Juventus Find The Right Formula To Dispose Of Roma

Date: 4th April 2011 at 5:48pm
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Roma hosted Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico with both teams knowing that only a victory will have any sort of positive impact on their desperately disappointing seasons so far.

Gigi Delneri deployed a new look 4-5-1 formation, with Melo-Aquilani-Marchisio forming the midfield trio, Pepe and Krasic as wingers and Matri leading the line. Gigi Buffon picked up a flu before the game, thus making way for the return of Storari, while Barzagli replaced Chiellini who was injured while on national duty. Marco Motta and Grosso also made a return at the full back positions, making Bonucci the only regular starter in defence.

If there ever was a game of two halves it was this. In the first half, the Romans laid a siege on the Juventus goal trying shots from all angles and forcing defenders like Bonucci into committing mistakes. Roma dominated the midfield, with Aquilani looking lost against his boyhood club, and pressed back the Juve defence into frantic rear guard action. It seemed it was merely a question of “when” a Giallorossi goal would arrive.

However, Roma had forgotten about one man. Marco Storari was out to prove that he deserves to start as the Juve goalkeeper; to make matters worse for i lupi there was certainly no love lost between Storari and Roma – especially after the latter’s defeat to Sampdoria last year in which Storari played a major part.

Storari pulled off not one, not two but three miracle saves in the first half to single-handedly keep Juve in the game. No matter how the Roman’s tried, Marco Storari was a wall they could not break. The half ended with Juve on the ropes, battered but like Rocky still not out.

The Mister changed his formation by pushing Krasic and Pepe slightly narrower, and a little more forward in order to put more pressure on the Roma backline and defensive midfield. As the second half progressed, one could sense that this was a different Juve.

The midfield looked tighter, the passes grew more accurate, and the Roman defence was getting battered by Krasic playing more centrally than ever seen before. Two chances were created by the blonde Serbian, however he held on to the ball too long before making the decisive pass. One got the feeling that something was about to happen.

And then inspiration arrived from the unlikeliest of sources. Fabio Grosso, the former World Cup winner who has been utterly bad in his 2 years at the club, made a run reminiscent of his glorious 2006 self, getting all the time and space to carefully lob the ball to an on rushing Krasic who converted with cynical aplomb.

However, Grosso was just getting started. Years were rolled back as he started making bombing runs up the left flank, eventually threading in a delightful through-ball to Matri from behind the centre-circle. Roma conjured up perhaps the worst offside trap seen at the Olimpico as the new Juventus striker went one on one with Doni courtesy Juan and calmly finished by sending the ball through the Roma custodian’s legs. Veni, Vidi and Vici.

In front of their new and old owners, “the Princess” was put to sleep as Delneri closed off the game by bringing in Sorenson and Salihamidzic and created two solid walls of four to dash any Roman hopes for a comeback.

The White
1. The new formation came like a breath of fresh air for the fans. The lopsided 4-4-2/4-3-3 hybrid played by Delneri for much of the season had been worked out by almost all opponents. Looking at the squad, it seems the new formation is more balanced and ideally suited for this team.

2. Matri has been in sensational form for the past 2 seasons, and his exploits at Juventus has quickly seen him becoming an idol of the tifosi. One of Marotta’s many failures this season has been not signing him earlier in the winter mercato. One cannot but wonder how long it will be before he starts threatening Pazzini’s place in the Nazionale.

3. A clean sheet after what seems an age – the credit must go first and foremost to Marco Storari, who perhaps played the best game of his life today. Felipe Melo again proved how solid his contributions to the team can be if he is mentally calm.

The Black
1. Alberto Aquilani had a bad outing today. In general, it has been an average 2011 for him – Juventus desperately needs his playmaking skills to make their midfield tick.

2. Bonucci showed signs of his inexperience today, as he cracked under pressure twice. However, it must be remembered that this is only his second full serie A season – one hopes he will only improve as he has always done before.

3. Marco Motta was lost to injury again as the body count piles up once more at Juventus. The past two seasons has been ravaged by injuries which kills any hope of continuity of both individual players and the squad as a whole.

Ratings

Storari – 8.5 (MotM)
Motta – 5.5
Bonucci – 5.5
Barzagli – 6.5
Grosso – 7
Melo – 7.5
Marchisio – 7
Aquilani – 5
Krasic – 7
Pepe – 5
Matri – 7

Grygera – 6
Sorenson – 5.5
Salihamidzic – SV

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5 responses to “Juventus Find The Right Formula To Dispose Of Roma”

  1. godson h says:

    awww come on. bonucci wasn’t that bad. did he not make a goal line clearance and make several other important interceptions? i seriously beg to differ

  2. roberto says:

    Very well put together Ratul. Nice flow, handy pieces of info, and you tied it all together in the end. Bravo and Forza Juventus!

  3. @Godson

    For a defender, even small mistakes are very critical. I am tough on Bonucci because I really think he can be a very good player. He has grinta, technique but his main flaw is sometimes he takes unnecessary risks and overcommits himself.Yes he made good clearances, but then we expect so much more from him. Call it tough love 🙂

    @Roberto

    Thanks man, really appreciate it

  4. Comrade says:

    Good article, Ratul. Hard to disagree on anything. I also agree with the ratings. Hope this is the first of many articles.

  5. Vidder911 says:

    Nice one Papai!! 🙂

    I’d add another white:

    The full-backs finally let us know that they’re footballers! However, their overall performances this season might convert the white into grey!