Juventus FC Forum (Stadio Delle Alpi)

[dreamer75]

Buffon
Balzaretti-Legro-Tudor-Chiellini
Marchioni-Giannicheda-Zanetti
Nedved
Palladino-DP

[dreamer75]

http://www.goal.com/images/1495_news.jpg

Alessandro Del Piero - a name that means so much to Bianconerros all around the world. He is our pride and joy, our legendary captain, the servant, flagpole, and the symbol of our beloved Juve. There will never be another player like him for years to come.

Alex or Pinturrichio as he is affectionately known, made his debut for Juve in the early ‘90s. It goes back to 1993 when he was just 18 and he found himself in a team full of stars. The Divine Trinity, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli didn't make it any easier for a young Alex. But this didn't discourage him and he fought his way up the hard way and rightly deserves to be where he is today. The True Leader of a World Class team.

Talk about honours and what has Pinturrichio not won? Very little. The Champions League - the biggest prize in European club football when Juve triumphed against Ajax on penalties at Rome in 1996, the Intercontinental Cup in 1996 when Juve topped River Plate 1-0 in Tokyo, the Uefa Super Cup in 1996, 5 Scudettos in 1994/95, 1996/97, 1997/98, 2001/02 and 2002/03, the Italian Cup in 1994/95, 4 Italian Super Cups in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2003, the Intertoto Cup in 1999 and the Italian Youth Championship in 1994 are the trophies he's helped Juve to bring to the trophy cabinet of the Delle Alpi. This proves what a team man he truly is. If that still doesn’t convince you of his greatness, here's a list of his individual awards. Under 21 European player of the year, Most Valuable Player of the Intercontinental final 96, Best Italian Player 1998, Best Overall player 1998, Uefa Champions League Top Scorer 1997 and 1998, Most Popular Italian Player, Most Charismatic Striker in Italy 2001, Uefa Champions League 10 Years Jubilee Poll Best Attacker, Best Goal Scorer of Juventus of all time when he scored the hat trick against Fiorentina at the Delle Alpi in the Italian Cup earlier this year. In his 13 year career in The black and white of La Vecchia Signora, he's scored 194 goals for the club.

Last season was one of the toughest at the Delle Alpi for Alex. Not only had he to win his place in the Azzurri squad for the World Cup in Germany, he had to put up with the humiliation of being left on the bench more often than not and had to play second fiddle to another forward 7 years his junior. Yes, the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Ajax in the summer of 2004 caused nothing but problems for Pinturrichio and jeopardised his starting place. Worse was that Don Fabio, who was then the coach of the Old Lady, until he ran out on them for Juve's European rivals Real Madrid a few weeks back seemed to prefer Ibrahimovic and used to favour him comparing him to Milan's Dutch Legend Van Basten who he bossed at his time at the San Siro.

Now comes the time when we Bianconerros need our players more than ever to get us out of this turmoil and what do they do? As we read in the headlines of various Italian football sites everyone except Buffon, Nedved and our captain of course wants to leave. These players should realise how much Juve did for them, pampered them, paid them their full wages and most importantly, if it wasn’t for the club, these players might not have been at Germany playing with their national sides competing for the biggest prize in World football. David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic got what they wanted, started almost every match at the expense of Del Piero and now they want to leave because they don't want to play in Serie B. It's very sad Juve signed these players in the first place because now we know that money is more important for them than their love for our beloved Juve.

Hats off to Pinturrichio for his commitment and loyalty to the club. Last season he had to come off the bench to play and this season in the 2nd division. What more can be said off him as a man and player. Arguably one of the greatest players both on and off the pitch in the world.

FORZA JUVE, FORZA DEL PIERO.

http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=98299

[dreamer75]

The Newcastle defender admitted on his personal website that he had important meetings with the Bianconeri.

Jean-Alain Boumsong could become a Juve player in the coming days as the French defender declared on his personal website that he had contacts with the Bianconeri and may be joining Didier Deschamps in Turin, even though there are other teams interested.

The new coach of Juventus has never hid the desire of signing the former Auxerre player in order to re-build the Old Lady's defence around him, and despite a poor season with Newcastle, Boumsong is also sought by Olympique Marseilles and Monaco.

Juventus have been relegated to Serie B football following the Calciopoli scandal, but this does not seem to be a problem for Boumsong who would be very interested to join the Italian club.

http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=102699

[dreamer75]

The former Inter midfielder is ready to face the new challenge with Juventus.

Cristiano Zanetti was in the past weeks linked to a move to Real Madrid to join his former mentor Fabio Capello, however the midfielder now declared that he has no problem remaining in Serie B with Juventus.

"I thought about and I came to the conclusion that I have no problems of remaining in Serie B. We are a nice group."

This would be Zanetti's first experience in Serie B, even though the speculation linking him to the Spanish giants is still strong.

http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=102706

[dreamer75]

For the Uruguay midfielder, playing in Serie A or B does not matter as long as he wears the black and white shirt.

Ruben Olivera declared his pride at being a Juventus player after 5 seasons with the club.

"This year is not different from the others, I will always be proud of playing for Juventus.

"With people like Nedved, Marchionni and Kapo, it will not be easy finding a spot in the squad. But it's a pleasure to train with them, this will just help me to improve continuously.

"Serie B will be a difficult league, but we shall fight with all of our strengths to climb back up in Serie A in the shortest possible time."

http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=102693

[dreamer75]

French striker David Trezeguet is staying with Juventus but the path has been cleared for compatriot Patrick Vieira to join Inter Milan, the Turin club's director general said.

"David Trezeguet will stay at Juventus next season," Jean-Claude Blanc told French sports daily L'Equipe.

"The departure of Patrick Vieira for Inter Milan will be Juventus' last sale this summer," Blanc said, adding that "everything was settled between the two clubs".

Juventus were last week stripped of the Serie A titles they won in 2005-06 and in 2004-05 and relegated to the second division with a 17-point penalty for match-fixing.

Players Emerson, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta have all already quit the club.

But Trezeguet is set to join Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon in sticking with the crisis-torn Turin outfit.

http://www.worldsoccernews.com/news/2006Aug/20060801_37770_world_soccer.html

[dreamer75]

The start of Italy's 2006-07 Serie A season has been postponed for 14 days until the weekend of September 9-10, the Italian Football League have announced.

Both Serie A and Serie B campaigns were scheduled to kick-off on August 27, but both programmes will now start a fortnight later as a result of the fall-out from Italy's recent match-fixing scandal.

Juventus have lodged appeal with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) against the sanctions imposed on them, and Fiorentina and Lazio are expected to follow suit.

CONI may not reach their verdict until August 24-25.

[dreamer75]

Inter Milan have completed the signing of former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira from Juventus for £6.5m.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5233954.stm

[profile]

Juventus...hope they dont kelong in SERIA B :D

[victorian07]

Glad to hear that Trez is probably staying too..

we'll be strong.

with the likes of Kapo, Zanetti coming in too.. a fast return is on the cards.

[dreamer75]

still not sure abt Trez?

but sad to see Ibra leave..:(

[dreamer75]

Camoranesi accepts Serie B Friday 11 August, 2006

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

Mauro Camoranesi is ready to stay in Serie B with Juventus this season, although he admits that he would preferably like to move on.

The winger and his agent have insisted over the last few weeks that he would not be prepared to follow the club into the Second Division, but he’s now admitted that he will remain.

“I will play in Serie B, although I would like to leave Italy,” the Argentine-born Italian international told the Olé newspaper.

“I feel a bit frustrated because I knew I could be transferred to Lyon and I was hoping that would prove to be my next destination.”

Camoranesi was also linked with a move to Valencia as Europe’s top clubs looked to take advantage of the Calciopoli verdicts.

"I feel angry about the fact that Juventus were the only club to be relegated to Serie B,” added the winger.

“I also don’t agree with the Italian Football Federation giving the Scudetto to Inter even though they finished third.

“When we played against the Nerazzurri you could see that they were always very scared of our ability.”

Camoranesi and his agent are expected to meet with Juventus officials on Friday in a bid to iron out his future once and for all.

“We aren’t going to get into a battle with them [Juventus] or take legal action, as some people have written,” his representative Sergio Fortunato stated.

“I will again underline that Mauro doesn’t want to play in Serie B, he hasn’t got the right motivation to do so after winning the World Cup.

“However, if [Coach Didier] Deschamps and the club confirm that they want to keep him then Camoranesi will respect his contract – and play in Serie B.”

[dreamer75]

http://www.lastampa.it/sport/cmssezioni/calcio/200608images/pessotto00p.jpg

http://www.lastampa.it/sport/cmsSezioni/quijuve/200608articoli/3069girata.asp

[dreamer75]

--------------------Buffon
--Balzaretti-----Kovac---Felipe(Tudor)--Chielini
-------Marchioni----Zanetti-----Nedved
-----Palladion-------------Del piero
--------------------Trez (Bojinov)


that might be too offensive but it could be ok for serie B. in diffecult matches we can use this:

--------------------Buffon
--Balzaretti-----Kovac---Felipe(Tudor)--Chielini
-----------------Zanetti-----Paro
-----Marchioni(Palladino)-----Nedved------Del piero
--------------------Trez (Bojinov)

[dreamer75]

MILAN, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Juventus's net loss widened in the 2005/06 fiscal year, and the troubled Italian club said on Friday it would be hurt this year by possible fallout from a match-fixing scandal.

The Turin club, which has had to sell several top players after being demoted last month, said its net loss deepened to 21 million euros ($26.8 million) in the 12 months to end-June from 3 million the previous fiscal year.

Juventus, controlled by the Agnelli family, was demoted last month from the top Serie A league and stripped of its titles from the last two seasons for seeking unfair advantage in the appointment of referees.

Its revenues rose 9.7 percent to 251.5 million euros for the year. Fourth-quarter revenues slumped by almost 23 million euros to 40.3 million euros.

Part of the loss stemmed from Juventus's failure to get its championship bonus, the club said.

Italy's sports undersecretary of state, Giovanni Lolli, said the government was considering ordering a delisting of Juventus, the Finanza & Mercati business newspaper reported on Friday.

Shareholders would be compensated with bonds, the paper said.

Reuters

[dreamer75]

Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes the Italian clubs involved in this summer's match-fixing trial have got off lightly.Of the four teams investigated - Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio - only Juve suffered relegation from Serie A.

The Turin giants will start their Serie B campaign next season with a 17-point handicap, making their return to the top flight at the first attempt a difficult task.

Milan will start Serie A eight points behind their rivals, with punishments of 11 and 19-point deductions handed down to Lazio and Fiorentina, respectively.

The revised sentences were issued after all four clubs appealed against more severe penalties.

Rummenigge believes the later judgements have not made an example of the clubs involved and thinks a firmer line should have been taken.

"I think the first version was more correct and this one seems too lenient to me," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

However, Rummenigge believes former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi, seen as the central figure in the scandal, should be kept away from football.

"The important thing is people like Moggi are no longer around," he said.

Moggi has been suspended from any activities in football for five years.

The Bayern supremo feels Juve's membership of the G14 group of top European clubs, of which Bayern is also a part, should be reconsidered.

He said: "The way they have acted with the scandal has also damaged us in the group of big clubs.

"The [G14 membership] question will be posed and we will have to discuss it."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/060811/1/m55r.html

[dreamer75]

Ajax, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Internazionale, Juventus, Liverpool, Lyon, Manchester Utd, Marseille, Milan, Paris St-Germain, Porto, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Valencia.

[dreamer75]

Costacurta condemns Calciopoli

“Juventus shouldn’t have gone to Serie B. The club was penalised too harshly, while the real people responsible didn’t pay as much as they should’ve. Those who ended up paying the price were the clubs, fans, sponsors and players. It’s all down to two people and the rule about indirect responsibility should be scrapped,” said the defender.

[dreamer75]

MILAN, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. sportswear group Nike will still sponsor Juventus despite the club being demoted to Italian football's second division, a Nike spokesman said on Thursday.

Juventus' main sponsors -- Nike and Libya's Tamoil -- have been expected to renegotiate their contracts with the club after it was relegated for seeking an unfair advantage in the appointment of referees.

"We sponsor and we will continue to sponsor Juventus," the spokesman said. Nike has a 12-year sponsorship contract, for 12 million euros ($15.36 million) a year, which started in 2003.

However, the spokesman declined to comment on whether the terms would be renegotiated. Tamoil has not commented on its deal with Juventus.

At 0956 GMT, shares in Juventus were up 7.8 percent at 1.82 euros. The stock has been extremely volatile, and shares have lost about one-fifth of their value since the scandal broke, recovering slightly over the past weeks.

Juventus potentially faces years of financial problems, with sponsorship income, television rights deals and ticket sales hit by the scandal over rigged matches.

Reuters

[dreamer75]

Landry Bonnefoi: Metz
Domenico Criscito: Genoa
Pietro Zammuto: sambenedettese
Alberto Balagna: Viterbese
Ruben Olivera: Sampdoria
Alessio Tacchinardi: Villareal
Andrea Gasbarroni: Parma
Olivier Kapo: Levante
Alex Pederzoli: Pistoiese
Viktor Boudianski: Ascoli
Simone Fumasoli: Crotone
Lorenzo Del Prete: Pizzighettone
Fabrizio Miccoli: Benfica
Francesco Volpe: Ravenna
Michele Paolucci: Ascoli

[dreamer75]

Juventus and Torino began their official seasons with comfortable 3-0 Coppa Italia victories, but Sampdoria struggled to get through.


The Bianconeri fielded World Cup winning goalkeeper Gigi Buffon against minnows Martina in Bari’s Stadio San Nicola, while Marco Marchionni, Pavel Nedved and Giuliano Giannichedda also started.


They broke through after just seven minutes, when Nedved and Valeri Bojinov combined for Marchionni to thump a volley into the top corner.


The chances came thick and fast for Bojinov, Nicola Legrottaglie, Matteo Paro and Marchionni again before ex-Fiorentina striker Bojinov rifled in his shot from distance.


The Bulgarian had several more efforts and Tomas Guzman’s attempt was tipped out from under the crossbar before Nedved scored another splendid goal from 30 metres. Juventus will now face the winners from Lucchese-Cesena.


Torino also strolled through to the Second Round with a 3-0 away victory at Ivrea, inspired by Under-21 international Alessandro Rosina.


He dribbled past three players to set up Elvis Abbruscato’s wayward header, but the striker was more accurate soon after to open the scoring.


Christian Abbiati was made to work in goal with a great save on Ghizzani’s deflected effort, while he was rescued by the woodwork on Bertani, as Toro’s offside trap failed regularly.


Rosina was the key, though, and volleyed in a fine finish held up by Roberto Stellone. In the final minutes, the midfielder completed his brace with a wonderful solo run dribbling past three defenders and lobbing the helpless goalkeeper. Their Second Round meeting will be with either Sangiovannese or Crotone.


Sampdoria have shown disappointing form throughout the summer and left it late to knock out Benevento with a 2-0 away win.


Italian international Gennaro Del Vecchio’s shot came off the crossbar seven minutes from time and into the path of Emiliano Bonazzoli. Fabio Quagliarella then made the result secure and Samp will face either Ternana or Rimini.

[dreamer75]

MILAN, Italy (AP) -Juventus beat Inter Milan and Napoli to win the Birra Moretti preseason tournament on Friday.

Juventus beat Inter 1-0 in its first 45-minute match on 14th-minute goal by Uruguayan forward Marcelo Zalayeta.

In Juventus' second game, Swiss midfielder Davide Chiumiento found the back of the net in extra time to give the Turin powerhouse a 1-0 victory over Napoli and the tournament title.

Napoli beat Inter 1-0 to finish runner-up, through a 22nd-minute strike by Italian forward Emanuele Calaio.

The mini-tournament gave Juventus - playing without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, midfielder Mauro Camoranesi, and strikers David Trezeguet and Alex Del Piero - an opportunity to run out against Inter Milan after it was demoted to the second division last month, and a chance to measure itself against fellow Serie B side Napoli ahead of the season's start in September.

[vic_viper]

forza Juventus!!!

[dreamer75]

long time no update :)

[dreamer75]

Juve is currently at 4th spot in Serie B (3 pts adrift of leader Bologna)

[dreamer75]

Player Club Goals
Bellucci Bologna 11 (2 pens)
Adailton Genoa 9 (4)
Jeda Rimini 7
Papa Waigo Cesena 7
Lodi Frosinone 7 (1)
Calaio' Napoli 7 (2)
Pelle' Cesena 6
Beghetto Treviso 6 (1)
Ricchiuti Rimini 6 (1)
Bernacci Mantova 5
Del Piero Juventus 5
Osvaldo Lecce 5
Trezeguet Juventus 5
Possanzini Brescia 5 (1)
Margiotta Frosinone 5 (2)
Salvetti Cesena 5 (3)
Saverino Spezia 5 (3)
Bojinov Juventus 4
Di Nardo Frosinone 4
Marazzina Bologna 4
Moscardelli Rimini 4
Nedved Juventus 4
Santoruvo Bari 4
Sculli Genoa 4
Greco Genoa 4 (1)
Schwoch Vicenza 4 (1)
Cellini Albinoleffe 4 (2)

[dreamer75]

Juventus P-P Cesena
This match was postponed as a mark of respect for two Juventus youth team players – Riccardo Neri and Alessio Ferramosca – who died in a tragic accident at the Vinovo training ground on Friday Decembe

[dreamer75]

Local police have opened an investigation into how two Juventus youth team players drowned at the club’s training camp.


Tragedy struck the side on Friday afternoon when 17-year-olds Alessio Ferramosca and Riccardo Neri were found in an artificial lake at the Vinovo ground.


It’s believed the two youngsters, part of the Berretti youth side, climbed over the fence and tried to recover some footballs that had fallen into the icy water. They slipped on the plastic sheeting lining the lake and couldn’t get back out.


The Turin police have begun their enquiry into manslaughter, citing five people under investigation. They are Juventus administrator Jean Claude Blanc, Berretti Coach Maurizio Schinaglia, goalkeeping trainer Lorenzo Frison, and those who run the Mondo Juve training camp – Renato Opezzi and Alessandro Sorbone.


“These names in the investigation are a necessary part of the process,” said the Juventus lawyers. “It’s just moving towards understanding what happened and researching the incident.”


The Bianconeri’s match with Cesena was called off on Friday night after news of the tragic deaths and Alessandro Del Piero left a message on his official website.


“It’s a terrible loss that struck all of Juventus while we were already at the Stadio Olimpico for the game. When we discovered what had happened, I and the team were speechless,” he commented.


“I express my most heartfelt condolences to their families and are close to them and the boys’ teammates. We had celebrated the club’s Christmas party with the whole squad just a few days ago.”

[dreamer75]

Ciro Ferrara and Michelangelo Rampulla expressed their shock at the tragic drowning of two Juventus youth team players.


Last night the Serie B match against Cesena was postponed after the bodies of 17-year-old Alessio Ferramosca and goalkeeper Riccardo Neri – who would’ve turned 17 today – were found in an artificial lake in the Vinovo training ground.


“This is the worst day of my life,” said a visibly moved Ferrara, who is in charge of the Bianconeri youth system.


“I knew these boys and had seen them around, so it’ll be strange not to see them again. I am destroyed. Please don’t make me speak, I can’t manage it right now.”


Rampulla, another former Juve legend, is now the goalkeeping Coach and was stunned at the tragedy to have struck this club.


“Last year Neri was one of the main protagonists in the Scudetto Allievi victory. I saw great qualities in him and wanted to let him train with the first team next season. He would’ve been ready to work with Gianluigi Buffon.”


The reasons behind the accident are not yet clear, but it seems the two teenagers climbed over a fence to recover some footballs that had fallen into the lake, which is 50m by 30m and 5m deep, after a Christmas party.


It’s believed they slipped on the plastic sheeting used to keep the water in the artificial structure and couldn’t climb back out.


Ferramosca was pronounced dead at the scene, but desperate attempts to reanimate Neri at the hospital failed.


“This is such an absurd tragedy, it makes no sense,” added Rampulla. “When we think of everything that’s happened to us this year, one wonders what else can hit this club?”


It has certainly been a traumatic 2006 for the Turin giants. Calciopoli saw them demoted to Serie B and director Gianluca Pessotto is only now working towards full recovery after falling from a window at the club headquarters in an apparent suicide attempt.


Ferramosca’s father, Lucio, is the vice-President of amateur club side Atletico Mirafiori, where Alessio first showed his talents. His family had until recently lived only a few miles from the Vinovo training ground, as he was a native of Turin.


Neri was from Florence and his family had been preparing the celebrations for today, his 17th birthday.


There will be a minute’s silence before all Serie A and B games this weekend in memory of the two youngsters.

[victorian07]

woo..dreamer75 bro finally updated.. lol..

was just commenting in the other thread...

