mark Juve’s comeback in Europe’s Elite tournament but also a Glorious future. The new Juventus Stadium has boosted the faith in the fans as well as the players as Juve became the only club in Italy to own a stadium of their own. The Juve squad has been balanced not only with quality and uniqueness but oodles of experience. A perfect balance of youth and experience, lead by a thirsty and visionary manager like Conte can bring back the glory years to the club once again. With promising young talents and world cup winners in the squad it clearly shows how Juve has managed to be at the fore-front of the Serie A since the start of the season. Future attacking signings can only make an already great Defensive section and Mid-field stronger. Hence, if Juventus wins the Serie A and the Coppa Italia, it completes a successful comeback of this legendary club.
Revival of the Azzurri: The Italian National team has been in a slump in recent years. Juventus has remained the only Italian club that has contributed players to every Italian national team since the 2nd FIFA World Cup. Hence revival of Juventus also means the Revival of the Azzurri. ESPN earlier said that if they rank clubs with world cup winners, Juventus is the greatest side on the planet with 24 World Cup winners. It clearly proves it’s contribution to the Italian National team. With Juve back on track, we can expect Italy, to perform at a greater level in the forthcoming EURO 2012.
As a result, Juventus do stand a chance to make a perfect farewell for Alex Del Piero not only by winning the Scudetto but also if they beat Napoli in the Coppa Italia final in Rome. Milan on the other hand stands a chance to win the Scudetto, but Juventus would surely give them a tough fight. Milan should also be credited on the way they have managed with the injuries and performed at a good level throughout the season. In the end, the coming days would surely give us a clear picture of who is winning the Serie A. Win or lose, the way Juve have performed this season they are surely back and expect European Competition to get more competitive from the next season.
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