2012 will be the year of silverware, stars and GRINTA!!! The ascention of Juventus continues.

Parma v. Juventus has been canceled. The replay will likely occur March 7th.

Side Note: According to a few sources Juventus have taken Simone Padoin on loan from Atalanta with the right to redemption set at 4 million euros. There is a bonus clause if Juve wins the Scudetto we would pay another 500,000 euros.

Tomorrow Juventus have another test, this time away to Parma. Parma are a formidable home side recording 18pts out of a possible 30. They have only lost twice in 10 games on home soil. Coming into this game they have only lost once since matchday 13 and that was to the hands of the red hot Inter. They are unbeaten in their last three games and have only conceded 2x during that time. Parma have the 10th  most goals in Serie A, with 25, but they have one of the worst defenses in the league. Only Genoa, Lecce and Novara have conceded more goals. At home this season they have scored 19 goals while conceding only 12.

Sebastian Giovinco leads the team with 8 goals scored. Aside from him only Biabiany and Modesto have more than 2 goals on the season. Parma will line up in a 3-4-3 with Mirante, Zaccardo, Lucarelli, Paletta; Valiani, Galloppa, Morrone, Modesto; Biabany, Floccari, Giovinco in their starting 11. They dont have any suspensions, and only Graziano Pelle is doubtful.

Juventus will line up in our new 3-5-2, the only question is if Lichsteiner and Vidal will start. They will both be available, but it seems that Pepe and Esti are going to start our wide, while Giaka will play in place of Vidal. Everything else will stay the same.

--------------------------

A mid-week fixture with a tired squad on the road v. a good home team could be a problem. This game will not be the 4-1 thrashing we gave Parma in week 2(first game of the year.) They have improved and Giovinco has a liking for scoring against Juve, he scored a PK in week 2 against us. The spirits are high in our camp after we beat Udinese and a win here would propel us even further, with the looming Siena game at home we are  looking to make a serious string of wins.

Milan travels to Lazio, while Inter hosts Palermo.....this could be a great matchday to seperate ourselves from the pack, but that only happens with a win. Juve are the better team, and as long as we give the same effort and keep our nerve we should do well. I would love for both Matri and Fabio to get on the score sheet an get a real hot streak going between them, if that can happen Juve can accelerate to the next level. Pepe is going to have a lot of work to do out wide in place of Lichsteiner, as he and Esti are the keys to this game.....

These are the games Scudetto winners are made of.....

Forza Juventus!!!

1. Minutes ago the deal for Radja Nainggolan was dead. Now according to sources a the Executive Hotel in MIlano say that Juve are close to completing a deal for Marco Parolo from Cesena. He will  be used to get Radja Nainggolan in a three way affair(more later.) If this comes to fruition, Nainggolan may be very well heading to Juve, if not....he wont be.

2. Juve have also discuessed the sales of Pazienza, Iaquinta and Manninger during the last few hours. Under 36 hours left in the market, and like always.....insanity.

3. Luca Toni has moved to Al Nasr, while Marco Motta is a step away from Cataina.

4. Marotta has also met with Angelo Palombo's reps and could be an alternative if the Naingolan deal falls through.

----------------

UPDATE: Lichsteiner is OK, and will grind out another game v. Parma.  He is likel to be rested for the Siena game(home) as Caceres will be able to play in that game.

Novara negotiating with Iaquina.

Bravo!

This game was crucial to win to keep our Scudetto hopes alive and well. For me, Udinese are Italy's 4th best team and Juve again outwork and outplay their opponent and fully deserved all 3 pts.

The game got off to a quick start with Udinese being the aggressor forcing Super Gigi(happy 32nd birthday) to save us a few times. Juve settled into the game and by the 30th minute we were in firm control and generating multiple chances. Estigarribia and Matri both had their own one on one with Handanovic and both times the Slovenian came up aces. As the game went on and the scoreline remained at 0-0 I started cursing Matri's poor touch and our overall lack of converting our clear chances in front of net. That all changed as the game went on as Matri buried a tap in in five minutes from the end of the first half and later on from a wonferful turn and snap shot from a wonderful Marchisio assist. To the players:

Buffon came up aces when he had to and continus to prove why he is the worlds best goalkeeper. Barzagli and Chiello are proving to be Italy's best 2 defenders while Bonucci made me almost soil myself(yes, soil) a few times late in the game. On a side not Chiello may be suspened for the elbow he gave Armero in the 86th minute(late in the game.) That was the buzz afterward from Italy. Lichsteiner was solid as always but came out witha  groin injury, lets hope he is ok because he is a cornerstone in our team. Caceres cant play for another 2 games(i forget why.)

Conte made a big decision after the Udinese goal by taking out Quagliarella who had an average game(although it did include an assist) and subbed in Claudio Marchisio. That sub essentially stopped Udinese going foward and blocked up the middle of the pitch as we were consistently getting caught on the counter. His sub also produced a game winning assist, so for me that was the moment of the game. Pepe came in later for Esti and DeCeglie for Lich.