Juventus is going to come up no matter what.

[dreamer75]

woo..dreamer75 bro finally updated.. lol..

was just commenting in the other thread...

Juventus is going to come up no matter what.

hehehe....we r undefeated at the moment..

Juventus 28 15 11 4 0 27 6

but still long way to go.....we oni played 15 matches so far. All season is 42 matches.

:)

[dreamer75]

Pts P W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A
Napoli 47 25 12 11 2 31 17 8 6 0 21 10 4 5 2 10 7
Juventus 46 24 16 7 1 45 15 10 1 0 29 7 6 6 1 16 8
Genoa 42 25 12 6 7 37 31 8 3 1 21 11 4 3 6 16 20
Bologna 41 25 12 5 8 29 22 7 2 3 16 11 5 3 5 13 11
Piacenza 41 24 12 5 7 29 24 8 1 2 18 11 4 4 5 11 13

[dreamer75]

we r at 2nd spot wif a game in hand over Napoli..

playing Piacenza later :)

[dreamer75]

Juventus is finding that Serie B is not a cakewalk.

In 2006, the Italian soccer Federation took the bold decision to banish Juventus soccer club to Italy's second division Serie B for the 2007 season. It was an unprecedented moment in European football perhaps even sports. No one knew for sure how this was going to turn out. Though long time observers and fans cautioned that it was not going to be easy.

There are a couple of reasons for this warning:

• Serie B would be in a rat race to get back to Serie A. The top four clubs in Serie B get promoted.

• Everyone was going to take dead aim at Juventus. It's not every day you get a chance to belittle royalty.

To begin, we need to place this in a North American context. This sort of thing has never occurred in North American professional sports — at least that I am aware of. Think about it for a second. Would the St. Louis Cardinals or Detroit Red Wings ever be sent down for any infractions seen as detrimental to their respective leagues? If an NHL team were demoted to the AHL, would it dominate the league?

Juventus, it should also be noted, are similar to the New York Yankees of Italian soccer - A soccer team with a huge worldwide fan base that rivals Real Madrid and Manchester United. (For those who don't, Juventus was found guilty of match fixing. While the charges laid were serious they were the work of a select few executives. Players were not involved. European soccer has other scandals with deeper implications in Germany, Belgium and possibly in England moving forward.)

The first practical issue to confront management was who was going to stay? Italy captain and FIFA World Player of the year Fabio Cannavaro bolted for Real Madrid and standout defender Gianluca Zambrotta took his services to Barcelona. However, Juventus did manage to keep several of their star players including Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved, Mauro Camoranesi, David Trezequet, and the world's best keeper Gianluigi Buffon, among others. They also hired former Juventus player Didier Deschamps who won a World Cup with France in 1998. Juventus has also been active and aggressively looking to add to their roster (Real Madrid's Ronaldo and Liverpool's Peter Crouch - to name a couple - have been rumoured to join the club) and it is clear Juventus still commands a prestigious place in world soccer.

Earlier in the year, Deschamps ominously summed up the state of the club thusly: "This season has certainly been a difficult one, right from the outset. July and August were hard months, with a complicated sporting project... We started out with a heavy penalty and, even if it was eventually reduced, this conditions the players psychologically. Then we lost our kit-man Romeo, who was with us for forty years and now these young boys... Like every Juventino, I've certainly lived happier months than these. Now it's about looking forward to 2007, hoping that things get better and that we'll be able to reach important goals".

After opening the season with a draw against Rimini, the idea and image of sophisticated Juventus sipping espresso and eating gelato while they played in Serie B games was quickly vaporized. It also raised the ire of Juventus management and ownership. The news was out: Serie B must not be taken lightly.

Juventus were soon on track as they put together a nine-game winning streak until drawing against Napoli. And just as quickly they were dealt a tragic blow in December after the deaths of two of their U-17 players.

Statistically, the results have been mixed. Juventus stands in 6th place, 3 points out of first place with a game in hand after 18 games. Juventus have 30 goals for (2nd in the league) and just 9 against (first overall). All things considered, these are positive results.

On a less positive note, despite boasting world class strikers, they do not have a player in the top ten in scoring. Frenchman David Trezeguet leads the team with six (five behind the overall leader) and this has him in 11th spot while Alessandro Del Piero has five placing him in 21st. One can look at the positive and rationalize that Juve is at least getting balanced scoring. It also points to the fact that teams have been diligent in marking Juventus players.

Even less encouraging, are the attendance figures which is down to about 17,500 fans per game (from approximately 27 000) and operating at a 25% capacity.

It would be hard to conclude that this has only to do with the demotion. Attendance has always been perplexing for Juventus. As mentioned earlier, Juventus commands the biggest fan base in Italy and one of the largest in the world. Yet, the lack of support for major tournaments like Champions' League has many observers scratching their heads. Reasons for this are many (please see Montreal Expos) with the most popular being that fans simply don't like going to Stadio Delle Alpi where Juventus plays their home games.

Following Juventus' recent shocking 1-0 loss - a first this season - to perennial powerhouse Mantova (that's sarcasm by the way), Deschamps said it was "the slap in the face they needed." Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved, for his part, worries about not only the injuries that have hit the club but the complacency that stalks it as well.

A first in pro sports, it's surreal to see Juventus playing in Serie B. Despite the challenges half way through the season, Juventus continues to push forward. In all likelihood they will be back in Serie A next year. Who knows? Maybe the Old Grey Lady will get a makeover. Perhaps they'll win the title and it will be back to the sweet life for the Juventus.

Written by Alessandro Nicolo

[dreamer75]

Manchester United Alex Ferguson had a long interview with Gazetta, and he advised Juve to keep Deschamps because he's exploiting his players in a good way. He also said that Lippi should look elsewhere, and he's sure that English clubs will not find better than Lippi as a coach.

Here's the full interview if anybody can come with better translation:

http://www.gazzetta.it/Rubriche/CalcioEstero/Primo_Piano/2007/02_Febbraio/27/ferguson.shtml

[dreamer75]

Juventus President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli assures they can challenge for a top four finish in their first season back in Serie A, but refuses to confirm Gigi Buffon.

“To talk about the Scudetto immediately would be presumptuous, especially as you always need a bit of luck to win the League. In any case, we will certainly turn up the pressure on the top teams,” said the patron.

The Bianconeri are leading Serie B despite their nine-point Calciopoli penalty and are set for an immediate return to the top flight.

They have already strengthened their squad for next season with Zdenek Grygera of Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic snapped up on free transfers.

“Grygera and Salihamidzic are very significant signs of what we intend to achieve. Qualification for the Champions League will be one of our targets.”

However, question marks remain over whether star players David Trezeguet, Mauro Camoranesi and Buffon will agree to stay on.

“Buffon is a free man, so he is free to express his thoughts and opinions. In any case, between us there remains a cordial rapport.

“Gigi, like all our other players, knows we are working on two things – a return to Serie A and a squad that will do well. This means it must be in a position to ensure our champions are enjoying their football,” added Cobolli Gigli.

Source: Channel 4

[dreamer75]

Zigic admits Juve fancy


Racing Santander striker Nikola Zigic claims he is still being courted by Juventus.

Zigic moved to Spain last summer from Crvena Zvezda and signed a contract binding him to Santander until 2010.

He has scored seven goals for the club, and the towering Serbian's performances have not gone unnoticed by Juventus.

The Italian giants were keen on Zigic before he joined Santander, but were unable to accommodate another non-EU player in their squad.

But with the forward now having proved himself in La Liga, Juve are ready to launch a new transfer offensive at the end of the season.

Zigic is aware of the renewed interest from Didier Deschamps' side and he concedes he would relish the chance to head to Turin.

"Yes, I know Juve are looking for me," Zigic told Corriere dello Sport.

"Am I pleased?

"Who wouldn't like to play at Juve?"

[dreamer75]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/calendar/800x600/january.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/calendar/800x600/february.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/calendar/800x600/march.jpg

[dreamer75]

Lucio-Camoranesi Swap?
Possible Lúcio-Camoranesi Swap?
Juventus might sign the Brazilian to fix unsteady defence and even though Juventus are not competing in Champions League, they are watching it quite closely...

Last night Bianconeri observers kept an eye on the Real Madrid-Bayern game, as after Salihamidzic the Bianconeri could bring another Bayern player to Turin: Lúcio.

The Brazilian defender, who scored a precious goal last night, could be part of a deal which would see Camoranesi moving to the German team.

Lúcio, before becoming the Brazilian Captain, was linked to a possible move to Juventus in 2004, when he was at Leverkusen.

Eventually he decided to play for Bayern, remaining in Germany, while Juventus signed Le Grottaglie from Chievo instead.

In his first season at Turin Le Grottaglie failed to impress, and since has been on loan to several Italian teams. He’s still currently a member of the Bianconeri squad, but rarely plays.

In the meantime Camoranesi is desperate to find a big club playing in Europe next season and would be quite happy to leave Juve.

GOAL.COM

Good, but not good who will cover RWM? Marchionni? Actually that doesn't sound too bad.

[dreamer75]

Juventus: via Trezeguet, parte la caccia a Klose

10:00 del 18 novembre

Maxi-offerta del Manchester United a Trezeguet per la prossima stagione: il centravanti francese andrà via e la Juventus sta già cercando il sostituto. In lizza il tedesco Miroslav Klose del Werder Brema in alternativa a Vincenzo Iaquinta dell'Udinese. Seguiti anche alcuni giovani italiani come Cacia, Pellè, Tulli e Piovaccari. In partenza anche Zalayeta e Palladino, mentre Miccoli (ancora in prestito al Benfica) rinnova fino al 2010. All'estero piace il centrocampista francese Rio Mavuba del Bordeaux.
Per il resto i piani di mercato prevedono la conferma dei vecchi campioni e l'investimento sui giovani. Camoranesi ora è pronto a discutere il rinnovo, mentre Buffon rimanda tutto a fine stagione. Intanto i bianconeri restano gli unici in corsa per il difensore Barzagli, ma il Palermo alza il prezzo.
(Tuttosport)

Huge-Offer from Man Utd for Trezeguet next season: the french striker will leave and Juve are already looking for a replacement. In the list there is Klose of Werder Bremen, as a alternative to Iaquinta of Udinese. They are also looking at young Italians like Cacia, Pelle, Tulli and Piovaccari. Set to leave as well are Zalayeta and Palladino, while Miccoli has signed a new contract till 2010. From abroad Mavuba the french midfielder is interesting Juve.
For the rest of the market plans it is expected to see the confirmation of old champions and investment in youth. Camoranesi is now ready to discuss a new contract, while Buffon is going to leave everything till June. Meanwhile Juve remain the only ones in the race for Barzagli, but Palermo raise the price

[dreamer75]

"Juve Push for Pepe"
from Channel4.com

Juve push for Pepe Wednesday 28 February, 2007

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

Reports from Spain suggest that Juventus have made an offer for FC Porto defender Pepe, as they look to strengthen in anticipation of a return to Serie A.

Pepe – whose full name is Kleper Laveran Lima Ferreira – turned 24 on Monday and has been a pivotal figure at the heart of the Dragons’ defence since the departure of Ricardo Carvalho in 2004.


According to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, the Old Lady have already made an approach for the ex-Corinthians defender, even if they may face competition from Real Madrid.


Juventus continue to seek reinforcements at the back despite boasting the best defensive record in Serie B, having only conceded 15 times this term.


Coach Didier Deschamps has already admitted an interest in luring Manchester United stopper Gabriel Heinze, but Pepe would fulfil a different role as he is adept at centre-back or as a right-back.


The Bianconeri are also said to be lining up a move for giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic of Racing Santander and Sevilla marksman Frederic Kanoutè.

______________________________________

I dont know much about Pepe. I just hope they aren't serious about Kanoute. We need Quality not Quantity.

What do you guys know about Pepe? How much, How Good, Physical Attributes, Play Style.

[victorian07]

hello dreamer bro!!

lol..glad to see u still updating this juve thread.

nv heard much of Pepe...but feel heartened that the Bianconeri's return to the Serie A is more or less assured..

Forza Juve!!

[dreamer75]

hello dreamer bro!!

lol..glad to see u still updating this juve thread.

nv heard much of Pepe...but feel heartened that the Bianconeri's return to the Serie A is more or less assured..

Forza Juve!!

i will try to update more regualrly :)

2nite we have a match against Napoli....forza juve!!!!

[dreamer75]

Explosive match we have on the cards in midweek as Juventus the current leaders of Serie B welcomes the visit of Napoli currently in 3rd spot. Juventus looks to be cruising and looks likely to win promotion back to Serie A next season.

However, the Old Lady of Turin as they are also known as have taken their foot of the pedal as they were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw in their last home match by Albinoleffe. Prior to that they did managed three wins on the bounce beating the likes of Pescara 1-0 (away), Triestina 5-1 (home) and Treviso 1-0 (home). That came as a result after the suffered a surprise away defeat to Brescia losing 3-1 away from home.

Juventus in their last four home games have only drawn once – the last match against Albinoleffe. The other matches saw them demolished Triestina 5-1, beat Treviso 1-0 and gave Piacenza a lesson in football by winning 4-0.

As for Napoli, they would want to get the automatic promotion as well for the top two and come into this match with only one defeat in their last six matches. But it must be noted that they were beaten by Crotone one of the bottom three sides and it shows that their away form is a bit suspect.

They have won their last match away from home against Napoli winning 3-2, but other games have seen them managed a defeat against Crotone 2-1, drew with Rimini 1-1 and beat Triestina 3-1.

Interesting to note here is that , Juventus have not lost twice in a row in their last six matches as the stats have shown : WWWLWL while playing at the Delle Alpi Stadium.

As for Napoli, their form is pretty impressive as well as in their last six matches the stats have shown as: LDWWLW but they have not faced a team the might of Juventus so I expect Juventus to win this match by a goal or two.

With regards to their last meeting, it ended in a 1-1 draw when Napoli hosted, but back in 2000 when Juventus played host they won by a handsome margin of 3-0.

[dreamer75]

Juventus to win 1-0 or 2-0 :D

[victorian07]

haha... u were right dreamer..

Juventus won despite Marchiso's red card.

Nothing's gonna stop us now.

[dreamer75]

Luciano Moggi has claimed that Gianluigi Buffon is on his way to the red and black half of Milan.



There has been much speculation over Buffon's future, with nobody knowing where he will be come next season.

Luciano Moggi offered his insight on the subject, and in particular Juventus' transfer plans, speaking to an Italian radio station.

"Buffon will go to Milan, not Inter," he said. "They are sure that [Christian] Abbiati will return to Juve, and that Dida will go abroad."

Abbiati is currently on loan at Torino after spending last season in Turin, and it is believed that Milan will be happy to offer him along with some cash in order to seal Buffon's deal.

Livorno's young keeper Amelia has also been on Juve's radar, ever since Buffon himself admitted that he will contemplate departure.

"Juventus are a great club, founded 109 years ago, and many great champions have come and gone during those years," said Buffon," the Azzurri number one had told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"If I decide Juventus can exist without me, I will leave, else I will stay. But I am sure they would remain strong even if I were to leave.

"I want to play the last five years of my career at the highest levels, that will make the difference in the next decisions I make. In the end, what I miss most is the chance to play in the Champions League.

"I will only discuss my future with my agent and the club's management after we secure promotion. After we talk and agree to a decision, I will let you all know."

Milan and Inter both have him as one of their primary summer objectives.

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=288226

[dreamer75]

Marcelo Lippi spoke at length about his former club Juventus, discussing where they stand, and where they go from here.

"I think Juventus should proceed in steps. I understand the fans' concern, but now the the focus has to be on promotion and reaching Serie A," he told TuttoSport.

"Then, after the transfer period, we can make some evaluations for next season. Now it would be premature."

The discusson then progressed to the futures of current players, as well as the reinforcements in the pipeline.

It all started with Buffon. "Well I think that in part I have already solved that problem," he laughed. "He said he would have followed me anywhere. "

Since I'm not going back to coaching for a while, I can propose Pianosa, Capraia, Elba, Corsica. So, I don't think it's convenient for him. I think he would do well to be at Juventus' training ground in July."

On Del Piero, and how he had been a crucial part of his Juventus and Italy teams, he said: "That's because he's very intelligent and can understand situations and his role within the group better than others.

"A perfect example is the semi-final against Germany at the World Cup, he started from the bench, but read the game very well. He read the game as if he would have started it. He was completely ready and did not make any mistakes. These things make the difference in a champion."

Next, he was asked about Luca Toni, and which big club he would fit into best: "Juventus already have one of the best strikers in the world in David Trezeguet, who is exceptional with his head, formidable close to the goal, great in rebounding the ball. And he's a great professional.

"Toni is still an excellent striker and wherever he goes he will do well, also because he's very serious."

Of Grygera, he said: "I met Grygera some years ago. I was in the Czech Republic to pick up a prize along with Nedved and they presented me this player, who allegedly was already close to Juventus.

"Nothing came of it then, but I think his career proceeded brilliantly nevertheless. He's a defender who can play on the right and on the left, but also in the center. He's also very versatile."

[dreamer75]

Juventus have joined Liverpool and Chelsea in the race for Valencia striker David Villa. (Daily Mirror)

[dreamer75]

According to latest rumours, Juventus could be a surprise third party in the negotiations between Inter and Chelsea for Hernan Crespo.




According to reports, Chelsea could be willing to release Hernan Crespo this summer, however, and this will come as a shock for Inter fans, not to join the Nerazzurri but to sign with bitter rivals Juventus!



Chelsea are eager to have him back in the squad in order to cover for Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou who will be off to the African Cup of Nations tournament.

The decisive moment for Crespo’s future will be on May 31, when the Stamford Bridge side must decide whether to use their option to recall him or leave the striker to Inter in the final year of his contract.

According to the ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’, the situation is far more complicated than it may at first appear. The famous pink newspaper says that agent Fernando Hidalgo inserted a special clause in the contract stating that if Chelsea recalled Crespo, it would mean extending his deal until 2010.

However, according to another Italian newspaper, ‘Tuttosport’, Juventus are the team behind it all. The Bianconeri would be willing to pay for that contract extension in order to take Crespo and have him form a partnership with Ajax starlet Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=296836

[xOxMxGx]

wah huntelaar. would be a good buy

[dreamer75]

Juve Closer To Serie A

we won 3-1 against a Bologna side.

[dreamer75]

With a win againt Arezzo later, we will be mathematically certain of the promotion to Serie A!!!

Ironically it will be againist a side managed by Anotoni Conte.

Sorry Conte....

Forza JUVE!!!! :D

[dreamer75]

FT Arezzo [1 - 5] Juventus

19' [0 - 1] A.D. Piero
34' [0 - 2] G. Chiellini
45' [1 - 2] A.F. Flores
49' [1 - 3] G. Chiellini
76' [1 - 4] A.D. Piero
87' [1 - 5] D. Trezeguet

[dreamer75]

The Bianconeri easily defeated Arezzo with an impressive 5-1 result away from home which awarded the Old Lady with the mathematical certainty of the promotion.

The nightmare is over and Juventus can finally think about next season back in Serie A as the Bianconeri won the points they needed to reach the promotion to the Italian topflight.

Arezzo were in need of points for the relegation battle, but ended up empty handed as Alessandro Del Piero, Giorgio Chiellini and David Trezeguet wrapped the match in favour of the old Lady.

After a good start by the home team, Juventus took the lead in the first opportunity they had as Del Piero beat Bremec from inside the penalty area following a good assist by Marchisio in the 19th minute.

Chiellini doubled the score in the 33rd minute when the defender headed in following a corner kick.

Just before half time Arezzo pulled one back with Floro Flores, but that was not enough as Chiellini scored his own personal brace and sealed the result in favour of Didier Deschamps' side in the 49th minute following a Del Piero set-piece.

In the 76th and 86th minute, Del Piero and Trezeguet scored the final goals for the Bianconeri who can now celebrate the return to Serie A, but more importantly can start building the base for next year's delicate season in the Italian topflight.

[dreamer75]

http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com//ng/sp/eurosport/20070523/09/3418975092.jpg

Serie A - Benfica defender Luisao has rejected a move to Juventus by confirming he will stay with the Portuguese side next season.


Juventus - promoted straight back into the Italian top flight after just one season in Serie B - were thought to be interested in bringing the 26-year-old to Turin. But the Brazil international insists he is looking forward to playing in European competition with Benfica next season.

"My idea is to stay at Benfica next season," Luisao told A Bola. "I am happy here and want to be more successful in the next Champions League."

Luisao will now turn his focus to Brazil's participation in the Copa America in Venezuela from June 26, and after that, resting for the new Portuguese season.

"I only know what is published in the newspapers," he said. "I have not spoken with the Italian directors because I feel good and I am now only thinking of the Brazilian national team and to recuperate for next season."

