Europa League Special: Contenders for the trophy - Juventus (Part 2)
Continued....
Midfield
Luigi Delneri plays the midfield with two wide men but the formation changes to a 4-2-4 when the old lady attacks. The central midfield positions are well covered by Felipe Melo and Claudio Marchisio. Melo has proven his pedigree with Brazil national squad
while Marchisio is already a world class player.
Meanwhile, the wingers aren’t world class. Although, the right wing Milos Krasic is a good player but he needs to prove himself on the continental stage while Simone Pepe on the left is an average player at best. He isn’t Azzurri material and his woeful
international appearances bear testimony to this statement. Furthermore, he isn’t even a left sided player as he is naturally right footed and will be ineffective against quality right backs.
Juventus require someone with the talent of Arjen Robben or Frank Ribery if they are to challenge for continental dominance. Marchisio, however, can play on the left side of the midfield when required. Similarly, Alberto Aquilani will fit in to replace him
in the midfield. The problem with midfield is that it lacks the pace and creativity which a top class team needs to succeed.
Attack
For attack, Juventus have the club legend Alessandro Del Piero, Vicenzo Iaquinta, Amauri and also Fabio Quagliarella. Although, Quagliarella has his moments of genius but he is painfully inconsistent thus cannot be relied to hit the back of the net on a
regular bases.
Iaquinta has been struggling with injuries ever since Azzurri won the world cup. He seems to be a long term casualty in the striking department. Meanwhile, Amauri was a big money transfer from Palermo two seasons ago but he also failed miserably. However,
his recent form has been a little encouraging and Juventus will be hopeful that he would build on his recent showings.
On the other hand, Del Piero simply doesn’t have the legs to last the entire 90 minutes and can only be relied upon as an impact substitute. Sebastian Giovinco was offloaded to Parma in the transfer window. His guile and pace was what Juventus missed in
their opening two matches of the Serie A and the deficiency will be felt even more strongly once they go deep into the competition.
Despite the negativity, Amauri and Iaquinta are classy finishers of the ball and if they get ample service from the likes of Milos and Marchisio, they can be relied on finding the back of the net.
Key Player
Claudio Marchisio has been performing well for the club so far. He is one of the few players who can keep their heads high even after Juventus’ poor campaign last season. A lot of the playmaking duties will be on his young shoulders as Aquilani cannot be
relied upon for the entire season keeping his injury history in mind.
Marchisio’s ability to hold the midfield together in the later stages of the competition will be vital if Juventus are to progress.
Chances
Juventus should easily make it to the last 16 at the least as it seems unlikely that they will be challenged till that point. The tougher teams will not be drawn together until the later stages. The likes of Atletico Madrid and Manchester City have what
it takes to mount a serious challenge.
Also, it would be interesting to see what teams drop out of the Champions League. Juventus just don’t have enough goals in them to win the trophy. With the club gunning for a Champions league spot that its global audience truly deserves, Delneri won’t mind
losing out to a big team later in the competition.
Delneri’s primary target as outlined by the Juventus hierarchy is to challenge for the Serie A title. Failing to do so would be a disaster.
Prediction – Juventus to be eliminated in the Quarter Finals.
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