As the game progressed the only way Udinese got chances were off stupid turnovers we would make, otherwise they posed no real threat down a goal with 25 minutes remaining. Not having Asamoah and Pinzi really hurt them today. But Juve, as always, could have beaten them by even more goals. But a win is a win, and that is all that matters in the end.

Tomorrow Juve will continue their pursuit of Radja Nainggolan as they feel he is the final piece to the puzzle for this season. We will know if he will trasfer to Juve within the next 2 days according to Marotta. It will be him or no one else in the midfield as Marrone has proved he is a viable option when we need him. I will write more on the particulars of this deal tomorrow or Monday if anything happens.

Parma will now host us come Tuesday at 2:45, Juve now have a series of games where we must take the maximum. So get ready to see Seba and co again as it will not be an easy game.

3pts closer to our goal, Forza Juve!

1. First the USA may likely appear in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America(yes, in back to back years.) And the 2016th edition may very well be held in the USA. http://www.mlssoccer.com/blog/smorgasborg/2012/01/27/no-world-cup-theres-always-copa-america

This is some of the best news I have heard in a while. Wonderful if it all comes to fruition.

2. Juventus v. Udinese Pre-Game:

Tomorrow Juventus will host 3rd place Udinese and perhaps at the best time. Going into this game Udinese will be without a number of key players such as Mehdi Benatia, Gianpiero Pinzi. Kwadwo Asamoah, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Paulo Baretto, Andrea Coda ,Diego Fabbrini and perhaps Maurico Isla. Isla has been called up but is likely to start from the subs bench.

This year Udinese has struggled on the road only winning twice in nine attempts(compared to their unbeatable form at home.) Their last road win came on December 3rd v. Inter in a 1-0 victory. Udinese have the second best defense in Serie A only behind Juventus conceding 2 more goals on the year. They have the 6th best attack scoring 28 goals, but Di Natale has scored half of their goals. Outisde of Dusan Basta who has scored 4 times, no one else has registered more than a single goal(who will be starting...)

They will field a 3-5 2 with Handanovic in goal Ferronetti, Danilo and Domizzi protecting him. Basta, Fernandes, Battocchio, Armero and Pasquale in the midfield with DiNatale and Abdi up front. In that line-up Pasquale, Armero and Battocchio have a combined 8 starts.

Juventus have recoved both Claudio Marchisio and Simone Pepe, although neither are likely to start. Eljerio Elia has also been recalled, while Mirko Vucinic is still out, but likely to return for the mid-week game at Parma. We will field either a 3-5-3 or a 4-3-3/4-5-1 tomorrow. 

---------------------------

This is a prime game to defeat Udinese in, but they still have more than enough quality(with or without Isla) to give us a run for our money. Juventus need to take all 3pts as we then travel to Parma and host Siena in games where we need to pick up all 3pts. This is a perfect time to put a number of W's together and create some seperation from the pack. As long as we bring the right energy and mentality to the game we should be ok. I expect a bit better of a game from Udinese who were terrible in the game they hosted us in where they could not even muster a dangerous shot on goal. This could be the time where Udinese drop from the title race as tomorrow is a 6pt affair. Without Asamoah, Pinzi and hopefully Isla that takes the claws off a hand.

Forza Juve, dont let up.

A deal has officially been worked out between Juve and Sevilla. Juve will pay Sevilla 1.5 million euros now to get Caceres on loan and another 8 in the summer if we are to keep him(which is highly likely.)

He will be in Turin tomorrow or early Friday for his medical.

WOW, did Juventus put in some effort today v. Roma. Conte returned with his 3-5-2/5-3-2 and did it work.Roma had more of the possesion in the game, but literally did nothing with it. Juve counters were quick and effective and a large part of the credit has to go to Lichsteiner and Estigaribbia who never found themselves out of position and got foward with ease.

Credit has to go to the whole team because it was one of our best games of the season. Everyone did what they were asked of and tacticially/positionally we were outstanding. Del Piero rolled back the years today while Marrone continues to look years ahead of where he should be. Giaka should be in the national team pool as he continues his hard working play. The way he closes down space but then also sprints foward when in possesion is fantastic, like Esti they are both quality on the ball. Rodrigo Taddei is going to have nightmares of Estigarribia for quite some time.....now we play the winner of Milan/Lazio in over a month. Back to the league....

------------------------------

1. I know i am getting ahead of myself, but with the Copa game over I am looking toward Udinese. They will be without Pinzi who hurt himself this week. Asamoah and Benatia are at the AFCON as well....so some big names not on the squad sheet come the weekend.

2. Caceres is a Juve player. He will be in Turin tomorrow for a medical, Juve agreed on a 9.5 million euro move for him. This is fantastic as he adds depth across the back line with his versatile play. We already know him and know that he will fit in well with Conte and the team. He has the Grinta!