Directors of the Portuguese giants confirmed they "had not formally received any offers for Luisao" and it was not "in the plans of the club to sell our defender."

[BroadBear]

LOL dreamer75 looks like u are the only Juventus fan here lol

[victorian07]

no he's not... i did reply in this thread every now and then too..

[dreamer75]

no he's not... i did reply in this thread every now and then too..

thanks bro!

looking forward to new season in Serie A :)

[dreamer75]

Juventus have reached an agreement to sign Vincenzo Iaquinta from Udinese, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The paper claims that the player will sign a five-year contract and that the deal will cost Juve £5.7 million, plus the co-ownership of Michele Paolucci, currently on loan at Ascoli.

Iaquinta’s contract at Udinese expires in 2010, but he nonetheless looks to be leaving The Friuli.


Juve boss Didier Deschamps has apparently accepted the transfer of the player who has scored 14 Serie A goals this season.

The Bianconeri have already sealed the transfers of Zdenek Grygera (Ajax), Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Munich) and Domenico Criscito (Genoa).

The club has also been linked with Mohamed Sissoko of Liverpool and AS Roma’s Philippe Mexes.

[dreamer75]

promotion and looking for a new manager:D

[dreamer75]

http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com//ng/sp/eurosport/20070529/17/2846129345.jpg

[dreamer75]

Serie A - Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has said that Marcello Lippi returning to the club would encourage him to stay.


Italy shot-stopper Buffon has been linked with a move away from the club and has gone on record as saying that they should let him leave if he asks, on account of sticking by them after their relegation for match-fixing.

And, despite Juve's swift re-promotion to Serie A, Buffon has been coveted by Milan, Internazionale and Manchester United.

"If Lippi arrives it could be an advantage but the choice of staying or going does not depend on one person," Buffon told Gazzetta.

"If I decide to stay it will be only because I will again be stimulated to return and battle for Juve."

Juventus have publicly stated their desire for Lippi to return for the club after his self-enforced break from football following his World Cup win with Italy, but Lippi himself has denied that he is interested in taking the hotseat that Didier Deschamps sensationally quit on Sunday.

[dreamer75]

Serie A - Juventus have promoted assistant coach Giancarlo Corradini to lead the first team until the end of the season.


Corradini takes over from Didier Deschamps, who parted company with the Turin outfit on Saturday with two games left to play in the Serie B campaign.

Juve, who have already gained promotion to Italy's top flight after guaranteeing a top-place finish in the second division standings, have two games remaining against Bari and Spezia.

In the meantime, the club are looking for Deschamps' successor with former boss Marcello Lippi reportedly a target of the Bianconeri.

However, Italy's World Cup-winning tactician has no intention of returning to coaching for the time being.

"I have already said that I want to have a couple more months off," said Lippi.

"In any case if they wanted me they would come to me directly."

SPORTING LIFE

[victorian07]

Hmm... It's really either Lippi or Capello for me.

Is Juve not enticing enough for Lippi to come back?

With Stadio delle Alph's works abt to complete.. hopefully the fans will return to fill the stands too.

[dreamer75]

There have been many reports suggesting that Buffon was pushing for Lippi's return, and he himself had admitted that it would be ideal for Juventus.

However, he has now offered his support to the latest to be linked with the job: Claudio Ranieri.

"Ranieri has the right charisma and would be excellent," said Buffon. :He is a great Coach and so can lead a team like Juve.

"He achieved a miracle with Parma, because they had even less chance of surviving relegation than Messina when he took over.

"Ranieri has an excellent CV.

"I had never said it was either Lippi or nobody. I am not a director and do not sponsor anyone."

While persuations continue, it is understood that Juve are set to give up on Marcello Lippi.

If they want Ranieri, though, they must move quickly, as the former Chelsea coach seems to be headed back to the Premiership with Manchester City.

[dreamer75]

Real Madrid had been open to a return to Italy for the Azzurri skipper a few months ago, after the Ballon d'Or winner failed to impress at the Bernabeu.

Bookings, suspensions and poor tackes had characterized his first six months in Spain, but like the rest of the team, he has also turned over a new leaf over the last few months.

Los Merengues are now keen to hang on to him, though it might prove to be easier said than done.

He has two more years on his Real Madrid contract, but reports from Italy suggest that he has shown a willingness to return to Juventus should Marcello Lippi take charge.

It is believed that a 6 million offer (the sum Madrid paid Juve last summer) will be sufficient to land him.

The Azzurri skipper is said to be waiting for the end of the Spanish season, by when it is expected that Juventus will have appointed a new coach.

Of course, Real Madrid's decision on Fabio Capello's future will also play a part.

[dreamer75]

http://www.goal.com/images/18647.jpg

These past two weeks have been a mixture of joy and disappointment for the Bianconeri fans who saw their side win promotion back to the Italian topflight, but lost the coach who led them to this achievement.


zoom - galleria


With Juventus (and probably even Genoa and Napoli) back in Serie A, Italian football will regain some of the allure it lost in the past season following the Calciopoli scandal.

However, how will this return back to the topflight be for the Old Lady? A bumpy one or a path paved towards glory? Probably, the answer lies somewhere in between!

Even with the current squad, the Bianconeri can easily finish among the top eight, when you take into consideration the fact that half of the teams in Serie B are probably at the same level of half of the teams in Serie A.

So, if Juventus managed to top Serie B, and without ever being really tested, there's no reason to stop them from at least making it into the top eight.

Now, to break into the top four, the Juventus management will need to bolster the side, especially in the midfield department. Two good purchases there, and at least one world class central defender, might make a big difference for the Bianconeri in their bid to reach Europe in their first season back in Serie A.

Unfortunately for the Juve fans, most of the names linked to their team have either been signed by another club or have decided to remain with their current team. They must either pull stars away from top clubs, or rely on youngsters and give them time!

However, with the probable arrival of Claudio Ranieri on the Bianconeri bench, the Old Lady could be able to make some important transfer movements, including the arrivals of Frank Lampard (a player he knows very well from Chelsea) and Mohamed Sissoko (who player under him at Valencia).

The Juve fans must be realistic, and concede that there will be no glory in the first season, as there’s no way the Old Lady can challenge Milan and Inter for the league title. Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Thuram, Vieira and Emerson are not players that easy to replace! Once you buy players, they will need to settle in.

Unless Juve splash 75-100 million euros and assemble top players and a top coach, it might just take a couple of seasons to get back to the top. Of course, a miracle cannot be ruled out, but you cannot bet your life on it either.

So the only two possibilities of any satisfaction apart from a Champions League berth, lie in the Coppa Italia and the two games against the Nerazzurri, where the Bianconeri can get their revenge against Moratti and his club.

With quite a substantial budget for the transfer market, Juventus will now need to spend a lot, and spend well, in order to build the team for the future. But what could be the choices? Let’s take each department separately.

In goal, Gianluigi Buffon is almost certain of staying with the club so that solves what could have been a big problem. However, in case the Italian national goalkeeper changes his mind, then the only possible alternative would be Amelia.

The defence was not always up to par this year, and considering this was Serie B football, the Juve management should be worrying to strengthen it considerably. Rumour is that Fabio Cannavaro could make a surprise return to Turin, and his experience might prove fundamental for the new Juve rearguard.

Both Boumsong and Kovac have alternated some good performances with many poor ones, so at most they should be considered as back-up for a side aiming for the pinnacle. Surprisingly enough, Legrottaglie was the most impressive of the lot, so he could actually be a starter next season, depending on who will join the Bianconeri. Gamberini and Pasqual of Fiorentina have both been linked to the Old Lady, but we will find out more in the coming weeks.

Midfield presents a set of good ageing players, but probably requires two good central midfielders who can make the difference. There are many players present in the transfer market, so it’s up to the Juve management to make the right choices. A wrong player could break the entire season as a lot will depend on this central role. Frings would have been ideal, but Sissoko would be positive too. Lampard's style might not be best suited, but he will add more bite to the midfield.

In attack Trezeguet’s situation is still very unclear and Bojinov is surely going back to Florence. Incoming players are Iaquinta and maybe another striker. Probably the only department that does not really need a lot of changes considering the good number of quality players present, including also Del Piero and Palladino!

With a few touches there and then, this Juve side can surely make it into the top four (Roma, Lazio and Fiorentina will offer stiff resistance, mind you). Wrong choices could land them just a Uefa Cup spot, or even nothing at all. The ball is in the Juve directors' court, it's up to them to push the Old Lady back to the top of Italian and European football.

Which do you think would be the best transfers for the Bianconeri to help them in their bid to get a top 5 position next season?

[dreamer75]

now, who for Juve for the new season?

[dreamer75]

http://www.goal.com/images/17800.jpg

[dreamer75]

Valencia Linked With Trezeguet
Spanish daily Marca have linked Juventus striker David Trezeguet with a move to Valencia.



The striker has recently been linked with Lyon over a swap deal, and though Juventus want to hold on to him, it is believed that they will accept a good offer.

The links with Valencia have surfaced after Daniel Fonseca, former player and a great friend of Trezeguet, was spotted in Valencia.

The Uruguayan is currently a licensed agent, and also a very good friend of Valencia sporting director Amedeo Carboni, who seems to be have won the internal battle against Quique Flores.

Fonseca is not Trezeguet's agent, as the player is represented by his father, but is reported by Marca to be smoothing the way for a possible move for the French international.

Buffon Backs Ranieri For Hot Seat

Madrid Must Fight For Cannavaro

[dreamer75]

No City Talks – Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri has denied holding talks with Manchester City about the vacant manager’s job at Eastlands.

The Italian had been widely expected to take over from Stuart Pearce but the move is now in doubt amid rumours of interest from Juventus.

Asked whether he had held talks with City, he told Sky Sports News: "No. Not yet.

"I had four years (in England), it went very, very well and I had fantastic seasons. I'd like to come back and I am looking forward.

"Maybe (I would be interested) but nothing is sure. For me it is exciting to save Parma."

He added: "I like to come to England but there are also some important questions in Italy.

"But I love English football. Now there are seven or eight great teams in England.

"Everybody wants to fight for the title and that is good for the league."

[dreamer75]

The message from Carlo Ancelotti to Alberto Gilardino seems to be very clear: 'stop complaining and fight for a place, or pack your bags'.


Gilardino has failed to convince this season, and had hit out at the lack of faith in his abilities earlier in the weekend, insisting that he would "not confirm" his future unless offered guarantees.

His fear seems to be that with Inzaghi, Ronaldo and another top forward coming in, he will be fourth in line at best.

However, Carlo Ancelotti is clearly unimpressed with the fear, and gave the striker a piece of his mind.

"Competition must act as an incentive to do better, and not feel like a weight on your shoulders," he rapped.

"Gilardino is young, can still improve and has already scored a lot of goals. Like everyone, he has had his ups and downs."

"If he thinks he needs to go, then there is no reason why we can’t help him achieve that, as long as we find a valid alternative," quipped Ancelotti, clearly unhappy.

“Up until a few days ago he seemed relaxed and the situation was under control. He speaks of faith and fair play, but we have always put our trust in him.

"I always considered him an important player, even if at Milan competition for places is mandatory."

He then told Gilardino to learn from Inzaghi, instead of being offended at missing out on the Champions League final.

"The only player at Milan who is sure of always being first choice is Kaka," revealed Ancelotti. "Everyone should take Inzaghi as an example, a player who takes his profession very seriously.

"He is always ready and works hard no matter what, so he earned his place in the most important match. It is often said that Inzaghi is in love with the goal, but the truth is that the goal is in love with him."

Gilardino has been linked with Juventus of late.

[dreamer75]

http://www.goal.com/images/18860.jpg

[dreamer75]

The Juventus president announced that a new coach will be appointed within the next week, and it seems that the former England coach could be among the candidates.


The rumours continue to go around regarding who could be the next coach for Juventus.

With Claudio Ranieri seemingly in pole-position, president Cobolli Gigli said they are considering several options for the Bianconeri hotseat.

"There is still nothing decided", he had declared. "The names that have appeared on newspapers are the ones we are taking in consideration, including Ranieri.

"I think we will be able to make a decision within the next week."

In The Times, the name of Sven Goran Eriksson is being mentioned.

The former England coach has good Serie A experience, as is supposedly being seen as the man Juve would go for should they fail to convince Ranieri.

Eriksson has extensive Serie A experience, having coached Roma (1984-87), Fiorentina (1987-89), Sampdoria (1992-97) and Lazio (1997-2001).

[dreamer75]

That reports suggesting that Juventus are looking sign Claudio Ranieri have been confirmed by none other than the club's top official, president Cobolli Gigli.


"Ranieri has the correct characteristics, as much because of his career as his age [experience], so it is normal that he is interesting us for a long-term project like ours at Juventus," he told Raisport.

"It is very important that this coach is liked and respected by the major stars in the squad," he continued, perhaps speaking of the fact that not everyone at Juventus believed in Deschamps.

Having given up on Marcello Lippi, Juve are now moving quickly, and Gigli insisted that a coach would be appointed by the end of the coming week.

"From Monday director Jean Claude Blanc will start holding talks, and over the week we will finalize our decision on the new coach," said the Juve president.

Reports in Italy are suggesting that the reponse has been very positive from Ranieri, and that an official confirmation could be made by as early as Tuesday, as they look to beat Manchester City.

The signing of Ranieri is also seen as a catalyst to sign Momo Sissoko and Frank Lampard, both of whom have played under him, the former at Valencia, and the latter at Chelsea.

Liverpool and Chelsea are seemingly set to allow the two to leave, respectively, and Ranieri could be the key to Juventus beating Barcelona, who are also chasing both the players.

[dreamer75]

well i'm not a big fan of Ranieri

[Swordsman]

are you a juventus fans ?

it seems you are the only 1 that keep posting news about juventus ?

[dreamer75]

are you a juventus fans ?

it seems you are the only 1 that keep posting news about juventus ?

yes i am.,

another bro will join in occassionally. :)

[dreamer75]

'English football is a fascinating window that hypnotises you,' Claudio Ranieri has said, possibly trying to justify to himself why any Italian would leave Parma to work for Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City. 'We are poorer in Italy, despite Milan's victory in the Champions League. To return to England is to be at the centre of something important.'

Just Claudio being charming, or is he losing his grip on reality? Judge for yourself. 'The Manchester City challenge reminds me of the experience I had at Chelsea where without spending we built a good team,' Ranieri continued. 'I created the Chelsea miracle from nothing.'

Really? Records suggest that players of the quality of Marcel Desailly, Gianfranco Zola, Gus Poyet, Dennis Wise, Graeme Le Saux and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were at Stamford Bridge when Ranieri arrived, and were soon joined by Emmanuel Petit, Frank Lampard, and William Gallas, for a combined outlay of £25million, along with others.

Funny how the memory plays tricks, isn't it? And the imagination, if it belongs to Ranieri. 'The idea is to face Manchester United as soon as possible and be at the same level as them in the standings,' he told Gazzetta dello Sport. And they said Stuart Pearce was overoptimistic.

[MrWeiWei]

rumours is juventus manager will be lippi and he will be bringing back cannavaro ........

[dreamer75]

rumours is juventus manager will be lippi and he will be bringing back cannavaro ........

too many rumours flying ard....

some papers indicated that we have given up hope on Lippi. :s22:

[Swordsman]

lippi can bring juventus back to their former glory.. heard that buffon wants to leave for milan ? is that true ? anyway kudos to him for staying through this difficult season with juventus.

[MrWeiWei]

too many rumours flying ard....

some papers indicated that we have given up hope on Lippi. :s22:
italy clubs beri funny 1........ 1 manager can be at the club for more than 3 times...... leave return leave return leave return...... but still much-loved by the supporters ahaha

[dreamer75]

lippi can bring juventus back to their former glory.. heard that buffon wants to leave for milan ? is that true ? anyway kudos to him for staying through this difficult season with juventus.

not only Buffon....kudos to Alex,Nedved,Trez too :)

i have confidence Gigi will stay wif us :D

Inter have renew Julio Cesar's contract....so that cancel's out thier interest.

As for Milan...no updated news yet.

[dreamer75]

italy clubs beri funny 1........ 1 manager can be at the club for more than 3 times...... leave return leave return leave return...... but still much-loved by the supporters ahaha

it doesnt matter, they happy can liao.

[dreamer75]

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7977/primage4.jpg

[dreamer75]

She is goergous!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeqpRVYi2JM

[dreamer75]

Realistically speaking; with no "I wish"-es...who can we expect?

Players:

Iaquinta? Yes, No, Maybe

Gilardino? Yes, No, Maybe

Sissoko? Yes, No, Maybe

Huntelaar? Yes, No, Maybe

Mavuba? Yes, No, Maybe

Cris, Yes, No, Maybe

Milito? Yes, No, Maybe

Coach:

Eriksson? Yes, No, Maybe

Lippi? Yes, No, Maybe

Ranieri? Yes, No, Maybe

[dreamer75]

hope Saviola will come for free.. I don`t mind to see him play for Juve.. but I don`t think that we should sell Palladino or move him on loan.. he`s good for us and I think his performance with us this season wasn`t bad at all .

[MrWeiWei]

sissoko and ranieri lol

[dreamer75]

http://www.uefa.com/ml/images/players/ucl/220X220/16043.jpg

Date of birth: 01.01.1977
Country: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Position: Midfield

Profile

A blend of immaculate defensive and attacking abilities have made the two-footed Hasan Salihamidžić an integral, and highly versatile, figure for both club and country.

Club
Having played schoolboy football for NK Turbina Jablanica and FK Velez, Salihamidžić left Bosnia-Herzegovina at his parents' urging at the age of 15 in 1992 and ended up with relatives in Hamburg. He made a name for himself with Hamburger SV, making his Bundesliga debut in March 1996. Bayern came calling in 1998, making him a German champion in 1999 and double winner the following season and the lightning-quick Salihamidžić played a significant role in the march to UEFA Champions League success in 2000/01. At the end of 2001, after another league success, he had the honour of being named Bosnia-Herzegovina's Player of the Year. He filled in at left-back and on the right of midfield as Bayern won a domestic double in 2004/05, but first-team football proved harder to come by as Felix Magath's men repeated that feat in 2005/06.

National team
A pivotal player in the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team, Salihamidžić is yet to play in a final tournament, although his country almost qualified for UEFA EURO 2004™.

Did you know?
Salihamidžić worked as a waiter to help fund his departure from his home country.

___________________________

Bosman, 4 years contract.

good versatile player who has good passing range and pace

[dreamer75]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZtkPxr7f-8&mode=related&search=

[dreamer75]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI2Yi1xL2aE

[dreamer75]

http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/21/f_Hasanm_e0d411d.jpg

Name: Hasan Salihamidžić
Previous Teams: Hamburger SV - Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder (Left, Right)
Number: ??
Nationality: Bosnian
Date of birth: 1 January 1977
Place of birth: Jablanica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height: 1.80 m
Weight: 77 kg
Nickname: "Brazzo" meaning "little brother"

Hasan Salihamidžić (born January 1, 1977 in Jablanica, SFR Yugoslavia) is a football all-round-midfielder who played for Bayern Munich for nine seasons before signing a 4 year deal with Juventus on 15 January 2007. He is considered the pride of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A blend of immaculate defensive and attacking abilities have made the two-footed Hasan Salihamidžić an integral, and highly versatile, figure for both club and country. His career started flourishing while he was playing as a striker, then he played as both a right winger and left back in Bayern while he is considered as left winger in his national team.

Life:

Salihamidžić was born to a Bosniak family. His father Ahmed and mother Šefika gave him the nickname "Braco" meaning "little brother", since Hasan has an older sister. He finished high school and played in the local club Turbina Jablanica between 1987 and 1991. Then, Salihamidžić moved to Velež Mostar where he stayed until 1992. During that period young Salihamidžić represented ex-Yugoslavia on U16 level since at that time Bosnia & Herzegovina was still a part of Yugoslavia. That generation of the young players in FK Velež Mostar was one of the best ever but the Bosnian war stopped Salihamidžić from making a single senior appearance for his club. Salihamidžić has three children, Selina, Nick and Lara June, with his Spanish wife Esther Copado.

