Showing posts with label Claudio Marchisio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Claudio Marchisio. Show all posts

Friday, 13 November 2015

Belgium v Italy - Heysel Remembered


Friday's friendly between Belgium and Italy will be used to commemorate the victims of the Heysel Stadium tragedy, shortly after the 30th anniversary.

The match is being played at the King Baudouin Stadium, which is the rebuilt Heysel Stadium, where 39 people - mostly Italians - died during fan violence at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus on May 29, 1985.

A shirt was laid along with flowers to honour the 39 who died

There was a ceremony before Thursday's training session to retire Italy's No. 39 shirt in memory of the victims, and during the match itself play will be stopped after 39 minutes for a period of reflection.

Prior to to kick-off, both teams will hold up a commemorative banner.

Yesterday's ceremony drew an emotional response from the Italy players, with Gianluigi Buffon in particular overwhelmed by the occasion.

Both Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of the disaster, which saw a stadium wall collapse after crowd trouble between the two sets of supporters.

In total, the tragic incident claimed the lives of 39 fans and left another 600 injured.

Giorgio Chiellini presented a bouquet of flowers

At the memorial service, members of the Azzurri's Juventus contingent Andrea Barzagli Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio looked solemn as they remembered those supporters who lost their lives.

The friendly itself kicks off at 7.45pm this evening, and Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has admitted he wants to experiment with some players, including rightback Luis Pedro Cavanda of Trabzonspor.

Juventus players Andrea Barzagli Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio remember those who lost their lives

"Players will have a chance to show themselves," Wilmots said. "We will be rotating."

Friday's game would have been a highlight for Napoli's Dries Mertens but he was out after tearing a right thigh muscle this week.

Captain Vincent Kompany is also out of both games as he is troubled by a calf injury and, after already angering Manchester City by fielding him last month at the end of an injury spell, Wilmots is looking to keep risks to a minimum.

"I don't want to overexert him, also out of respect for Manchester City," Wilmots said. "We have enough other options."


Tuesday, 14 April 2015

Juventus V Monaco AS


Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri could risk midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Monaco on Tuesday.

Pirlo has not played since he suffered a calf strain against Borussia Dortmund seven weeks ago and, at 35, it could be a risky move to throw him straight into the side for the clash in Turin.

Italy's most decorated club are attempting to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2003 and face a Monaco that are still in the running for the French title.

It is likely to be a cagey affair with Monaco having scored only seven goals in eight games in reaching the quarter-finals, three of them in a single match away to Arsenal in the previous round, and have conceded a mere four. 

Juventus are equally miserly at the back, having conceded only five goals in the Champions League and 15 goals in 30 Serie A outings.

The Bianconeri head into the clash having suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Parma at the Ennio Tardini stadium on Saturday.

Although Juve's title hopes have not been affected - they now lead Lazio by 12 points with eight games remaining - Allegri is confident a different Juventus will thrive under pressure and seal a first leg victory.

"I hope this setback serves us well, although I'm sure that we will see an altogether different Juventus on Tuesday," Allegri said after Saturday's defeat.

"We're not used to losing. We were a little listless, we lacked bite and aggression. But now we have to put this display behind us. It would be stupid to let a defeat like this get in the way of our Champions League dream."

Experienced goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who had an infection, and Carlos Tevez, who spent his rare day off at Lake Maggiore, will return to Allegri's starting line-up as Juve look to take a first step towards securing their first semi-final appearance since 2003 when they beat Barcelona over two legs in the quarters.

Juventus are missing their other key midfielder Paul Pogba, leaving Claudio Marchisio with the job of orchestrating play towards lively Uruguayan front man Roberto Pereyra, likely to play in the 'hole' behind Alvaro Morata and Tevez.

Doubts remain over Andrea Barzagli, who is nursing a sore calf. His availability could determine whether Allegri deploys the 3-5-2 formation he has used sparingly this season or the 4-3-1-2 that saw Juve swipe Borussia Dortmund aside 5-1 on aggregate in their last-16 tie.

Monaco will be without captain Jeremy Toulalan after the midfielder limped off injured in a 3-0 win over Caen on Friday, a result which nonetheless was crucial to Monaco's confidence before they make the short trip across the Franco-Italian border.

Monaco are targeting their first semi-final appearance since 2004 when they went all the way to the final before being humbled by FC Porto.

Coach Leonardo Jardim said: "I think the team played very well and now looking ahead to Tuesday the best thing was for the team was to win, which gives us confidence and the desire in regards to our away performances."