3. According to DIMarzio, Inter want Mattia Destro BUT Juventus already have a pre-agreement with the club for the player. It seems Marotta is going to make ANOTHER crafy move in the youth department. Juve's youngsters will be among the best in Europe.

4. Tomorrow Juve have another meeting for Nainggolan. Yesterday Cellino stated that he has a moral agreement with Marotta and his player for a Juve move come June. But Juve want the player now and are willing to do anything to get him. I wont get into the particulars just yet.....

Fino Alle Fine FORZA JUVENTUS!!!!

Tuttosport has revealed that Radja Nainggolan is likely heading to Juventus in June.

According to President Cellino(Cagliari President) "We have a moral agreement with Marotta and my player, he is bewitched by the Juventus stadium." The paper states the transfer will happen in June and not July.

WINTER CHAMPIONS!!!

Well we have been improving every week since we have returned and today we put together a very solid 90 minutes. While the scoreline ended at 2-0, Juve could easily have scored 4 or 5 goals. Today we showed we have shaken off the rust from the winter break and are back to fight for the Scudetto. While we are not firing on all cylanders we are much closer to where we were before the break.

I was happy with everyone on the back line today. De Ceglie held up well and early in the game was very proactive up that left hand side. He lost Denis once in the first half. Chiello looked more at home in the center(read the game very well) with Barzagli and Lichsteiner is a true indestructible force(as is Chiello.) Buffon did not have to wear the super-Gigi cape today.

Pirlo looked closer to the Pirlo of the first half. He tipped his game off with a pinpoint pass to Lichsteiner on our opening goal. This was his best game in a while. Marchisio and Vidal did well, but Claudio came off with a slight injury at half-time. It is nothing to worry about.

Matri continues to struggle in front of net as he could have bagged a few goals today. Vucinic and Pepe also failed to impress. But the subs made the difference in the game, Marrone cut a wonderful through ball that met a Giaka run and was ended with an impressive finish. Marrone looks like a viable option going foward for the midfield. I would like to see him continue to get time in the Copa v. Roma this week.

-------------------------------

Big win, I think Inter and MIlan will both drop points this week. The next 5 games will set the tone for the rest of the season. But before that we have a tough quarter-final date with Roma on Tuesday, and Roma are heating up after a 5-1 thrashing of Cesena today.

Pepe coming off was not the worst thing to happen to Juve, as he has continued to fail since the winter break. This can lead to a few different paths, but none worse than what Pepe has been contributing offensively over the past month. Quagliarella is also close to returning from his cheek bone fracture.

Another tough road game checked off our list. We only have to go to 3 of the top 11 sides home the rest of the way(Milan, Genoa and Cagliari.)

Forza Juve! Now lets beat Roma and keep our hopes of the double alive!!!

UPDATE: Marchisio has a bruised knee and will likely miss a week. Pepe has a sprained ankle and may miss a few weeks. More on them tomorrow as they will go for tests.

There has been something clearly lacking since Juventus returned from the winter break. The game v. Lecce was an ugly win where we grinded out 3pts. In the Cagliari game we had moments of fantastic play, our possesion was improved as was our whole game, but it was not complete. Now as we approach the half way point and the third game back from the break, I hope to see a more rounded Juve road performance. Aside from the away trip to Milan, this is going to be one of our more difficult road games the rest of the season.

Atalanta have only lost once in nine home games. That loss came a few weeks ago when Milan won in Bergamo 2-0. Their offense is led by German Denis who has 12 goals(only 1 behind DiNatale for the league lead), Luca Cigarini and Ezequiel Schelotto. They have lost their last two games in a row by a scoreline of 2-0 to Milan and Lazio. In their last eight games they have only won once, holding a record of 1-5-2 over those eight games.

Atalanta will line up in a 4-4-1-1 with Consigli Raimondi, Ferri, Manfredini, Peluso Schelotto, Cigarini, Padoin, Bonaventura Moralez Denis. They will miss S. Luccini, C. Doni and C. Carmona through suspension while D. Capelli is injured.

Juventus will keep things as they are and remain in our 4-3-3/4-5-1. Giorgio Chiellini returns from suspension, so that means DeCeglie will be relegated to the bench. Matri will continue to start up front with Pepe to his right and Mirko to his left.

--------------------------------

This game is either going to easy my worries about the team or it may make me get a bit uneasy going into next week. Regardless, its not panic mode even if we lose....but Juve are going to play 4 games in two weeks. After this we host Roma on Tuesday in the Copa Italia Quarter-final, and then host Udinese only a few days later.

I expect a good performance out of Juventus tomorrow. These next 5 games for me are massive, I will explain why at a later date. But Juve must get all three points tomorrow to stay ahead of the pack and keep ourselves in good position.

Hopefully Matri can get back on the scoresheet and Pirlo and Pepe can regain their form as well. We also need some goals from the midfield and the back line, we have only scored 2x in our last 3 and those came from Vucinic and Matri. Its time to break out again.