Career:
With Senior clubs:

Years----------Clubs-----------------Appearances (Goals)
1995-1998-----Hamburger SV-------------72 (19)
1998-2007-----Bayern Munich-------------229 (29)

Having played schoolboy football for NK Turbina Jablanica and FK Velez, Salihamidžić left Bosnia-Herzegovina at his parents' urging at the age of 15 in 1992 and ended up with relatives in Hamburg. He made a name for himself with Hamburger SV, making his Bundesliga debut in March 1996. Bayern came calling in 1998, making him a German champion in 1999 and double winner the following season and the lightning-quick Salihamidžić played a significant role in the march to UEFA Champions League success in 2000/01. At the end of 2001, after another league success, he had the honour of being named Bosnia-Herzegovina's Player of the Year. He filled in at left-back and on the right of midfield as Bayern won a domestic double in 2004/05, but first-team football proved harder to come by as Felix Magath's men repeated that feat in 2005/06.
With National team:

1996-2006--Bosnia and Herzegovina--43 (6)

A pivotal player in the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team, Salihamidžić is yet to play in a final tournament, although his country almost qualified for UEFA EURO 2004™. Salihamidžić and the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its brief history, have never qualified for a big tournament, but in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2004, only one goal in the last game against Denmark separated them from the big tournament in Portugal.


Honours:
World Club Cup 2001
Champions League 2001
German championship 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006
German Cup 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006
League Cup 1999, 2000, 2004

Things you don't know about Brazzo:

He wanted to move to Germany to get away from the war, he worked as a waiter in a local restaurant for six months so he could save enough money for a ticket. In November 1992, Salihamidžić had come to Hamburg and with the help of his cousin Ahmet Halilhodžić he joined the youth team of the German Bundesliga team Hamburger SV.

[dreamer75]

EHneseY6O3c

[dreamer75]

X-YaBV3YRXI

[Swordsman]

She is goergous!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeqpRVYi2JM

yeah she is but someone mention she is an ex-whore :s22:

[dreamer75]

yeah she is but someone mention she is an ex-whore :s22:

i only know she was in top 10 of Miss World 1998.

[dreamer75]

Corriere dello Sport

Emerson to Milan: It is done
Medical already planned for June 18
Only contract details remain, the club offers two years with option for a third

[dreamer75]

The Italian Serie was littered with deadly striker tandems administering a one- two knockout punch over their opposition.

Juventus made it back to top flight action on the strength of Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet combining for 34 goals.

Inter won the Scudetto with Crespo and Ibrahamovic contributing 29 goals. Lazio climbed to third place with Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev scoring 27 goals. Fiorentina after its point deduction following Calciopoli finished strongly in the fifth position with Adrian Mutu and Luca Toni tearing down the opposing defenses with 32 goals. Atalanta's Cristiano Doni and Riccardo Zampagna and Udinese's Vincenzo Iaquinta and Antonio Di Natale combining for 24 and 25 goals, respectively, helping their clubs finish in the top ten

[Swordsman]

by the way who is the player that take over zidane position ever sinc he left for real madrid.

[dreamer75]

by the way who is the player that take over zidane position ever sinc he left for real madrid.

nobody culd replace Zizou since he left us :(

[dreamer75]

rxjmdr2dhg

[victorian07]

nobody culd replace Zizou since he left us :(ermm..to be fair.. i thought Nedved became a decent playmaker for Juve too.. of course in a different way.. but acty, Zidane was promising but not yet that critically acclaimed like at his peak when he was at Juve.

The sale of Zidance did financed the move of both Buffon and Nedved though.. so.. i've no complaints.

[victorian07]

Ranieri is the new Juventus coach

Juventus announces that it has today signed an agreement with the coach Claudio Ranieri for the technical management of the First Team. The three-years contract will be effective from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2010.

For Juventus, this is an authoritative choice fully in line with the company’s objectives and tradition. A man of international experience and vision, able to embody the aims of the mid-team development plan approved by the Board of Directors. With Claudio Ranieri, a season with a wealth of ambitions and new opportunities opens up.

[dreamer75]

Ranieri is the new Juventus coach

Juventus announces that it has today signed an agreement with the coach Claudio Ranieri for the technical management of the First Team. The three-years contract will be effective from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2010.

For Juventus, this is an authoritative choice fully in line with the company’s objectives and tradition. A man of international experience and vision, able to embody the aims of the mid-team development plan approved by the Board of Directors. With Claudio Ranieri, a season with a wealth of ambitions and new opportunities opens up.

i m glad that we get a manager but i dunno if he's the right man. oh well....... :)

[dreamer75]

new Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri spoke at length about his decision to join the Old Lady.



The former Chelsea man revealed that he was thinking about a move to Manchester City, but the slow movement on the takeover front put doubts in his mind.

Then, when the Turin giants came calling, it was only going to go one way!

"When Juventus come calling, there is very little to think about," he told the press this evening.

"There was a project that I could start from the beginning at Manchester City, but they haven’t even been bought by the supposed new owner, and time was passing by.

"Negotiations with Juve came about suddently and surprisingly. I didn’t expect it.

"Of course, I had seen my name linked in the newspapers, and wondered whether it was true. to receive that first call was very pleasing.

"You simply can’t say no to a club like Juventus. I didn’t!"

Speaking about guiding Juventus back to the top in Serie A, he said: "It’s a great challenge, tough but exciting. We need to all work hard and get back to the place where Juventus ought to be.

"I thank Juventus for choosing me. It fills me with pride. This is a very ambitious project, and I am very positive that we will do well.

"The club have told me they want to be back at the very top in five years. We will look to make that happen much sooner."

Finally, on his plans for the team, he said: "The squad will be a mix of champions and youngsters with great potential. Our transfer targets? We certainly won’t be giving any names to the media.

"The fans should stay calm, as we will make them proud of what Juventus will do in the future.

"We will always be compared to the old Juventus, but they don’t exist anymore. Nostalgia will always be there, but we are focused on the present and the future."

[dreamer75]

Goalkeeper Gigi Buffon and director general Jean-Claude Blanc have both approved of the choice of Claudio Ranieri as the new coach of Juventus.

"To have Claudio here with us falls in with the Juventus style and we want to carry that on in the future," said Blanc during a press conference this afternoon.

"We have given him a three-year contract because stability is important for our project and we were in agreement on many of our strategic plans."

Meanwhile, Gianluigi Buffon spoke from the Azzurri training camp, and was enthusiastic about the choice as well.

"It seems like a good choice to me", the Juve number one said. "I had already said it the last few days, when his name was mentioned as one of the options.

"He seems to have a good image, I don't know him personally but he has already shown his capabilities, also in difficult situations like the one Parma was in this year.

"He has done well in Italy as well as abroad, and his international experience will prove very useful for us", he concluded.

[dreamer75]

Ranieri first conference

w3ih23QugRA

[dreamer75]

I will reserve my judgement for him until the season have started.

[dreamer75]

9xQ5YW164ug

[dreamer75]

http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/ng/sp/empics/3668918

Date of birth: 05.14.1980
Country: Czech Republic
Position: Defense (Right, Center, Left)
Height: 1.85m
Weight: 78kg
Fee: - (Bosman)
Number: tba
Contract: 2012

Profile
Grygera has been the first-choice right-back for the Czechs since 2001, and he is also capable of being deployed as a central defender, a role he often performs at his Dutch club Ajax.

Strong in defence but tentative in moving up the pitch, ‘Zdeno’ has emerged as a scoring threat in dead-ball situations.

He joined Ajax from Sparta Prague in 2003/04, winning the Dutch league title in his first season in Amsterdam. Having been recommended to Juventus by compatriot Pavel Nedved, Ajax were quick to sign the talented defender.




Grygera played for the Czech Republic at Euro 2004 and at the World Cup 2006 in Germany. Grygera was expected to leave Ajax during the summer of 2006 for an Italian club but because of the 2006 Serie A scandal, the deal fell through and Grygera kept playing for Ajax allowing him to leave Ajax in 2007 on a free transfer due to the Bosman ruling

In August 2006 there were rumours linking Grygera with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, although he responded to the speculation by insisting he does not see his future in the Premiership.

On 10 January 2007, it was confirmed by Ajax's technical director, Martin Van Geel, that Grygera would be moving to Juventus in a Bosman transfer when his contract with Ajax expires in June 2007. Grygera had already expressed his delight within the possibility of playing with one of his Czech compatriots, Pavel Nedved.





Grygera's joy at Juve interest
Friday, 19 January 2007

Zdeněk Grygera's diary

After a few days off in the first week of January, we spent nine days on a training camp in South Africa. AFC Ajax have a partnership with Ajax Cape Town and we used the same hotel and facilities as the last time we visited in 2005, so it wasn't a trip into the unknown.

Southern summer
Cape Town is a really nice city and the weather was very good: it's summer at the moment and temperatures were very high. It wasn't so comfortable for our training sessions but it was a nice change compared to the rainy days of Europe. We recharged our batteries and practiced some on-pitch moves. Off the pitch, we went on two trips: the first was to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and a few days later we went on safari. South Africa hosts the next FIFA World Cup and you can already see some signs of it. We saw some plans of what the new stadiums will look like. It's a huge event for the whole continent and they want to be ready.


Juve offer
I also have some other big news in my life: before our trip I heard that Juventus sent an official fax to Ajax with a formal offer for me. When we were in Cape Town, there was no communication between the teams because all the Ajax bosses were with us. They are in the process of talking again now and we will see what will happen. I know that Juventus want to sign me now but I can't do anything about it. It's between the clubs and I just have to wait. Obviously, I would be ready to go there this month. I've thought about this happening for a long time, ever since I decided not to extend my contract. If I move to Italy my dreams would come true.

Serie A chance
Juventus are still a top club. I follow their results and believe they will win promotion back to Serie A. I'm often in touch with Pavel Nedvěd, and he's also confident about their promotion chances. We spoke about Juventus and he told me he would be happy if I joined the club. My spell at Ajax may be close to an end but I have to say I have had some wonderful years here. We won a league title, played in the UEFA Champions League, and I have learnt a lot here. Ajax are a unique club, they play with their classic 4-3-3 style and always give opportunities to young players: as an example, there were another three or four players from the youth academy with us in South Africa.

Ajax development
During my years at Ajax, I became a more rounded defender. You cannot only defend and kick the ball away from your penalty area but you have to support the attack. This is typical for the Dutch league, which is why you sometimes get some crazy results. At Ajax it is not enough to win 1-0: you have to play attractive football. And when you play regularly in front of almost 50,000 fans at the ArenA, the pressure is high and you have a responsibility to perform. For me, Ajax are a big club and I know I made the right decision to join them back in 2002.

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/Allegati/f_Criscito%20Bianconero%20once%20more17221901c6f6a43-1b3e-4a95-9ae0-87a9ead745a.jpg

Date of birth: 12.30.1986
Country: Italy
Position: Defense (Center, Left)
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 70kg
Fee: 7.5m €
Number: tba
Contract: 2011

Domenico Criscito is on his way back to Juventus. The Bianconeri have agreed sole ownership of the player with Genoa, who in turn will share the rights for the players Masiello and Konko with Siena.

Twenty last December, Criscito spent two years with the Juventus Primavera (2004/05 and 2005/06) under the guidance of Chiarenza. Here’s what the coach had to say:
“Technically he’s one of the best defenders I’ve both worked with and seen in the youth system. Despite his boyish looks he’s a guy who demands respect. He’s very good in the air, great at reading the game and is strong with the ball at his feet when he’s bringing it out of defence. With three at the back he tends to play on the left hand side, while in a four-man defence he can play either left back or left centre back”.

Criscito made his Italian Under-21 debut in 2006, where he met Raffaele Palladino, a future team mate and a great admirer of the defender’s qualities:
“He’s a great player, a real talent who can only get better with time, especially from a physical point of view. He’s a fantastic defender, he doesn’t let his man out of his sight and he’s very hard to get past in one-on-ones. Needless to say, he’s also a brilliant guy who I speak to often; it’s going to be great having him here”.

Claudio Marchisio was the captain of the Primavera side which, with Criscito in defence, won the Torneo di Viareggio and the league title. The midfielder can’t wait to have him back:
“I’m really pleased as in my opinion, he’s the most promising young defender in the Italian game. He has a great future ahead of him and I’m sure he’s more than ready for Serie A. I hope we can repeat the success we had together in the Primavera as senior players”.

[dreamer75]

Juve must be strengthen with a few players I would like see them play in an 4-4-2

GK Buffon

LB Giorgio Chiellini(he also can play CD but i loved him as back)

CD Grygera( i´m confident he will so good)

CD Kovac/Boumsong (Barzagli would be wonderfull but that is a rumor,if Raniere has guts he lets Criscito play)

RB Balzaretti

LM Marchionni(when he played he was good just give him confidence and he will be better then camoranesi)

CM Matteo Paro (There are many names circulating for this position I hope Sissoko because we need a player like him.)

CM Nedved(he love to play more in an mid field role let him play CM and 2008-2009 find an other AM)

RM Many people think that I´m crazy for not putting Camoranesi in my starting 11 but after he declarde he wanted to leave juve is only see the bad things he do therefore i hope they attract Quaresma(Amazing) or Malouda but they need a RM or another option is that salihamidic as RB and balzaretti a line forward.

CF Del piero(he´s good for another 2-4 years.)

CF Palladino(give him a chanche please keep him don´t let him go to Man Utd sell Trezegeut so juve has extra funds.

out going Transfers:Nicola Legrottaglie,Giuliano Giannichedda,Mauro German Camoranesi,Valeri Bojinov(back to viola),David Trezeguet,Marcelo Zalayeta

Incoming: Barzagli,Malouda(or Quaresma),Sissoko,Criscito,Salihamidic,Grygera and the rest off the squad you fill up with players as Paolo De Ceglie,Marchisio Claudio,Giovinco

[dreamer75]

source: ojogo.pt

They say we're close to this kid and beat the best teams in Portugal and some English clubs to sign him.

He's a Left Back. LIKE WE NEED ANOTHER ONE!!!

[dreamer75]

Antunes is an amazing player, a very promising left-back. Scolari has already decided to give him a chance on the Portugal A team vs. Kuwait at the age of 20, he played well, despite his age and lack of experience. He is also linked to Sporting.

If Juventus can get him for cheap, it's a very good deal, and yes it is possible he can be worth 20 million or more in the future!

[Rappelz]

beware Inter, Juventus r coming back to snatch back the Serie A title

[jokerpoker81]

ermmm.....y would ppl support clubs that is corrupted, involved in bribery etc, juz to win? juventus, milan etc....

[Rappelz]

ermmm.....y would ppl support clubs that is corrupted, involved in bribery etc, juz to win? juventus, milan etc....

y u looking for trouble....?

[dreamer75]

ermmm.....y would ppl support clubs that is corrupted, involved in bribery etc, juz to win? juventus, milan etc....

ha...

u tot other clubs in EPL/La Lagi or virtually any league are not involved in bribery and corruption?

they are not exposed only.

btw....r u a newbie in soccer? :o

[dreamer75]

Valencia have confirmed they enquired after David Trezeguet

Trezeguet has made it very clear he wishes to leave Juventus this summer, having called the contract renewal offer presented to him “ridiculous.”

In turn, the Bianconeri are refusing to sell him to any other Italian club – specifically Inter – to avoid reinforcing their direct rivals in Serie A.

With Olympique Lyonnais, Arsenal and Marseille all said to be interested in the Frenchman, Valencia have officially added their name to the list.

“There has been contact so we could understand what the situation was,” said director of sport Amedeo Carboni to ‘RaiSport.’

“We would certainly like Trezeguet. Inside I am optimistic, but in official terms we don’t have much of a chance.”

[dreamer75]

Camo and Trez are destined to leave us.

Camo for salary reasons....wtf....

for Camo, his contract runs till 2009, he was offered new contract with improved salary, but Camo thinks it still isnt good! he wants more...

Trez...he was not satisfied with the terms of Juve’s new contract offer.

[Rappelz]

okay lah

at least both of them stay with juv last season

they go then buy can better players

[dreamer75]

Possible players to replace them.

Camo -> Marchionni / Salhiamidcic

Trez -> Alberto Gilardino of Milan, Ajax’s Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Reggina hit-man Rolando Bianchi.

[dreamer75]

For the benefit of those who'd like to know more about Bianchi's performances this season.

Here goes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFwlltfhXdo

[Swordsman]

Juve must be strengthen with a few players I would like see them play in an 4-4-2

GK Buffon

LB Giorgio Chiellini(he also can play CD but i loved him as back)

CD Grygera( i´m confident he will so good)

CD Kovac/Boumsong (Barzagli would be wonderfull but that is a rumor,if Raniere has guts he lets Criscito play)

RB Balzaretti

LM Marchionni(when he played he was good just give him confidence and he will be better then camoranesi)

CM Matteo Paro (There are many names circulating for this position I hope Sissoko because we need a player like him.)

CM Nedved(he love to play more in an mid field role let him play CM and 2008-2009 find an other AM)

RM Many people think that I´m crazy for not putting Camoranesi in my starting 11 but after he declarde he wanted to leave juve is only see the bad things he do therefore i hope they attract Quaresma(Amazing) or Malouda but they need a RM or another option is that salihamidic as RB and balzaretti a line forward.

CF Del piero(he´s good for another 2-4 years.)

CF Palladino(give him a chanche please keep him don´t let him go to Man Utd sell Trezegeut so juve has extra funds.

out going Transfers:Nicola Legrottaglie,Giuliano Giannichedda,Mauro German Camoranesi,Valeri Bojinov(back to viola),David Trezeguet,Marcelo Zalayeta

Incoming: Barzagli,Malouda(or Quaresma),Sissoko,Criscito,Salihamidic,Grygera and the rest off the squad you fill up with players as Paolo De Ceglie,Marchisio Claudio,Giovinco

in my fm07 i always buy chellini and buffon if possible

[dreamer75]

Buffon Made A Special Choice - Lippi
The ex Azzurri coach applauded Gigi Buffon's decision to extend his contract with Juventus and hopes Trezeguet does not leave Juventus.

A week after the announcement of Buffon's permanence at Juventus, World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi came back on the goalkeeper's contract extension to 2012: "He never does anything ordinary, he made a special choice, like the special person he is."

The ex Azzurri coach commented positively on the purchase of Udinese striker Vincenzo Iaquinta, a player Lippi decided to bring along for last summer's victorious Italian World Cup campaign in Germany.

"He's a complete player, he's fast, he has a good shot, and is a good header of the ball. He can also play as a winger", the currently unemployed coach said.

Finally he talked about David Trezeguet's situation: "If he were to leave, it would be a massive loss for Juventus", he said.

[dreamer75]

Buffon will be a JUve legend!!! :s12:

[dreamer75]

Buffon Stops Trezeguet
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon intends to convince David Trezeguet to stay on with the club.

Gigi Buffon has reportedly decided to intervene to convince David Trezeguet to remain at Juventus, or at least to try and find an agreement with the Bianconeri's management.

The best goalkeeper in the world called up his friend David, and so did Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero.

He did so in a completely personal way, without pressure, a gesture that came from the heart.

Gigi and David are very close, and he was the first Azzurro to console the Frenchman after he missed the decisive penalty in the World Cup final.

The Juve management have yet to meet Trezeguet's entourage; next week Juve will offer him a new contract worth 4 million euros a season, and are not willing to go further. It will be up to the player to make the final decision.

Meanwhile Valencia have also asked about the player through their sporting director Amedeo Carboni, and have also enquired about Mauro Camoranesi.

Valencia would like to buy both players, but know they won't be able to guarantee the same fees they get in Turin. In these last few hours Barcelona have also entered the race for Trezeguet. Juventus are waiting, but not for too long!

[dreamer75]

Hope Trez wont leave us cos he's a proven scorer in Serie A.

[dreamer75]

Juventus, Werder Set To Lose Out On England Bound Diarra?
Werder Bremen and Juventus look set to lose out in their efforts to sign Frenchman Alou Diarra from Lyon.

According to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, the midfielder prefers a switch to the English premiership.

Diarra has recently made it clear that he wishes to leave Lyon, and today, Aulas explained that he thought Diarra would sign a contract with Portsmouth.

[dreamer75]

Juventus and Roma join hunt for £12m Liverpool cast-off Bellamy


Dominic Fifield
Monday June 18, 2007
The Guardian

Craig Bellamy's future at Liverpool appears increasingly uncertain after Juventus and Roma expressed tentative interest in luring the Wales forward to Serie A, with the Merseysiders willing to listen to offers for him.

While there has been no direct contact between Liverpool and rival clubs, Juve's new manager Claudio Ranieri has made inquiries as to the 27-year-old's availability and it is understood he would be willing to pay up to £10m for his services, a fee which approaches Liverpool's £12m valuation. Yet any interest from Roma would be more appealing for Rafael Benítez, who would hope to negotiate a move to Merseyside for the Brazilian winger Alessandro Mancini in part exchange.

[dreamer75]

Premiership - Transfer rumours. You really have got to love them. If nothing else, they get you chuckling over your cornflakes each morning.


Although it was not a giggle which emanated from the throat of Transfer Talk on awaking from a weird golf-themed dream on Monday morning; the sound was more akin to a gurgle as reports emerged that Juventus are in the hunt for Liverpool's Craig Bellamy.

Has the world gone mad? Juventus. Craig Bellamy. Giants of Italian football. Welsh minnow. Twice champions of Europe and record Serie A winners. Scorer of just nine goals last season.

