Showing posts with label Juventus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juventus. Show all posts

Saturday, 6 June 2015

Barcelona v Juventus - Preview


Juventus and FC Barcelona are in their eighth European Cup final; Massimiliano Allegri says "we have to be winners", Luis Enrique wants another prize for "a unique generation".

Juventus and Barcelona meet in Berlin, both teams' eighth European Cup final.

Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
We started the season with an important objective – to get to the quarter-finals. Now we've got to the final and we have to be winners. We need to take the last step; that's always hard, especially in a Champions League final.

Messi, Neymar, Suárez, it's the usual question since the semi-final – how do you stop them, how do you stop them? We need to be very skilled but we need to recognise we're not going to draw; we need to score. How do you stop Barcelona? We need to think how to score. We need to be strong technically because they're a technical team and attack is their best weapon so we need to be very, very aware of that.

We need to stay focused for 90 minutes, right until the end. We need to be mentally strong and turn things around because we're second favourites to Barcelona. It's a one-off match, no chance to play again, so we need to be fit. We are physically fine and the same goes for our mental strength. We need to be good against a great team but, like all teams, they do have faults and weaknesses.

One of the two teams will win a treble, either Juventus or Barcelona – hopefully us. We need to recognise this isn't easy. It's not easy to manage great teams, despite how it seems from the outside. Luis Enrique was a great manager at Roma; this is a new league and a new situation but even back then it was clear he was right in his ideas. My role as manager is trying to add value to a team who were already capable, improving them even more.

It should be a great game. As with all Champions League finals, we'll need some luck and we'll need to work for that.

We're very sorry for what happened to Chiellini but I guess it was meant to be. We lost a player who had been great for us from the start of the season. Barzagli and Ogbonna are both fit; if Barzagli feels OK he's going to play, otherwise it's Ogbonna.

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
[Getting better] is a normal process throughout a season, especially bearing in mind this is my first season in charge. The team is now where it wants to be – with two trophies and the possibility of a third. We're entering this game with great excitement and hopes of playing a great match so we can be better than our opponents.

Midfield is where the game takes shape, whether that's attack or defence. We have to dominate both the offensive and the defensive side of things. We want to play our game – have the ball, create danger and minimise any opportunities for our opponents.

There is some euphoria among the fans and we're delighted to see that – that feeling has been there for several months. As players and coaches, we're focusing on this match with a great sense of seriousness and responsibility. We have to handle the occasion properly and make sure we have a good day so we can deal with such powerful opponents.

I imagine we'll have more possession, we hope to spend more time in their half. We'll have to play at a high level, it's going to be a difficult match. Juve have a very similar style to ours, they also need the ball. They're very good in defence, they're very resourceful and that's why they're in the same position as us – they can win the treble too. We know Juve will want and they're going to pressure us. Who will win depends on who adapts better to those situations.


Sunday, 1 July 2012

Del Piero and Old Lady in Last Win




Alessandro del Piero scored in his last league appearance for Juventus as the newly crowned Serie A champions beat Atalanta 3-1 to become the second Italian side to win the title by going the whole season unbeaten.

Del Piero signed off in style in front of the home fans as he doubled Juventus' lead in the 28th minute to cap a near 20-year career with the Old Lady.

Kuventus took the lead in the ninth minute when Marco Borriello forced his way into the area and set up Luca Marrone, who opened the scoring with a powerful right-footed shot.

And Del Piero, who has been at Juventus since 1993, scored his 289th goal for the club shortly before the half hour when he fired home from the edge of the area.

The Juve captain was substituted in the 57th minute to a standing ovation as the players and staff of both teams joined in with the resounding applause for the club icon.

The standing ovation and cheers continued even after Del Piero had left the field and the fomer Italy forward got back off the bench and walked around the pitch saluting the fans and gathering scarves which had been thrown down to him.

The city of Turin was in party mood with hundreds of thousands of fans gathered in the streets as Juventus celebrated its first title in nine years. 

Around 5,000 fans welcomed the team bus as it arrived at Juventus Stadium, decorated with three stars as the club still counts the two titles it was stripped of following the 2006 match-fixing scandal.

Antonio Conte's team became only the third side ever to go the entire season without losing a game. Milan also won the title unbeaten in 1992. 

Perugia went the entire 1978-79 season without losing a game but didn't win the league.

Atalanta pulled one back eight minutes from time when Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner turned Giacomo Bonaventura's cross into his own net but the home side restored its two-goal advantage in stoppage time after Thomas Manfredini brought down Borriello in the area and Andrea Barzagli fired home the resulting penalty.

The celebrations are set to continue through the night, with an open-topped bus parade planned for this evening.


Thursday, 22 March 2012

Cavani Earns Napoli Coppa Final


Edinson Cavani's first-half strike helped Napoli book their place in the final of the Coppa Italia with victory over Siena as they overcame a one-goal first-leg deficit and triumph 3-2 on aggregate.

Simone Vergassola's 10th-minute own goal paved the way for Napoli's comeback and when Cavani struck after 31 minutes it proved enough to send Walter Mazzarri's men to the final.

Napoli pushed forward from the start and had a fine chance in the seventh minute when Cavani was set up by Camilo Zuniga in the Siena box, but fired over from a very good position.

Vergassola's moment to forget came three minutes later when he clumsily deflected a free-kick from Ezequiel Lavezzi into his own net from 10 yards.

Napoli continued to press with Cavani bringing a fine diving save out of Zeljko Brkic in the Siena goal, then Marek Hamsik driving just over the bar from long range.

Napoli's second came from a swift counter-attack, with Cavani bursting out of the defence and finding Hamsik, who responded with a neat cross for the Uruguayan to head into the bottom corner.

Cavani should have added his second before the break when he missed the target after Brkic saved well from Gokhan Inler, and Napoli were almost made to pay when Emanuele Pesoli headed just over the bar for Siena.

In a good start to the second half for the visitors, Franco Brienza and Nicola Belmonte both came close, but Napoli's best chance fell to Lavezzi who shot over the bar in the 79th minute with only the keeper to beat.

Hamsik had a chance to make certain for Napoli five minutes from time when he was fed by Goran Pandev, but shot just the wrong side of the right-hand post before Brienza missed Siena's last chance from a tight angle.

Napoli will face Juventus in the final at the Stadio Olympico on May 20.