The key to a good transfer rumour is how believable it is. Clearly this one has not been thought out for very long.

Being one of the most attractive sides to play for in the world, Juve can pretty much pick and choose who they want, finances allowing, so why should they go for a player or a man like Bellamy, who is more likely to hit the headlines for antisocial behaviour than for his goals?

The answer is unclear, and becomes even cloudier with reports that the Bianconeri are reportedly willing to pay £10 million for his 'services'.

And just when TT thought they could take no more of the ridiculous rumours, out popped news that Juve will face stiff competition for Bellamy from fellow Italians Roma, who may offer sensational winger Mancini in exchange for the Welsh bag of trouble.

[victorian07]

hmm.. lotsa food for thought.

I really like to see our lesser-known players such as Paro, Marchionni and Palladino in particular, to play a more active role in the team. It's the Serie A again. top flight action.. hope Juve can step up one class to match the likes of Inter, Milan once again.

We're finally back..

About the transfer news & rumours.. i think Camo can leave.. Trez.. he's still good. expected him to leave after WC. but he stayed, to his credit. so..we can only cross our fingers.. now that Iaquinta is here, perhaps he'll really move to Man U or sth..

And i think the Bellamy rumours are just tabloid-driven news fodder.. dun read too much into it.

[dreamer75]

http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com//ng/sp/eurosport/20070622/18/2994379122.jpg

Serie A - Juventus have confirmed the signings of midfield pair Sergio Almiron from Empoli and Tiago from French Champions Lyon.


The controversial Italian club announced the double swoop on their official website, which read, "The Bianconeri have made official a double signing"

"Both players have signed a five year contract until 2012."

After being unceremoniously dumped into Serie B following their match fixing madness, Juventus have clawed their way back to the Italian top flight.

The Turin outfit will be delighted to put last season firmly behind them, and to once again be a serious club capable of attracting the worlds best.

Almiron arrives for £4.7 million. The Argentine played 95 times for former club Empoli, scoring 18 goals.

Juve were forced to part with £10.1 million for Portuguese International Tiago. The 26-year-old midfielder has had an incredible three years, winning the Premiership with Chelsea in 2004/05 and back to back Ligue 1 victories with Lyon thereafter.

Both Tiago and Juventus will hope this trend continues and the Italian giants can cap their return to the big time with immediate Serie A success.

[BoyWithBigToy]

sia lah tiago...come back Serie A straightaway buy class players liao

[Rappelz]

bellamy is welsh captain ok..... :D

[younggun__007]

Paiseh ar...juz to check...ish Boumsong still Juve's 1st choice centre-back?

[Maverick7]

Paiseh ar...juz to check...ish Boumsong still Juve's 1st choice centre-back?
Quite surprised to see a Juventus sub-forum here. :)

To answer your qn, I don't think boumsong should be the 1st choice centre back if we have the choice. That's why there is talk of getting Canna back and signing Milito. Chiellini can also play centre back I believe. Legro is crap as far as I know.

[the_ron]

the Juve revival is well underway! Trezeguet has extended his contract as well, interesting to see whether Juve can bounce back immediately and attain a CL spot

[victorian07]

hmmm.. next season will be nice to watch.

new sub forum, new season, Juve!

[Maverick7]

hmmm.. next season will be nice to watch.

new sub forum, new season, Juve!
But how much of next season are we going to be able to watch on TV in Singapore? Last season, there was only crappy matches involving Lazio, Torino, Catania etc and Starsports was only showing the "live" matches as a last resort when there was nothing else deemed good enough to show.

This is what we get in Singapore in a year when Italy won the World Cup and Milan won the Champions League. sign.....

Of course, there are always the goals posted on Youtube that we can content ourselves with. :D

[1920_me]

Lost track of Juventus last season. Before the season start, can get updates on the players.

Sucks, Juve wont be in Europe next season.

[dreamer75]

Only Winning Will Do For Juventus - Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri is beginning to look more and more confident as his team for next season begins to take shape.

He began cautiously speaking of top six and top four finishes, but as time has gone by, Claudio Ranieri has clearly set his targets at the very highest.

While still calling on fans to be cautious, he knows that only winning will do for a club such as Juventus.

"We have a burning desire for victory in our DNA's," he said.

"We will first demonstrate that domestically, and then in Europe.

"Fans must understand, though, that renewing a squad and bringing it back to what it once was will demand time.

"I can only guarantee that I will tell my players the one thing that I have always said in my career: 'I don't care who we must face, I only want to win'."

The Turin giants have completed their summer business in the attacking department, and by confirming Nedved and Camoranesi for next season, will as finish their midfield work as well.

The focus is currently a quality centre-half, which will just about complete Ranieri's squad.
Print Story Send

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/Allegati/f_Buffon_%20Una%20nuova%20pagina%20della%20mia%20vita19224706e3087f9-7e77-4beb-aed9-bb2907943d3.jpg

Juventus Football Club has extended Gianluigi Buffon's contract until 30 June, 2012. The world cup champion goalkeeper was welcomed this afternoon at Juventus headquarters by the CEO Jean-Claude Blanc and signed the contract that binds him to the club until that date.

The first reaction comes from the CEO Jean-Claude Blanc who expressed his satisfaction for the agreement: “Today we have achieved another important result, as keeping Gianluigi Buffon at Juventus was one of the key points of our plans for the coming years. The fact that the world cup champion goalkeeper has shown his confidence in our sports project and shares our ambitions is a matter of great pride. Gianluigi appreciates our innovative and multi-faceted proposal that in addition to putting him at the centre of an important football project also envisages the enhancement of his image”. Blanc added that “for Juventus this confirms the seriousness with which we are building a competitive team for the next season”.

The Chairman Cobolli Gigli underlined the importance of this agreement for the company and all its fans: “We are very satisfied with this agreement as it consolidates the relationship of trust with a great champion: a man who shares our choices and values, who in recent years has always demonstrated commitment and professionalism and who has always honoured the club with superb performances. This agreement comes just a few days before the end of the championship and I am certain it will be welcomed enthusiastically by all Juventus supporters”.

Buffon's satisfaction mirrors that of the Juventus management: “An important day for me, because I have written a new page in my career and life. A choice in line with what I decided last year that confirms my attachment to this team, to this company and to Juventus fans who have never failed to show their affection for me. The project that I have seen is convincing because the company has set sports goals in which I believe and because it creates the conditions for an increasingly stimulating relationship”.

[dreamer75]

This morning the contract that ties Vincenzo Iaquinta to Juventus for the next five years was officially delivered to the Italian Football Association's headquarters.

Vincenzo Iaquinta was born in the city of Crotone on the 21st of November 1979. He is one of the most accomplished strikers in Italy. He was part of the national team that won the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he scored against Ghana and appeared both in the semi-final and in the final. He has 17 caps in total. Iaquinta developed as a footballer at Reggiolo, and then played for Padova and Castel di Sangro, before joining Udinese in 2000-2001. He stayed there for seven seasons, playing in 187 matches and scoring 64 goals, and also making his Champions League debut (scoring a hat trick in his first match, against Panathinaikos) and taking part in three editions of the UEFA Cup.

« Vincenzo Iaquinta – said Juventus managing director Jean-Claude Blanc – is an important player, another world champion that will help us write glorious new pages in the history of Juventus. He's a true pro, and we welcome him in our team. He has experience and other qualities to offer, and he also has the right enthusiasm and passion to satisfy our supporters. Without doubt this is another step forward for us in setting up a competitive squad for our return to Serie A. ».

For Iaquinta this is a very gratifying move, after playing so well for many seasons, both in the league and with the Azzurri. «I have grown year after year and after seven seasons in Udine it was time to take a step forward so that I can measure myself with the challenges that only a big club like Juventus can offer me. I believe I am the right age to make my dream come true. I'm aware that I've reached the top and that from now on everything will be harder because of the increased pressure. But I like pressure and I can't wait to start this new adventure. It's a great challenge, I face it with enthusiasm and I'm proud to have the chance to help take this team back to the top, both in Italy and in Europe».

[dreamer75]

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3195/81adcbe8c056f0f54743e03nm9.jpg

Date of birth: 11.21.1979
Country: Italy
Position: Striker
Height: 1.89m
Weight: 79kg
Fee: 11.3m €
Number:
Contract: 2012

Profile

Vincenzo Iaquinta is a complete and committed striker, who has a powerful shot with both feet, is very good in the air and is happy to track back in defence.

National team
Iaquinta represented Italy at Under-20 and U21 levels before making his senior debut in a friendly game against Iceland in March 2005. The striker then became a regular presence in the Italian squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

Club
The striker started his career with amateur side Reggiolo Calcio, before spending the second half of the 1997/98 season at Padova Calcio in Serie B and the next two campaigns at Castel di Sangro Calcio in Serie C1.

2000: Iaquinta signed for Udinese Calcio and played 14 games scoring two goals during his first season at the Stadio Friuli. Usually a substitute in the following two seasons, he started 22 Serie A games in 2003/04 and scored eleven goals in all, also making his UEFA Cup debut.

2004/05: Iaquinta had his best season and scored 13 goals in 31 games leading Udinese to fourth place and to UEFA Champions League qualification. He then scored a penalty in each leg of the third qualifying round victory against Sporting Clube de Portugal, a 1-0 away win and 3-2 home triumph.

Did you know?
Under his Udinese shirt Iaquinta always wears a t-shirt printed with the face of his daughter and the legend "Sei grande papa" - "You are great, Daddy".

______________________

Vincenzo Iaquinta, (born November 21, 1979 in Cutro, Crotone) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer , who currently plays for Udinese of Serie A. As many Calabrians in the 1980s his parents emigrated to Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy, because of better job opportunities.

Prior to joining Udinese, Iaquinta played with his brother in the lower divisions for Reggiolo (1996-97), Padova (1998), and Castel di Sangro (1998-2000). In 2005, for the first time he was called up for the Italian National Team. In his, and Udinese's first ever Champions League game, he scored 3 goals, which was quite a start to his European season. Iaquinta also had some troubles with Udinese about his wages and about him moving to another club. However, he remained in Udinese for 2006-2007 season.

He was a member of the Italian squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He scored Italy's second goal in their opening match against Ghana. He played in 5 out of 7 of Italy's matches including the semi-final and final.

___________________________

Iaquinta's 1st words as a Juventino: «I have grown year after year and after seven seasons in Udine it was time to take a step forward so that I can measure myself with the challenges that only a big club like Juventus can offer me. I believe I am the right age to make my dream come true. I'm aware that I've reached the top and that from now on everything will be harder because of the increased pressure. But I like pressure and I can't wait to start this new adventure. It's a great challenge, I face it with enthusiasm and I'm proud to have the chance to help take this team back to the top, both in Italy and in Europe».

[dreamer75]

http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/serie_a_2007/risorse_calcio/foto_calciatori/siena/giocatori/molinaro_cri.jpg

Date of birth: 07.30.1983
Country: Italy
Position: Left Back
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 72kg
Fee: 2.5m €
Number: tba
Contract: 2012


Juventus have secured the full ownership of left-back Cristian Molinaro and completed the sale of Federico Balzaretti to Fiorentina.

Molinaro, who was at Siena in a co-ownership deal, enjoyed an excellent season and was a reported summer target for Roma.

The 23-year-old, who started his career with Salernitana, joined the Tuscan outfit in 2005 via Juve and scored one goal in 56 Serie A appearances during his time at the Franchi.

[dreamer75]

http://www.goal.com/resultsimg/1763.jpg

Date of birth: 04.09.1985
Country: Italy
Position: Center Midfielder
Height: 1.75m
Weight: 75kg
Fee: 3.7m €
Number: tba
Contract: 2010

Antonio Nocerino (born April 9, 1985 in Naples) is an Italian football (soccer) midfielder. He palyed for Piacenza Calcio in the 2006-2007 season and was bought back by Juventus for 3.7m €.

He start his career at Juventus F.C., after a loan spell at U.S. Avellino, Genoa C.F.C. bought him in co-ownership deal, as Domenico Criscito went to Turin, but after 2006 Serie A scandal, Juventus bought back Nocerino for provisional member of the team, and sent Nocerino to Piacenza in mid July.

[dreamer75]

http://www.raisport.rai.it/RaiSport/pub/static/84400/20051023AEmpoliAlmiron.jpg

Date of birth: 11.07.1980
Country: Argentina
Position: Midfield (Center)
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 76kg
Fee: 9m €
Number: tba
Contract: 2012

Sergio Bernardo Almirón (born November 7, 1980 in Rosario) is an Argentine football midfielder. As of 2006 plays for Empoli.

Football career

Son of Sergio Omar Almirón, he started his career at Newell's Old Boys. He was signed by Udinese in 2001.

He then loaned to Verona. In 2004, Empoli bought 50% of player right, and finally bought all from Udinese in June,2006.

[dreamer75]

http://www.pilkanozna.pl/fotki/2006/ms2006/zawodnicy/portugalia/tiago_g_280x210.jpg

Date of birth: 05.02.1981
Country: Portugal
Position: Midfield (Center)
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 79kg
Fee: 13m €
Number: 30
Contract: 2012

Tiago Cardoso Mendes, OIH, better known just by Tiago (pron. IPA: [ti'agu]; born May 2, 1981 in Viana do Castelo) is a Portuguese football player who plays as a midfielder. Although commonly thought of as a defensive midfielder, he can contribute to his team's attack with passes and goals.

He was first noticed as a player for Sporting Braga B, the satellite team of Sporting Braga, at 1999-00. He moved to the main team the following season, and signed for Benfica, in January 2002.

He is part of the Portugal national team, since 20 November 2002, in a 2-0 win over Scotland. He reportedly caught the eye of Arsene Wenger in the close season of 2002-03, and was rumoured to have been one of the contenders weighed up by Arsenal to replace Patrick Vieira (who was supposedly leaving Arsenal) in 2003. Vieira eventually signed a new contract with Arsenal that year.

He moved from Benfica in the 2004 offseason to play in the English Premiership with Chelsea after a £10 million transfer.

In August 2005, he transferred to Lyon for £6.5 million, after not getting enough first team opportunities at Chelsea, under manager José Mourinho's squad rotation system. However, Tiago left a good impression on Chelsea fans with his robust performances and accurate passing, as well as 5 goals for Chelsea, the last of which was a long-range stunner against Manchester United in a 3-1 victory for Chelsea at Old Trafford. Many of whom were dismayed to see him leave, even though his departure facilitated the arrival of Michael Essien, who was moving in the reverse direction from Lyon to Chelsea. Tiago has often thanked Chelsea fans for making him feel appreciated during his stint with the club and has not ruled out the possibility of ever rejoining Chelsea.

Tiago has recently stated his desire to leave Lyon. AC Milan and Juventus are the two clubs interested in his signature but may be put off by the £15 million transfer fee touted by his current club.

Tiago's 1st words as a Juventino:

“I am pleased to be here and I want the supporters to know that I am sure we will compete for the Scudetto,” said the player to Tuttosport.

“I am a classic No 8 although I will wear the No 30 shirt at Juventus.

“In France they used to call me ‘the washing machine’, because I can manage tricky balls, ‘cleaning’ them and serving them to my teammates.

“Milan wanted me too, but Juventus were more decisive.”

[dreamer75]

2007-08 Transfers

IN:

Hasan Salihamidzic---> Bayern Munich---> 0m €
Zdenek Grygera-> Ajax---> 0m €
Domenico Criscito---> Genoa---> 7.5m €
Vincenzo Iaquinta---> Udinese---> 11.3m €
Cristian Molinaro---> Siena---> 2.5m €
Antonio Nocerino---> Piacenza---> 3.7m €
Daniele Gastaldello---> Siena---> tba
Sergio Almirón---> Empoli---> 9m €
Tiago Mendes---> Lyon---> 13m €
Ciro Immobile---> Sorrento---> tba

Total: tba


OUT:

Andrea Masiello---> Genoa---> 1.25m €
Abdoulay Konko---> Genoa---> 1m €
Igor Tudor---> Hadjuk Split---> 0m €
Valeri Bojinov---> Fiorentina---> back from loan
Davide Chiumiento---> FC Luzern---> tba
Robert Kovac---> Borussia Dortmund---> 0m €
Federico Balzaretti---> Fiorentina---> 3.8m €
Paolo De Ceglie (co-ownership)---> Siena---> tba
Simone Bentivoglio---> Chievo---> tba
Viktor Boudianski---> Ascoli---> tba
Matteo Cavagna (co-ownership)---> Ravenna---> tba
Stefano Dicuonzo (co-ownership)---> Ravenna---> tba
Andrea Gasbarroni---> Parma---> tba
Douglas Ricardo Packer (co-ownership)---> Siena---> tba
Andrea Rossi (co-ownership)--- Siena---> tba
Giuseppe Sculli---> Genoa---> tba
Francesco Volpe (co-ownership)---> Ravenna--- tba
Davide Lanzafame (loan)---> Bari---> 0m €
Andrea Luci (loan)---> Ascoli---> 0m €
Riccardo Maniero (loan)---> Ascoli---> 0m €
Matteo Paro (co-ownership)---> Genoa---> tba
Olivier Kapo---> Birmingham City---> 4.5m €
Landry Bonnefoi---> Dijon FCO---> tba
Daniele Gastaldello---> Sampdoria---> tba
Antonio Mirante---> Sampdoria---> loan
Rej Volpato (co-ownership)---> Empoli---> tba
Sebastian Giovinco---> Empoli---> loan
Orlando Urbano---> Avellino---> loan

[dreamer75]

Current Juventus roster 2007-2008


1. Gianluigi Buffon 1978 GK
2. Alessandro Birindelli 1974 D RLC
3. Giorgio Chiellini 1984 D LC
6. Cristiano Zanetti 1977 DM
8. Giuliano Giannichedda 1974 DM
9. Vincenzo Iaquinta 1979 F C
10. Alessandro Del Piero 1974 AM L/FC
11. Pavel Nedved 1972 AM L
13. Felice Piccolo 1983 DC/DM
15. Claudio Marchisio 1986 DM
16. Mauro Camoranesi 1976 M RC
17. David Trezeguet 1977 ST
18. Jean-Alain Boumsong 1979 D C
19. Domenico Criscito 1986 D LC
20. Raffaele Palladino 1984 F C
21. Sergio Almirón 1980 M C
22. Emanule Belardi 1977 GK
23. Zdenek Grygera 1980 D RLC
25. Marcelo Zalayeta 1978 F C
27. Jonathan Zebina 1978 D RC
30. Tiago Mendes 1981 DM
30. Nicola Legrottaglie 1976 D C
32. Marco Marchionni 1980 AM RL
xx. Hasan Salihamidzic 1977 D/M RL
xx. Cristian Molinaro 1983 D L
xx. Antonio Nocerino 1985 DM

35. Andrea Pisani 1987 D LC
37. Luca Lagnese 1987 DC
38. Giuseppe Rizza 1987 DC
39. Samon Reider Rodriguez 1988 F C
40. Dario Venitucci 1987 MC
41. Riccardo Maniero 1987 ST
42. Raffaele Bianco 1987 DM
43. Sebastian Giovinco 1987 AM/F C
44. Davide Lanzafame 1987 ST
45. Matteo Trini 1987 GK
46. Andre Cuneaz 1987 M RL
48. Alessandro Bettega 1987 MC

[dreamer75]

Tudor Attacks ‘Heartless’ Juve

The Croatian defender was very harsh against his former side who just let him go on a free transfer this summer following 8 years with the Bianconeri.

Igor Tudor made some shocking comments from the training camp of Marburg against the Old Lady, stating that Juventus were too focused on winning rather than anything else.

"There I learnt a brutal professionalism, without heart. When you play and you're good, everyone is around you, but when you don't play, you're on the transfer list, they don't consider you anymore.

"I was present and saw some great players of the past years like Antonio Conte and Paolo Montero who left without receiving even a flower from the club.

"Juventus is like a machine," continued the newly acquired Hajduk Split player. "Between the players there are no friendships. Only amongst the Italians there is a bit of reciprocal respect, but nothing much. The only thing that matters is the training and the match. Then everyone goes back home on his own."

[dreamer75]

Juventus's big-spending days are over, says Agnelli heir
Tue Jul 3, 2007 1:14PM BST


ROME (Reuters) - The heir to the Agnelli family that controls Juventus warned on Tuesday that the club's big-spending days were over.

John Elkann, vice-president of the FIAT group and grandson of the late Gianni Agnelli who was Juventus's long-term president and owner, said in future the club would avoid the huge transfer campaigns of former general director Luciano Moggi and former chief executive Antonio Giraudo.

"Moggi and Giraudo's spending was unsustainable. They made up for it by factoring in the increase in value of players (into the accounts) but it couldn't go on like that," the 31-year-old Elkann told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Moggi and Giraudo were forced to quit Juventus over their involvement in last year's Serie A match-fixing scandal.

The club were sent down to the second-division Serie B but will be playing top-flight football again next season after winning the league.

"Serie B was very hard -- a season in Purgatory that nobody liked. It also cost us a lot of money," Elkann continued.

"I believe in a sustainable model: costs cannot account for 80 percent of turnover. At Manchester United it accounts for 55 percent."

Elkann's vision of a more financially cautious Juventus has not prevented the club being active on the transfer market.

Since winning promotion, the club have brought in Portuguese midfielder Tiago from Olympique Lyon, defender Zdenek Grygera from Ajax and Bosnian midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic from Bayern Munich.

[dreamer75]

http://aycu19.webshots.com/image/20658/2003294897339273109_rs.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://aycu08.webshots.com/image/18527/2003267058527580996_rs.jpg

[dreamer75]

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said he expects the company to break even in the full year to end-June and to halve its debt compared to a year earlier thanks to its recent capital hike.

In an interview with the MF daily, Cobolli Gigli said he sees 14-16 mln eur of additional revenues next year stemming from the club's promotion to the Italian first division, Serie A.

He said Juventus is seeking to buy at least three "high-level" football players and that developments might be announced this weekend.

Cobolli Gigli also said the company is worth 1.6 eur per share and that the success of the capital hike was also due to 40,000 supporters of the clu

[dreamer75]

Juve plans to make a tour to England this summer after 22 July.

The matches will be with Newcastle, West Ham & Middlesbrough.

And after that, the traditional friendly matches will be played:

1- Birra Moretti (Inter & Napoli)
2- Tim (Milan & Inter)
3- Berlusconi Cup on 14 August.

[Maverick7]

We have signed Andrade apparently. :)

http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/news.php



JORGE ANDRADE TO JUVENTUS

07 Jul 2007 -- Canaldeportivo.com informed on Friday's evening that the club has reached an agreement with Juventus FC in order to transfer Jorge Andrade to the Italian club. So far, there isn't any confirmation about the amount of the operation, but the media in Galicia affirms that it's between €8 and €11 million. The defender still has to pass the medicals with the Italian club.

It was an operation that everybody was expecting to see, Jorge Andrade is near to be transferred to Juventus. Right now the only thing left is to see the Portuguese player passing the medicals. Canaldeportivo.com confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the Italian club, although no amounts were revealed.

But the media in Spain is speculating that it could reach the €11 million. Radio Gallego also informed that Juventus was wishing to include the Uruguayan striker Marcelo Zalayeta (28) in the operation, but it seems that president Lendoiro refused this option. If the Uruguayan is finally included in the operation, the total amount might be €7 million plus Zalayeta. But it's expected that the transfer will only be referred to a cash payment.

Jorge Andrade played 165 matches with Deportivo's shirt (123 in liga, 26 in European competitions and 16 in copa). He also gain a place in Portugal's national team and he is the current captain of Scolari's squad. Andrade suffered a serious knee injury during his debut game against Real Betis for the season 2002/2003, a problem that left him out of action for the half of the season.

But the Portuguese defender returned and gained a place in Irureta's squad and also in the fans heart. He is one of the reasons why Deportivo achieved the unforgettable moments in Champions League and also the first places in la liga. Andrade was near to be transferred during the past year, but he suffered a new knee injury during a game with Barcelona.

This new problem delayed his exit until the end of the season 2006/2007. It was rumoured that the same Barcelona and Real Madrid were interested in his services, but they preferred other choices like Chivu and Gaby Milito. Juventus was also interested in Milito, but since the Argentinean is on his way to Barcelona, the Italian club decided to bet on the Portuguese player.

[dreamer75]

pleasant surprise.......

[dreamer75]

Final Nedved Showdown Expected Tonight

The 34 year old midfielder is due to make a final decision on his future tonight. The Czech is due for final contract talks in Turin; should he decide against re-signing for the Old Lady, it'll surely signal an end to his long and illustrious career. Camoranesi, too, is yet to sign...

Pavel Nedved has been stalling on his decision whether or not to play another season with Juventus. Tonight, however, may bring his final decision.

A few days ago, his agent lamented a lack of contact with the Turin club over the Czech's future. Now, with a meeting prepared for this evening, we may hear whether or not he's decided to stay on.

Certain Italian media outlets have already predicted that he will refuse the offer, but Juve are reputed to be willing to pull out all the stops to offer the fiercy loyal and experienced Nedved an offer he can't refuse.

Argentinian right-winger Mauro Camoranesi, a comparative youngster at 30, is also yet to commit his future to the club. Contracted until 2009, the ex-Hellas Verona man is attracting attention from overseas, but wishes to remain with the bianconeri.

However, the foreign offer is expected to be sizable. The Turin side, then, may offer him a much-improved offer to sweeten the deal whilst seeking to extend his obligations until 2010.

[dreamer75]

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4291/juventus2008homekh5.jpg

[Maverick7]

The juventus logo on the new jersey does not seem to be aligned properly. :s13: ?Otherwise, it doesn't look too bad.

Another piece of good news. Camo has extended his contract with Juve!

[dreamer75]

The juventus logo on the new jersey does not seem to be aligned properly. :s13: ?Otherwise, it doesn't look too bad.

Another piece of good news. Camo has extended his contract with Juve!

yup, the logo is crocked.

anyway, think this is juz a mock up.

[Maverick7]

The news just keeps getting better. Nedved for another season. :) Amazing how things move much smoothly without the agents around to mess things up!

From goal.com

Juventus Reach Agreement With Nedved Following the worrying signals of the past days, the Czech player has finally agreed to a deal to remain with the Bianconeri.

Pavel Nedved seemed on his way out of Juve following the latest developments which led to indicate the former Golden Ball winner was set to retire from the football scene after failing to reach an agreement with the Old Lady's directors.

However, late on Tuesday evening, 'SkySport Italia' reported that following a dinner with Director of Sports, Alessio Secco, Nedved agreed to remain with the Turin based side without any problem, thus halting the rumours which said that Inter were behind the Czech midfielder's refusal of staying with the Bianconeri.

On Monday and Tuesday morning, Nedved had meetings with the directors of Juventus, but both parties seemed far away from reaching an agreement, therefore this news comes in as a surprise.

Van der Vaart and Rosicky were indicated as the possible replacements for the Czech player.

[dreamer75]

Nedved will be another Juve legend!!!! :s12:

[dreamer75]

This will be the first match led by Ranieri and many new faces will have their debut for Juve.

On Wednesday, the players will gather again in Pinzolo to start the new season preparations

Here's the official list of the roster that will train in Trentino. No Andrade yet because they didn't send the contract to the Lega-Calcio.

Portieri: Buffon, Belardi, Vanstrattan

Difensori: Birindelli, Boumsong, Chiellini, Criscito, Grygera, Legrottaglie, Molinaro, Piccolo, Zebina

Centrocampisti: Almiron, Blasi, Camoranesi, Giannichedda, Marchionni, Marchisio, Nedved, Olivera, Salihamidzic, Tacchinardi, Tiago, Zanetti

Attaccanti: Del Piero, Guzman, Iaquinta, Palladino, Trezeguet, Zalayeta

[dreamer75]

Pre-season matches!

18th July: With Mezzocorona, Serie C2 club.
22nd July: The national olympic Chinese team.
29th July: Newcastle at 3 pm..
4th August: Sunderland at 3pm
8th August: At Napoli: Birra Moretti (Inter & Napoli)
11th August: Friendly against Roma
14th August: Tim (Milan & Inter) at Milan
17th August: Berlusconi Cup against Milan.
22nd August: The Juve family traditional match at Villar Perosa.

[dreamer75]

Our new 2nd choice GK! :)

http://www.hellasverona.it/fotocalciatori/vanstrattan.jpg

no official announcement make yet.. but he will taking part in our first session of our training... according to juventus official website.

Full name: Jess Kedwell Vanstrattan
Date of birth: July 19, 1982 (1982-07-19) (age 24)
Place of birth: Gosford, Australia
Height: 1.91 m
Playing position: Goalkeeper

[dreamer75]

Vanstrattan: "A dream work with Buffon"

Between the new faces of the Juventus 2007/08 c' is also Jess Vanstrattan. The 25enne (will complete the years the next one 19 July) doors arrives already with a supremacy not from little: is the first Australian gambler to put on the knitting of the Juventus. And it arrives to confront itself with the best world representative in its role.

"For me be able train me with Gigi is a dream. Like third delivery behind him and Belardi and my objective is that of to improve me daily, then we will see what will happen. I arrive to Turin seven years after that the Juventus had gained myself after the World Under 17. In this make sentences was mainly to the Verona, except for a short parenthesis the past season when am been to Ancona. The occasions to put me in show did not be a lot, but now I am here and I want to play me my possibility, also to be able hairpin curve in National. Now that Kalac left there be able to be a possibility and the Juventus is the best stage".

[Maverick7]

Official jerseys aint out yet but the training jerseys can be found at juvestore.com

http://www.juvestore.com/Default.asp?lingua=ENG&

[Maverick7]

Love what our director-general says, especially the portion in bold. :s42:

___________________________

Pepe, who is set to move to Real from Porto for 30 million euros, was also on Juve's wish-list as they rebuild the defence for their return to Serie A. But Blanc said Pepe and Real Zaragoza defender Gabriel Milito had become overpriced.

"It is not that Juve cannot pay the competitive prices of Real Madrid. We want to pay the prices that players are actually worth. The amount Real paid for Pepe was very high."

Juventus have brought in a raft of players for their bid to at least make a Champions League place next season. Italy striker Vincenzo Iaquinta was a key addition from Udinese and Blanc said the club needed to keep an Italian base.

"Juventus is a little bit of Italy," he said. "It has an Italian spine and forms part of the DNA of Italy. We don't want to go the route of Arsenal where they are all foreigners or Inter who have lots of foreigners."

Reuters

[Rappelz]

:s13:
take the chance shoot other clubs....

[dreamer75]

http://www.canaldeportivo.com/imagenes/look:19699,zoom:400x600,crop:400x600

Full name: Jorge Manuel Almeida Gomes de Andrade
Date of birth: April 9, 1978 (1978-04-09)
Place of birth: Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.84 m
Weight: 74 kg
Playing position: Centre-back
Number: 14
Fee: tba
Contract: tba

Jorge Andrade (pron. IPA: ['ʒɔɾʒ(ɨ) ɐ̃'dɾad(ɨ)]), full name Jorge Manuel Almeida Gomes de Andrade, OIH, (born 9 April 1978) is a football defender who plays for RC Deportivo La Coruña.

While not completely sidestepping an education in the Portuguese top-flight in the manner of a Costinha or Pauleta, Jorge Andrade is another current international who has built his reputation largely via his exploits abroad.

The Lisbon-born 29-year-old’s debut for his hometown club Estrela da Amadora was during their most successful season ever as they finished 7th in the first division. Andrade caught the eye immediately, and in 2000 was on the move, north to Porto.

Porto years

Andrade’s stock as a centre-back of strength, poise, pace and capable distribution rose significantly during his time with the Dragons. He made his debut for the national side in November 2001, and he was Porto’s most-used player in the 2001/02 Champions League, playing 12 times as the team reached the second group phase.

After a pit-stop in South Korea for Portugal’s unsuccessful 2002 World Cup campaign, Andrade was snapped up by then-big-spending Deportivo La Coruna in a move that cost the Galicians in excess of €12m.


Andrade has been courted by numerous clubs on different occasions, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, Valencia and Inter Milan. Andrade was part of the Portugal national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004 and has scored 3 goals in 46 caps as of February 2006.[1]

There have been increasing reports of major clubs like Barcelona and Valencia courting Andrade in this season - although as of the 31st May, English side Arsenal have reportedly jumped to the front of the queue with a deal described as 'imminent'. New Reports, linking Andrade to Turin side Juventus on 2nd July, after newly appointed Manager Claudio Ranieri showed interest in the defender.

[dreamer75]

#1

---------------------Buffon-------------------
Grygera----Andrade----Barzagli---Chiellini
---------------Zanetti----Tiago---------------
----------------------Diego--------------------
Camoranesi-------------------------Del Piero
-------------------Trezeguet-------------------

OR

#2

---------------------------Buffon-------------------------------
----Grygera-----Andrade------Barzagli----------Chiellini---
----------------------------Tiago--------------------------------
---Camoranesi-------Almiron/Diego---------Nedved--------
-------------Del Piero-------Trezeguet/Iaquinta--------------

[dreamer75]

http://www.gazzetta.it/Hermes%20Foto/2007/07/11/0JL11PEG--346x212.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/fe_images/fotogallery/070711-raduno/zoom/29.jpg

[dreamer75]

Where to buy that t-shirt huh?

[Rappelz]

juve signed diego..?

[Maverick7]

juve signed diego..?
Nope, Juve did not sign diego nor Barzagli. Hopefully, we can get another **. Cant imagine relying on Legro or Boumsong next season as Andrade's partner in central defense.

[dreamer75]

Juventus: All on Barzagli!

Juventus is still looking to sign one more central defender. The main objective remains Barzagli from Palermo, with Brazilian Luisao from Benfica the alternative. In attack, the only objective is Huntelaar from Ajax.

Corriere dello Sport

[dreamer75]

we are still on the lookout for a defender with Barzagli, Canavaro, Meira, Lusio, Samuel, Burdisso and possibly Zapata our targets

It also says we are in good relations with Udinese after the Iaquinta deal and that we are looking to offload Legrottaglie, Tacchinardi, Blasi and Olivera

[dreamer75]

LIVERPOOL LINKED WITH CHIELLINI
Posted 16/07/07 13:54


Liverpool are reportedly turning to Italian U-21 captain Giorgio Chiellini after failing to capture Gabriel Heinze.


Tuttosport claims that Liverpool have made a £5m bid for Juve's left-sided defender - who has been capped six times by the Italian senior squad.


Chiellini was recently named in the UEFA Team of the tournament for the European Under-21 championships but is thought to be available for around £7m.


Liverpool look set to miss out on Manchester United left-back Gabriel Heinze as the Old Trafford club are understandably reluctant to sell to their rivals.


The Argentine has made it clear that he wants to leave, with Real Madrid and Newcastle United reportedly two of his options.

[Maverick7]

LIVERPOOL LINKED WITH CHIELLINI
Posted 16/07/07 13:54


Liverpool are reportedly turning to Italian U-21 captain Giorgio Chiellini after failing to capture Gabriel Heinze.


Tuttosport claims that Liverpool have made a £5m bid for Juve's left-sided defender - who has been capped six times by the Italian senior squad.


Chiellini was recently named in the UEFA Team of the tournament for the European Under-21 championships but is thought to be available for around £7m.


Liverpool look set to miss out on Manchester United left-back Gabriel Heinze as the Old Trafford club are understandably reluctant to sell to their rivals.


The Argentine has made it clear that he wants to leave, with Real Madrid and Newcastle United reportedly two of his options.
This should be just a rumour really. Chiellini is very versatile and can play as both left back or centre back. No way are we going to let him go to Liverpool. :s27:

[dreamer75]

This should be just a rumour really. Chiellini is very versatile and can play as both left back or centre back. No way are we going to let him go to Liverpool. :s27:

yup yup, we are going to hold him tight tight :D

[dreamer75]

Chiellini wants to receive the same treatment reserved for the Juve star players.



Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini has sent out a clear message to the Juve leadership as he does not want to feel excluded. Even though Juve have significantly strengthened their squad, Chiellini still demands a starting place and has therefore declared that he wants to receive the same treatment normally reserved for the star players.



“Along with the key-players, several other players have made an effort last year in the Serie B and that is why every single player should receive equal treatment.”, the Italian Under 21 captain said. “With regard to some of them I think the situation has improved and I expect the same treatment.



“My contract will expire in 2011 and I don’t think extending it would be a problem. I only want to be considered an important player and I would like them to count on me”, he concluded.



GOAL

[dreamer75]

Fabio Cannavaro has admitted that he would be happy to consider the idea of returning to Juventus.

The defender left the Bianconeri for Real Madrid last summer following the club’s demotion to Serie B, but has been paired with a summer move after Coach Fabio Capello’s departure from the Merengues.

“Me at Juve? It wouldn’t be bad to return. I have often spoken with sporting director Alessio Secco, who is a friend of mine,” said Cannavaro in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“They were looking for a new defender, but there was never any firm negotiations with them or any other club,” explained last year’s European and World Player of the Year.

“I play for Real, the most important club in the world, and I still have two years on my contract. Whoever is interested in me has to speak with them.

“In any case, in Turin I had a great time and I won two Scudetti that no one will ever take away from me.”

The defender, who new Real Coach Bernd Schuster seems set on confirming, was also questioned on the Nazionale and the never ending issue regarding Francesco Totti.

“As to me, I am always available for Italy. The one thing I didn’t like in his behaviour was the fact that he kept everyone on standby. He should have immediately said yes or no,” concluded Cannavaro.

[dreamer75]

Czech full-back Zdenek Grygera has admitted that his move to Juventus is a dream come true.

The former Ajax stopper arrives in Turin on a Bosman having signed a five-year deal in February, after his January move failed because of the Dutch club’s demands.

“The people’s affection for the whole team is incredible,” Grygera, who was accompanied by Pavel Nedved, told Juventus Channel “Italian supporters are extremely warm and I’m very happy about this.

“I have always dreamt of playing for a big club like Juventus and in a country like Italy. I like everything about it – the people, the weather, the food. I will be fine here,” concluded Grygera.

The international’s signing could prove vital as the versatile player can be fielded anywhere in defence and also in midfield if needed.

[dreamer75]

Juventus

IN: Molinaro (D, Siena), Grygera (D, Ajax), Criscito (D, Genoa), Nocerino (M, Piacenza), Salihamidzic (M, Bayern Munich), Tacchinardi (M, Villarreal); Miccoli (A, Benfica), Iaquinta (A, Udinese), Gastaldello (D, Siena), Almiron (M, Empoli), Tiago (M, Lyon), Olivera (M, Sampdoria)

OUT: Balzaretti (D, Fiorentina), Kovac (D, Borussia Dortmund), Tudor (d, Hajduk Split); Bojinov (A, Fiorentina), Volpe (A, Livorno), Venitucci (M, Treviso), Paro (M, Genoa), Kapo (M, Birmingham), Gastaldello (D, Sampdoria), Mirante (G, Sampdoria), Volpato (A, Empoli), Giovinco (M, Empoli), Miccoli (A, Palermo), De Ceglie (M, Siena), Maniero (A, Ascoli)

[dreamer75]

Juventus director general Jean-Claude Blanc believes that the Bianconeri’s hunger to win will prove their secret weapon in the coming campaign.

While most critics agree that the Scudetto battle will be fought between Inter and Milan, Blanc insists that the Old Lady’s spell in the Cadetti has given them an added motivation.

“We are hungry for victory like a young Muhammad Ali,” he enthused at the presentation of next season's kit.

“I compare this Juve side to Ali so many years ago when he took on and beat George Foreman in Kinshasa. He wasn’t as strong but he won as he was so motivated by his public.

“Will to win and determination are the key factors in sport as long as the gap between the competitors isn’t too great, especially if you have champions like Gigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero.”

The Juventus players have received a warm reception in the Dolomite resort of Pinzolo where their pre-season preparations are in full swing and the fans are in confident mood.

“It doesn’t bother me when I hear talk about the Scudetto because it’s obvious that great champions want to win,” Blanc continued.

However, the Bianconeri official was less willing to talk about recent rumours linking Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro with a return to Turin.

“Real Madrid’s Coach Bernd Schuster has said that he wants him in his squad, so the subject is closed,” he concluded.

[dreamer75]

In the meantime the Bianconeri are trying to sell Giannichedda, Tacchinardi and Blasi in order to decrease the number of central midfielders present in the squad.

Jean-Claude Blanc, General Manager of Juventus, has officially removed Antonio Nocerino from the transfer market, after weeks of speculations that the strong young midfielder could be on his way to Napoli or Fiorentina.

"We were at 98%, now with Nocerino we are at 99%," declared Blanc, thus also leaving the door open for a final signing by the Old Lady.

With Nocerino's stay, Juventus will need to sell the excess player in the centre half, and these include Giannichedda (to Udinese or Genoa), Tacchinardi (to Atalanta) and Blasi (to Udinese or Napoli).

However, according to the latest transfer speculation, Udinese and Fiorentina are still expected to launch one final attack on Nocerino in order to convince the Bianconeri to a co-ownership deal.

GD

[dreamer75]

Pavel Nedved has confessed that he was contemplating accepting a lucrative move to Inter before ultimately deciding to follow his heart by remaining loyal to Juventus – much to the chagrin of his agent.

“A teammate said to me I that I wouldn’t have looked right with Inter’s jersey. And after I thought about it I couldn’t see myself in it, either,” said the Czech legend.

“With that said, I am happy to still be a Juventino. I didn’t want to just throw all the hard work that has been put in these years.”

The 34-year-old also verified reports that he was considering retiring rather than commit to what was deemed to be an unacceptably low offer from the club that he stuck with even when they were relegated to Serie B.

“At a certain point I pictured myself at home with my slippers, but the fact is that I love football too much to sit back and watch others play,” he confessed to Italian daily ‘Il Giornale.’

“It’s true that there were certain economic issues between myself and the club, but I did everything I could to remain at Juve despite receiving far more lucrative offers.

“My agent Mino Raiola was angry with me yet again, but at the end of the day it’s me who decides where to play.

“I invited director of sport Alessio Secco to my house for dinner and we resolved everything as friends.”

[maxmuzzer00]

where to get their limited edition white jersey they wear during friendlies?

[dreamer75]

Ranieri flies Juve flag in Newcastle

Sunday 29 July, 2007

Claudio Ranieri believes only fitness schedules and Shay Given’s Man of the Match performance stopped Juventus winning in Newcastle.

The Bianconeri are still a month away from their Serie A opener, but created plenty of chances in the 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park this afternoon.

“We had so many shots on goal, especially in the first half,” commented the former Chelsea and Parma boss.

“We were missing something in front of the net, but that was above all down to our early pre-season training and goalkeeper Given, who was Man of the Match.”

Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet and Marco Marchionni all tested Given in their first real friendly of the summer.

The game was decided by Jonathan Zebina’s defensive error to give away an Albert Luque penalty and an Andy Carroll tap-in after Gigi Buffon had parried Obafemi Martins’ strike.

“The team moved well, passed the ball around quickly, especially with some great one or two-touch football,” continued Ranieri.

“It’s a shame we conceded those two goals, as we could have done better in those situations. Now we look ahead to the next friendly with Hamburg. I will completely rotate the squad so everyone can gain match fitness.”

[dreamer75]

My review of the game:

Buffon - Class as usual, stopped 2 sure goals.
Zebina - Horrible, did nothing right
Andrade - Confident, strong but at times pushed up too much and allowed Newcastle to break the offside trap
Criscito - Solid, didn't really shine
Molinaro - Looked clumsy on the ball, didn't do much\
Almiron - Best player on the pitch, already looking like our best signing. Dictated tempo very well and intercepted many crucial balls
Tiago - Disappointing, very timid, was out-muscled by nearly everyone
Nedved - As usual the workhorse of the team, moved alot, tried alot of long range shots, none of em hit the target.
Marchioni - Moved around the pitch well, he was on both wings in the middle and also helped upfront.
Iaquinta - By far the worst of the lot, very selfish, couldn't control the ball, I'm worried he could be a disaster this season
Trez - Did nothing, not his fault, the ball just wouldn't get to him.

Overall - There was no chemistry, alot of frustrating long balls. The team worked hard and I don't believe it's a fitness issue cos we outran them all the time. There was a huge gap between the defense and midfield. We desperately need to play with a designated Defensive Midfielder, we suffered alot on the counter.
We're still far away from where we wanna be. The team that played today should be lucky to make it into the top 6.

[dreamer75]

This is my #1 fear of Claudio Ranieri. He is so desperate to please the fans that he sacrifices winning tactics for fun tactics. There is no reason Almiron and Tiago should play in the same central midfield unless we are down a goal late in a game. There is no reason that Zebina should be playing RB and Grygera starting at **. There is no reason Molinaro should be starting over Chiellini and Iaquinta is NOT and never will be a SS. Having Iaquinta and Trezeguet up front is a huge mistake. Iaquinta would have been better on the wing or as a lone striker. After seeing Tiago I am sure that Almiron and Nocerino should be the starting CM for the season. C'mon Ranieri... this was clearly not the fault of the players today. I think too many players are in the wrong positions.

[Maverick7]

Hey dreamer, how did you manage to catch the game between Juve and Newcastle? Don't think it was shown here in Singapore.

[dreamer75]

Hey dreamer, how did you manage to catch the game between Juve and Newcastle? Don't think it was shown here in Singapore.

live streaming on the net :o

[Maverick7]

live streaming on the net :o
Ah... I see. Through torrent feeds is it? I am a computer noob and could not quite figure out how to utilise torrent feeds to view matches. Or is there a link that you watch the matches from? Is there a live feed for the Hamburg game?

[maxmuzzer00]

anyone here got their new jerseys?

[dreamer75]

Ah... I see. Through torrent feeds is it? I am a computer noob and could not quite figure out how to utilise torrent feeds to view matches. Or is there a link that you watch the matches from? Is there a live feed for the Hamburg game?

gotta do it thr an appz...pm me if interested...

[dreamer75]

anyone here got their new jerseys?

i din...Maverick7?

[dreamer75]

Juve's Hamburg hiccup

Wednesday 1 August, 2007

Juventus fell to another pre-season defeat 1-0 in Hamburg, but Alessandro Del Piero is raring to go after his injury.

The Bianconeri’s continental tour started with a 2-0 loss at Newcastle United on Sunday and continued in Germany with a completely changed line-up.

The ‘Juventus 2’ as they have been called struggled to perform against a Hamburg outfit that is ready to begin the Bundesliga in a matter of days.

Goalkeeper Emanuele Belardi was forced into three tricky early saves to deny Rafael van der Vaart and Zidan.

However, Del Piero made his first start since returning from a muscular injury and was inspirational.

The captain was denied a penalty for Reinhart’s foul and also curled a free kick just over the bar.

Summer signings Antonio Nocerino and Domenico Criscito had good opportunities for the Italians, but Hamburg finally snatched victory five minutes from time.

Belardi was caught out by a Coupo Moting counter-attack to seal this latest setback.

Considering the German club are ready to begin their domestic campaign and this was a below-strength Juventus side, Coach Claudio Ranieri can be relatively content with the performance.

Hamburg 1-0 Juventus
Scorers: Choupo-Moting 85 (H)
Hamburg: Rost (Hesl 46); Brecko, Reinhardt, Mathijsen (Kompany 46), Benjamin (Atouba 46); Demel (Addo 46), de Jong (Jarolin 46); Castelen (Saka 67), van der Vaart (Sam 46), Trochowski (Olic 46); Zidan (Choupo-Moting 46)
Juventus: Belardi; Birindelli, Boumsong, Legrottaglie, Criscito; Blasi, Nocerino, Zanetti (Almiron 77), Salhmizdic; Palladino (Iaquinta 87), Del Piero (Nedved 87)

CH 4

Doesnt sound that bad really...

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/fe_images/fotogallery/070801-ambjuv/zoom/06.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/fe_images/fotogallery/070801-ambjuv/zoom/03.jpg

[dreamer75]

http://www.juventus.com/fe_images/fotogallery/070801-ambjuv/zoom/06.jpg

can we just sell BOOSONG!!! :s22:

[dreamer75]

http://aycu15.webshots.com/image/24134/2003392833876126053_fs.jpg

http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/23229/2003367164971618230_fs.jpg

http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/23669/2003398184915641598_fs.jpg


LegaCalcio2007

[dreamer75]

....................

by JuveGER

I went to the game last night. Some thoughts:

We certainly didn't win any new fans in Hamburg yesterday. We all knew that Ranieri would play a completely different team. German newspapers, though, had reported that Juve would earn 120.000 Euro for this game and agreed to play their very best team. Therefore lots of people were disappointed not see famous players like Buffon, Camoranesi, Trezeguet or Nedved (only a couple of minutes). Many people probably only knew Del Piero and Brazzo (he not only played many years in Bundesliga for Bayern, but started his professional career in Hamburg). So the "big match feeling" was not really there.

Our game style didn't help either. Playing with three defensive midfielders and Brazzo (strangely he played on the left) who is more a hard worker than a creative genius didn't make for beautiful football. As we were totally dominated in the first 20 minutes we were fouling, hacking them down and complaining a lot. We received 2 yellow cards (Brazzo and Criscito) and lots of boos in the opening 15 minutes (and rightly so). Brazzo would have been sent off after 30 minutes in a real match.

Our midfield was literally impotent and didn't create any chance. Lots of bad passes and long balls. We were only half dangerous on the counter attack when Del Piero had the ball or with set pieces for Boumsong. Del Piero looked out of shape and was very slow. His vision, his ability to use his body and his touch for the ball were outstanding though. There was a scene where Del Piero received a long ball and was easily overtaken by two Hamburg defenders. One old drunken ******* in front of me yelled "He is an old man, he can't do it anymore". Then DP somehow sneaked through these defenders for a good shot opportunity. "Oh my god, the old man can still do it!". I laughed hard. He really doesn't look good when running, but he still can do alot with the ball and was very dangerous. He missed two great freekick chances though in his prefered zone. One was decent but saved by the keeper, the other one was really bad and I could have saved that with my hands on my back.

I was surprised by Boumsong. After DP he was the most dangerous player of our team (not in an ironic way!). Every half decent corner that reached him was dangerous. He had one mistake where the ball slipped under his feet, but fortunately no Hamburg striker was nearby. The rest of the game he was very solid. Unbeatable with headers, with the right form of determination and aggression. With the one exception mentioned above he didn't look shaky at all. I hope he continues that way. I have a soft spot for him.

Hamburg absolutely dominated the first 30 minutes and could have easily scored. Later we were able to compete more, but Hamburg still with better chances. They changed almost the whole team at half time and we were slightly better than them at the beginning of the second half. They created some good scoring opportunities though and absolutely deserved to win. Overall considering the formation and the fact that they were clearly fitter than us we weren't that bad.

Some thoughts to each player:

Belardi: Some great saves, shaky at corners and crosses though - 6,5
Criscito: Solid in defense, some bad passes going forward - 5,5
Boumsong: Solid at the back, dangerous upfront - 6,5
Legro: Nothing bad, nothing good - 5
Birindelli: Same as Legro - 5
Nocerino: a beast. He has to calm down and didn't do much upfront though 5,5
Zanetti: I expected more of him. Did his job at defending, didn't do anything for our attacks - 5,5
Brazzo: Useless, overmotivated, lots of fouls, nothing upfront. He needs someone who opens up spaces for him - 5
Blasi: Invisble in the first half. Some nice runs in the second half - 5,5
Palladino: He ran a lot and was trying, but didn't receive any half descent assists. 5,5
Del Piero: See text above - 6,5

Almiron: We were missing a player like him. He had not much time to show something though - 5,5

Nedved/Iaquinta only played a couple of minutes.


Jeez, my text sounds negative, but overall it was a nice experience. I was really nervous. although it was just a friendly. I'm really looking forward to a competetive match and I hope to meet more Juventus fans there.

Anyone not fallen asleep till here?

Thanks for reading!


Btw. Looooooooooooooooooots of hoooooooooot chicks. I have to go to stadiums more often. Could have picked up one that was smiling at me. Lost her in the masses though.

[dreamer75]

We will have a friendly against Sunderland later...

I would like to c see this:

-------------------Buffon
Grygera---Andrade-----Criscito---Chiellini
-------------Tiago---Almiron
Salihamidzic-------------------Nedved
-----------Trezeguet--Del Piero

[dreamer75]

http://www.tuttoazzurro.it/img/3504_birramoretti.jpg

Venue: San Paolo, Naples
Time: 2030(Italian Time)
Date: 8 August 2007

Schedule:
Match A: Napoli vs Juventus (2030)
Match B: Internazionale vs Loser Of Match A (2130)
Match C: Internazionele vs Winner Of Match A (2230)

[dreamer75]

http://images.alice.it/sg/sportuni/upload/ap0/0000/ap070512013031_v0.jpg

[Maverick7]

Anyone online now and interested in hearing the live commentary can access the link below.

http://mfile.akamai.com/6095/live/re...asx?bkup=35550 (http://mfile.akamai.com/6095/live/reflector:35549.asx?bkup=35550)

Hey dreamer, I see you also access the juventuz forum as well, if I am not wrong. :)

[Maverick7]

i din...Maverick7?
Did not get their new jersey as well. I don't collect every season's jersey. I guess if anyon is interested to know if the new jersey is here in Singapore, Queensway's the place.

[dreamer75]

Anyone online now and interested in hearing the live commentary can access the link below.

http://mfile.akamai.com/6095/live/re...asx?bkup=35550 (http://mfile.akamai.com/6095/live/reflector:35549.asx?bkup=35550)

Hey dreamer, I see you also access the juventuz forum as well, if I am not wrong. :)

yup i do :)

[dreamer75]

Friendlies: Juve see the Light Saturday 4 August, 2007

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

Juventus again wasted a number of chances as they snatched a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

This match was organised to celebrate 10 years of the Stadium of Light and within the opening eight minutes the Black Cats had broken through.


Gianluigi Buffon performed a splendid save to tip McShane’s header over, but could do nothing on Murphy’s tap-in from the resulting corner kick.


Claudio Ranieri tested the 4-4-2 system once again, even if the forwards weren’t as sharp as they’d like to be.


Hasan Salihamidzic drilled wide when teammate Tiago Mendes was unmarked in a better position, while Fulop saved Pavel Nedved’s free kick.


Tiago had another good chance and the Sunderland goalkeeper was extremely fortunate on 22 minutes to turn David Trezeguet’s strike on to the bar.


Vincenzo Iaquinta completed the trio upfront and really should have equalised before the break, but the £7.6m Udinese signing missed a sitter.


Darren Ward came on for the second half, but Sunderland remained under constant pressure as the substitute tipped Alessandro Del Piero’s free kick round the post.


Iaquinta took advantage of a Wallace error, but again could not find the back of the net in a great scoring opportunity.


Trezeguet again caused problems for the Sunderland defence and Del Piero wasted a couple of late chances to level the score.


The Bianconeri finally netted their first goal of this pre-season tour two minutes from time, as former Siena man Cristian Molinaro smashed a fierce shot under the crossbar.


Sunderland nearly got the win anyway in stoppages when Anthony Stokes’ left-foot attempt hit the upright.



Sunderland 1-1 Juventus
Scorers: Murphy 8 (S), Molinaro 88 (J)
Sunderland: Fulop (Ward 46); Halford (Kay 85), Nosworthy, McShane (Anderson 75), Wallace (Collins 69); Miller, Whitehead (Yorke 60), Etuhu (Stokes 60), Richardson; Murphy (John 69), Chopra (Connolly 60)
Juventus: Buffon (Belardi 46); Zebina (Birindelli 46), Andrade, Grygera (Molinaro 46), Chiellini (Criscito 72); Salihamidzic (Del Piero 46), Almiron (Zanetti 69), Tiago (Nocerino 60), Nedved; Trezeguet, Iaquinta
Ref: Riley


Channel 4

[dreamer75]

Iaquinta doesnt look promising!

[Rappelz]

trash roma sia.... :D

[dreamer75]

trash roma sia.... :D

wanted to watch...but too tired....but FORZA JUVE!!!! :D

[dreamer75]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/imgs/nedvednews02.jpg

Juventus fought back from 2-0 down to beat Roma 5-2 in a thrilling and fiery friendly with David Trezeguet’s brace.

This was an eagerly-anticipated pre-season clash between the two rivals and potential Scudetto contenders and was played on ‘neutral’ turf in Cesena.

Ludovic Giuly was halted for a very tight offside position from Francesco Totti’s slide-rule pass and moments later another defensive error allowed Roma to take the lead.

Claudio Ranieri’s side has shown many defensive problems this summer and as soon as Sergio Almiron lost the ball in midfield, Mirko Vucinic rushed forward to stroke a right-foot finish past Gianluigi Buffon.

Soon after Vincenzo Iaquinta dispossessed Christian Panucci, but Pavel Nedved slipped with the goal gaping. Iaquinta went for glory himself, but Alexander Doni came rushing out to clear, prompting an argument between the former Udinese striker and David Trezeguet.

Yet Roma doubled their lead with another soft goal. The entire Juventus defence was caught ball-watching as a long Totti free kick was floated into the box for the totally unmarked Philippe Mexes’ looping header.

Alessandro Birindelli went off with a knee problem, prompting a tactical reshuffle, and Roma nearly bagged a third with a spectacular Totti backheel, but instead Nedved powered forward for Trezeguet’s angled drive into the far corner.

The game was turned around completely six minutes later, again with the French hitman, this time set up by Under-21 international Antonio Nocerino’s inspired disguised slide-rule pass with the outside of his right foot.

The forced tactical change of Cristiano Zanetti in midfield, Hasan Salihamidzic at right-back and Nocerino on the right wing seemed to give Juve greater stability and creativity.

Nedved was furious when his penalty shout was turned away for a clash with Mexes and several minutes later the two players came together in a scuffle. The Czech clattered into the Frenchman and accidentally stood on his hand as they fell, so Mexes got back up to make his point heard in a head-to-head situation.

Alberto Aquilani drilled inches wide after the break and Alessandro Del Piero replaced brace hero Trezeguet.

Roma seemed to run out of steam and Juve piled on the pressure, taking the lead when Christian Molinaro’s shot was charged down, so Del Piero rolled across for Iaquinta to sidefoot in from eight yards.

Tempers frayed between Mexes and Nedved for a third time after the defender brought down Del Piero and the pair continued to bicker all over the pitch.

Nedved had a fierce strike parried by Gianluca Curci, but Juventus went 4-2 up as Almiron chipped up a cross on the counter for Del Piero’s header.

There was a pitch invasion from a lone Roma fan who just wanted to hug his hero Francesco Totti and was peacefully led away by police. He also paused to embrace Italy’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Buffon.

Marcelo Zalayeta used his strength to shake off Mexes and was eventually closed down for a corner, while Buffon performed a splendid save on Totti’s equally stunning free kick.

Roma's capitulation was complete in stoppages, as Del Piero's free kick was charged down and Zalayeta fired in the loose ball.

Juventus 5-2 Roma
Scorers: Vucinic 11 (R), Mexes 25 (R), Trezeguet 29, 35 (J), Iaquinta 65 (J), Del Piero 77 (J), Zalayeta 91 (J)
Juventus: Buffon; Birindelli (Zanetti 26), Andrade, Criscito, Molinaro; Salihamidzic, Almiron, Nocerino, Nedved; Iaquinta (Zalayeta 72), Trezeguet (Del Piero 60)
Roma: Doni (Curci 63); Cassetti, Panucci, Mexes, Tonetto (Rosi 79); Aquilani, Brighi (Nonda 75); Taddei (Esposito 46), Giuly (Alvarez 63), Vucinic (Barusso 46); Totti
Ref: Rocchi

[dreamer75]

Juventus 5 Roma 2 HIGHLIGHTS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-VMIO2eQ50)

[dreamer75]

Juventus
July 18: Mezzocorona 0-5 Juventus
July 22: China Olympic side 0-4 Juventus
July 29: Newcastle United 2-0 Juventus
August 1: Hamburg 1-0 Juventus
August 4: Sunderland 1-1 Juventus
August 8: Napoli 0-1 Juventus, Juventus 0-1 Inter [Trofeo Birra Moretti]
August 11: Juventus 5-2 Roma
August 14: Juventus, Milan and Inter [Trofeo TIM]
August 17: Milan-Juventus [Trofeo Berlusconi]
August 22: Juventus A-Juventus B

[dreamer75]

Ranieri's five-star Juve show Sunday 12 August, 2007

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

Claudio Ranieri was clearly satisfied with Juventus’ comeback to crush Roma 5-2 in last night’s exciting friendly.

“I am impressed with the performance and the character of the squad after going 2-0 down to fight back for such a great win,” said the Bianconeri boss.

“We know these are summer games that count to a certain degree. I am not euphoric after this result, just as I was not depressed after we lost in England.”

The opening 25 minutes did not bode well for Juve, as Roma were in total control and a series of defensive errors risked conceding even more.

However, it was a forced change that made the difference, as Alessandro Birindelli went off with a knee injury.

Ranieri moved Hasan Salihamidzic to right-back and sent Antonio Nocerino out to the right flank with Cristiano Zanetti partnering Sergio Almiron in central midfield.

This proved to be a crucial development and from then on the team was more balanced and creative, with Nocerino possibly Man of the Match.

“That is football,” smiled Ranieri when asked about this tactical switch. “You have to make do with what you have and sometimes that can show you new solutions.”

With his current form and the poor performances of new signing Tiago Mendes so far this summer, it is increasingly likely the Under-21 international will take his spot.

[dreamer75]

i hope Alessandro Birindelli will be injured for a longer time :o

[dreamer75]

http://www.tim.it/showimg/22910.jpg

Date: 14 August 2007
Venue: Stadio Meazza di Milano

LIVE at Canale 5 at 20.30(Italian Time)

JUVENTUS
AC MILAN
INTERNAZIONALE

[dreamer75]

Criscito was superb today. I think Molinaro is very good at LB as well. Where is Chiellini going to play? He is better than Molinaro at LB and better than Criscito at **. He has to play somewhere.

[dreamer75]

Juventus
IN: Molinaro (D, Siena), Grygera (D, Ajax), Criscito (D, Genoa), Nocerino (M, Piacenza), Salihamidzic (M, Bayern Munich), Tacchinardi (M, Villarreal); Miccoli (A, Benfica), Iaquinta (A, Udinese), Gastaldello (D, Siena), Almiron (M, Empoli), Tiago (M, Lyon), Olivera (M, Sampdoria), Andrade (D, Deportivo La Coruna)
OUT: Balzaretti (D, Fiorentina), Kovac (D, Borussia Dortmund), Tudor (d, Hajduk Split); Bojinov (A, Fiorentina), Volpe (A, Livorno), Venitucci (M, Treviso), Paro (M, Genoa), Kapo (M, Birmingham), Gastaldello (D, Sampdoria), Mirante (G, Sampdoria), Volpato (A, Empoli), Giovinco (M, Empoli), Miccoli (A, Palermo), De Ceglie (M, Siena), Maniero (A, Ascoli), Tacchinardi (M, Brescia), Giannichedda (M, contract terminated), Marchisio (M, Empoli), Piccolo (D, Empoli), Bettega (M, Siena)

[Maverick7]

Yeah, saw the highlights on youtube. Quite optimistic for the coming season. The next test - Trofeo TIM against the two Milans! That should be a sterner test! Let's see what squad Mr Tinkerman puts out this time around.

[Maverick7]

Criscito was superb today. I think Molinaro is very good at LB as well. Where is Chiellini going to play? He is better than Molinaro at LB and better than Criscito at **. He has to play somewhere.
Dreamer, if you want to say centre back, afraid you will need to spell it out in the future and not use the short form. :s13:

The auto-censorship here is quite laughable. Can't believe it.

[dreamer75]

Dreamer, if you want to say centre back, afraid you will need to spell it out in the future and not use the short form. :s13:

The auto-censorship here is quite laughable. Can't believe it.

ya lor..... :s13:

[dreamer75]

Shu shu...we dont need you

Jean-Alain Boumsong has stated that he is set to extend his time with Juventus. “I am 99 per cent sure that I will stay here.”

The Frenchman has been paired with a summer move as he is not considered part of new Coach Claudio Ranieri’s plans, but has refused all proposals to leave Turin so far.

“I am 99 per cent sure that I will stay here,” said Boumsong in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe following a reported loan offer from Ligue 1 champions Lyon.

“I am not afraid of competing for a spot in the starting line-up,” added the former Newcastle United player.

The France international is also a target for Besiktas, Bordeaux and Valencia, but denies that he has had any firm proposals to change club.

“I have not received any offer from Lyon or anyone else. However, if I were to be contacted by a club as important as Juventus I would be ready to consider a transfer,” he finished.

Boumsong arrived in Italy in 2006 to sign for relegated Juve and has had a difficult relationship with the fans because of a shaky start to his career in the peninsula.

“One never stops learning. I need to do better physically and perhaps in terms of concentration,” he admitted to the Press at the Old Lady’s training complex.

I have to find the right tactical unity with my new teammates, but that is true of everyone at the moment,” said Boumsong.

[dreamer75]

Claudio Ranieri acknowledges Juventus are “a work in progress” only a week away from the start of the Serie A season.

His team disappointed in a 2-0 defeat to Milan for the Trofeo Berlusconi last night, Pippo Inzaghi netting both goals.

“We did very well in the first half-hour, then Inzaghi’s goal cut us down,” explained the Coach.

“That is fine, though. The team battled until the end, but we are under construction. This side is a work in progress and my initial impressions are good.”

However, once again there were evident problems in defence, where Jorge Andrade and Domenico Criscito left Inzaghi unmarked for the first goal.

“There are certainly some things that need to be worked on in central defence, but we were tested here by the performance of some exceptional players who constantly tried to find any tiny space to attack,” conceded the former Chelsea boss.

“I had told my defence that Inzaghi is very dangerous, but our match fitness is improving, and that is the most important thing.”

Between the Trofeo TIM, Trofeo Birra Moretti and Trofeo Berlusconi, Juventus have struggled to match up to the San Siro sides, but Ranieri’s confidence is certainly not slipping.

“Our objective is to finish in the top four. We want a place in the Champions League. At the moment the squad is fine as it is and I have not requested any new signings.”

[dreamer75]

No More Signings, This Will Work, Insists Ranieri Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri insisted after the defeat to Milan that there will be no more signings, and that things will look much better once the work that is in progress is completed.

No More Signings, This Will Work, Insists Ranieri

href="http://goal.adbureau.net/accipiter/adclick/CID=000001a1324d324e00000000/acc_random=14952605/SITE=EN.GOAL/AREA=2L/LANG=EN/AAMSZ=300x250/pageid=85268106"><img src="http://goal-images.adbureau.net/goal/300x250_multi_en.jpg" alt="Alternate Ad Image Text Goes Here!" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a>

Goals from 'Pippo' Inzaghi either side of the break handed Juventus a 2-0 defeat yesterday, but Ranieri was not overly concerned.

"We did very well in the first half-hour, then Inzaghi’s goal cut us down," he said. "That is fine, though. The team battled until the end, but we are under construction.

"This side is a work in progress and my initial impressions are good.

"There are certainly some things that need to be worked on in central defence, but we were tested here by the performance of some exceptional players who constantly tried to find any tiny space to attack.

"I had told my defence that Inzaghi is very dangerous, but our match fitness is improving, and that is the most important thing.

"Our objective is to finish in the top four. We want a place in the Champions League. At the moment the squad is fine as it is and I have not requested any new signings."

[dreamer75]

i disagree with Claudio Ranieri ...we need more players.

[Maverick7]

i disagree with Claudio Ranieri ...we need more players.
Well, if we want to try to win the scudetto, we will definitely need more players, especially in central defence. However, it seems that the coach and the board are more than content with a top 4 finish, and they feel that this current crop of players is good enough to achieve top 4. We shall see.

The bright side is that if no additional players are bought, we should be able to see a crop of young italians coming thru the ranks like Criscito, Nocerino and Palladino. I would be glad to see them competing for a place in the 1st team. :)

[dreamer75]

Juventus – Livorno

The Old Lady is back in Serie A and all eyes will be on her this weekend. Will the Bianconeri be able to challenge for the top honours? Or will this be just a transitory season preparing them for the next years? Not everything will be resolved in this first matchday, therefore whatever the result, it will not be an indication of things to come.

Livorno will not want to feel like the sacrificed lamb and will arrive in Turin knowing that they have nothing to lose against a team which has disappointing during the pre-season. In fact Juventus only won 2 matches against teams of the same level, whereas it lost 5 without even scoring a goal against Milan or Inter.

For the Bianconeri this will be a difficult match, with the possibility of not winning all three points especially if the squad does not improve from its past outings.

At most we see a low-margin win for Juventus.

Prediction: Juventus 1 – 0 Livorno

[champ0607]

juventus is back

:s12:

[victorian07]

wootz! 5-1 to Juventus!

flying start off the blocks. Trezeguet hat-trick plus a brace from Iaquinta..
Hope this will spur the Biaconieri to greater success this season. Champions League qualification at the very least!

[dreamer75]

wootz! 5-1 to Juventus!

flying start off the blocks. Trezeguet hat-trick plus a brace from Iaquinta..
Hope this will spur the Biaconieri to greater success this season. Champions League qualification at the very least!

Iaquinta doesnt look promising pre-season...now he show me true colours...but i like!!!

FORZA JUVE!!! :D

[dreamer75]

Juventus 5 - 1 Livorno
Trezeguet 29, 86, 92 (J), Iaquinta pen 71, 85 (J), Loviso 94 (L)

Stadio Olimpico


David Trezeguet had a hat-trick and Vincenzo Iaquinta a brace as Juventus demolished Livorno 5-1 on their top flight comeback.

The Old Lady returned to Serie A with a new face after their Calciopoli-imposed exile. For their debut they were without the injured Alessandro Birindelli, Marco Marchionni and Zdenek Grygera, so Domenico Criscito fought fitness concerns to start. After some poor pre-season performances, Tiago Mendes was dropped in favour of Under-21 international Antonio Nocerino.

This was also a debut of sorts for Livorno, who faced their first season without Cristiano Lucarelli. Vikash Dhorasoo and former Juve midfielder Giuliano Giannichedda were injured.

David Trezeguet had a good early chance charged down and Jorge Andrade just failed to get the final touch from close range in another opportunity.

The first real chance came on 25 minutes, as Giorgio Chiellini went on a solo run and Trezeguet turned his marker inside the area, but Marco Amelia turned the shot over the bar with an outstretched foot.

Moments later Amelia parried another snapshot from Chiellini and Alessandro Del Piero had a penalty shout, but instead the referee awarded the free kick to Fabio Galante.

Juventus finally broke through on 29 minutes, as a corner kick was manoeuvered for Del Piero's swinging cross from the left and Trezeguet was allowed a free header from six yards.

Criscito closed down a dangerous Emanuele Filippini move inside the area, but Juve were dominating and Cristiano Zanetti smashed a fine strike just over the bar.

Amelia flew to palm a Del Piero free kick out of the near top corner, but after the break Sergio Almiron failed to make the most of two promising opportunities.

Livorno removed the disappointing Francesco Tavano and gave Spaniard Diego Tristan his Serie A debut. Emanuele Filippini also made way for Volpe and Vincenzo Iaquinta took over from Del Piero.

Galante had a penalty appeal for a shirt-tug from Andrade and the former Inter defender also nodded a corner kick over.

Juve ran a major risk on 69 minutes, as Grandoni's cross from the right found Fausto Rossini totally unmarked from seven yards, but his free header was off target.

They were made to pay for that error, as moments later Juventus were awarded a penalty. Pavel Nedved chipped a cross back for Iaquinta, who was hauled back by Grandoni. With Del Piero off the field, Iaquinta took the spot-kick himself and just squeezed the ball under Amelia's hand. The goalkeeper got a touch, but not enough to keep it out. It was Iaquinta's first official goal in a Juventus jersey.

Amaranto substitute Diamanti had an effort deflected out for a corner, while at the other end Trezeguet swung wildly at a Nedved cross on the penalty spot.

Juve made it 3-0 in curious circumstances. Nedved found space on the edge of the area and unleashed a right-foot shot that took a decisive deflection off teammate Iaquinta. The former Udinese striker knew little about it, but took the credit anyway.

Livorno fell to pieces and 60 seconds later Iaquinta threaded through for Trezeguet to stroke the ball past Amelia with the inside of his left foot.

In stoppages Trez completed his hat-trick tapping in at the end of a fine individual move by Nocerino.

Livorno got a consolation goal with the last kick of the game. Former Bologna midfielder Massimo Loviso smacked a long-range right-foot drive in at the near post.


Juventus: Buffon; Salihamidzic (Zebina 73), Andrade, Criscito, Chiellini; Nocerino, Zanetti, Almiron (Tiago 79), Nedved; Del Piero (Iaquinta 60), Trezeguet

Livorno: Amelia; Grandoni, Knezevic, Galante, Pasquale; A Filippini, Loviso, Pulzetti, E Filippini (Volpe 56); Rossini (Diamanti 73), Tavano (Tristan 53)

Ref: Gava

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0708/juv-liv.html

[dreamer75]

His Juventus shot back into Serie A with a 5-1 win, but Claudio Ranieri was still not entirely happy with the performance.

“The team continued to believe in itself and played its usual style. It wasn’t easy because Livorno are strong defensively and then try to hit you on the break, but we stayed calm and waited for the right moment to pounce,” said the Coach.

“We made a few too many mistakes, though. There were a few uncertainties in defence. We were condemned in the pre-season friendlies because we were unable to take our chances, but that wasn’t an issue this time.”

David Trezeguet netted a hat-trick and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta – who replaced Alessandro Del Piero – bagged a brace.

“It is always wonderful for a tactician to deal with so many quality forwards. I took Del Piero off because he had international duty midweek and I wanted to keep him fresh,” explained the former Chelsea and Parma boss.

Trezeguet had announced his departure the last time he played an official match at the Stadio Olimpico, accusing the club of making an “insulting” contract offer.

“When he made that gesture at the end of the game last year I was surprised, as I had already been appointed and had a very different idea of him from our meeting in the locker room. Perhaps he thought he wasn’t part of my plans. That was not the case and you can see that now.”

Livorno grabbed a late consolation goal with Massimo Loviso, but Coach Fernando Orsi did not disguise his anger on the sidelines at the 5-1 scoreline.

“It was an acceptable performance up until the 80th minute, then I got furious because we destroyed a match in which we had kept on an even keel with Juve,” he slammed.

“With those distractions we ruined everything. We could have avoided three of those goals instead of leaving the field like this.”

When asked if he missed Cristiano Lucarelli after the move to Shakhtar Donetsk or was looking at any more reinforcements, Orsi got even more upset.

“Lucarelli is not here, so there’s no point talking about him. I am happy with my players, but tonight I would have gladly head butted them all after the fifth goal. It was totally inadmissible.”

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/aug25p.html

[dreamer75]

Juventus hat-trick hero David Trezeguet was delighted with the opening-day rout of Livorno and claims the Scudetto is a target.

The Old Lady’s return to Serie A was a triumphant one as the Cadetti champions pulverised their Tuscan opponents 5-1.

While the general consensus is that the Bianconeri should be aiming for Champions League football rather than the title this term, the emphatic win sent a clear message to their rivals.

“We are back and we are a force,” Trezeguet grinned. “Bigger sides will give us more important tests, but we will try for the Scudetto and confidence is worth so much.

“This Juve is the new Juve and its a mixture of experienced champions and youth who will become champions like Domenico Criscito and Antonio Nocerino.”

Captain Alessandro Del Piero, who is struggling with an injury niggle, also took obvious pleasure from the performance.

“The championship couldn’t have started better,” he insisted. “It was a great win and a convincing one. Perhaps the scoreline flattered us, but we wanted it so much.”

Juve’s next challenge is Wednesday evening’s Coppa Italia encounter against Parma.

[Maverick7]

Iaquinta doesnt look promising pre-season...now he show me true colours...but i like!!!

FORZA JUVE!!! :D
Don't think he knew much about the 2nd goal since it was a deflection off him. The 1st goal was a penalty and so it was quite easy. Nonetheless, Iaquinta is a good option off the bench to provide the tireless running.

[dreamer75]

Cagliari 2 - 3 Juventus
Trezeguet 54 (J), Foggia pens 57, 81 (C), Del Piero 77 (J), Chiellini 90 (J)
Stadio Sant'Elia - Live on Five!

Juventus survived two and a half penalties, a red card and endless Gigi Buffon saves to win 3-2 at Cagliari in an epic battle.

Claudio Ranieri returned to face the club where his career began in Serie C1 back in 1988-89, taking them to two consecutive promotions. His Juventus side had a sparkling start to the campaign, thumping Livorno 5-1, but brace scorer Vincenzo Iaquinta was out following a stomach bug. Marco Marchionni, Alessandro Birindelli and Zdenek Grygera also sat out this trip.

Cagliari had a dream opening too, winning 2-0 away to Napoli, and were at last able to field Argentine Joaquin Larrivey after his international transfer came through.

Daniele Conti's free kick skimmed the near post and the home side had the better of the early play, but they horribly wasted two free kicks from promising positions with tactics so complex even the players didn't seem to know what they were meant to be doing.

Larrivey got in front of Domenico Criscito and thumped an angled drive across the face of goal, then Alessandro Matri nodded Foggia's cross over with a free header, as the problems in central defence continued for the Bianconeri.

Cagliari finally decided to take a normal free kick and Conti's effort was deflected inches wide off David Trezeguet's back.

Matri turned another header over, but it was Juventus who should have been ahead on the stroke of half-time. Alessandro Del Piero pounced on Parola's error, flicked the ball over goalkeeper Marco Fortin and incredibly fired over a totally open goal!

Nicola Legrottaglie replaced the disappointing Criscito, but Cagliari had another great chance straight after the restart when Larrivey's first touch let him down on another precise Foggia cross-field pass.

Hasan Salihamidzic pulled up with a suspected thigh strain, making way for Mauro Camoranesi, who is not 100 per cent fit.

Nonetheless, Juve took the lead against the run of play with that man Trezeguet. Camoranesi's deflected header looped into the path of Trezeguet, who volleyed in from six yards for his 99th Serie A career goal.

Cagliari were furious and hit right back with Gigi Buffon forced to parry a close-range strike. As the move continued, Legrottaglie held back Matri and the referee pointed to the spot. Foggia stepped up and, although Buffon got a hand to it, the ball ricocheted in off the inside of the upright.

There was chaos on 69 minutes when a penalty was awarded and then not assigned. Giorgio Chiellini tackled Conti in the box and the referee pointed to the spot, absolutely infuriating the Under-21 international. He was so incensed that Buffon had to hold him back with a hand over his mouth to prevent a red-card offence. The protests proved entirely justified, though, as the linesman reversed the decision by correctly pointing out Chiellini cleanly got the ball.

Buffon performed an astonishing save one minute later when a corner was not cleared effectively and Paolo Bianco was totally unmarked from four yards, but the goalkeeper still reacted to parry from point-blank range right on the line.

Then Foggia again poured forward and a low shot was charged down for a corner.

Once again, though, Juve took the lead when they were under the most pressure. Sergio Almiron's pass over the top of the defence was volleyed from a tight angle by Camoranesi over the 'keeper and Del Piero got the final touch practically on the line.

Buffon blocked a Larrivey glancing header, but the drama still wasn't over as Jonathan Zebina hauled down Larrivey and this time Foggia sent Buffon the wrong way with his second penalty. It was the first time two penalties were awarded against Juventus in Serie A since the Turin derby in 2000!

To make matters worse, Zebina picked up a second booking for dissent and left Juve with 10 men. He faces a ban, as he also got into an argument with a member of the pitchside camera crew and tried to slap him.

Cagliari also had a man sent off, as Del Grosso hauled back Camoranesi on the counter.

In the final minute of an exceptional match, Camoranesi's free kick sailed out to the back post for Chiellini's bullet header!

Cagliari: Fortin; Pisano (Ferri 75), Lopez, Bianco, Del Grosso; Foggia, Conti, Parola, Fini (D'Agostino 80); Larrivey, Matri (Acquafresca 66)

Juventus: Buffon; Zebina, Andrade, Criscito (Legrottaglie 46), Chiellini; Salihamidzic (Camoranesi 49), Zanetti, Almiron (Nocerino 88), Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet

Ref: Tagliavento

Sent off: Zebina 82 (J), Del Grosso 84 (C)


http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0708/cag-juv.html

[dreamer75]

Azzurri star Alessandro Del Piero believes that France have shot themselves in the foot by stirring recent controversy.

Les Bleus boss Raymond Domenech will serve a suspension from the bench afer making allegations against Italian football, claiming that an Under-21 international between the nations in 1999 was decided by a biased referee.

The outcry had barely subsided when midfielder Lassana Diarra fanned the flames by labelling Italy a nation of ‘provokers and cheats.’

Members of the Azzurri camp have remained tight-lipped throughout the last few weeks and Del Piero reckons they can channel their frustration to their advantage.

“This atmosphere reminds me of before the World Cup semi-final against Germany,” the Juventino explained.

“We won that game far and square and I think that our opponents have scored a similar own goal here.”

As for his personal role in September 8’s crunch match, Pinturricchio’s determination doesn’t seem to have been dampened by time on the substitutes’ bench at Juventus.

“I never go anywhere to make up the numbers,” the 32-year-old insisted. “I never feel like just one of the squad.

“I have taken on board Claudio Ranieri’s concerns for my fitness, but I am physically and psychologically ready for France.”

[dreamer75]

do we really need him?

Juventus are being linked with a sensational loan swoop for unsettled Chelsea star Michael Ballack when the transfer window reopens in January.

The German midfielder’s time at Stamford Bridge seems to be running out after he was excluded from Jose Mourinho’s squad for this season’s Champions League.

Since arriving in London from Bayern Munich, Ballack has struggled to get to grips with English football and has been hampered by an ankle injury that held back his pre-season preparations.

As Mourinho has chosen not to gamble on .Ballack making a swift recovery, the suggestion in the peninsula is that he will spend the second half of the campaign with the Bianconeri, who are lacking depth in midfield.

While such talk is little more than gossip at this stage, sources suggest that Ballack is set for crisis talks with his agent Michael Becker within the next few weeks.

[dreamer75]

ho sey liao....2 wins out of 2 games...and sitting on top Serie A table!!! :D