Italian Serie A Preview - Juventus in 2010-2011
The new season of Italian Serie A is going to start soon, as all the clubs are lining-up to battle for the title. From the past few years, Inter Milan has been enjoying a winning monopoly in Italy, as others clubs have failed to challenge their superiority. It has been a long since any other club has won a league title, with seldom occasions when Inter really got challenged.
Internazionale had their series of good fortune since the relegation of Juventus, following a match-fixing scandal. Two of the titles won by Juventus were handed over to Inter Milan, while the team went down into second division of Italian football. However, it has been three years since Juventus re-appeared in Serie A, but they have not been able to reclaim what was originally theirs. The loss of valuable players, after relegation, proved to be too much to cover in three previous seasons.
Juventus is the most successful team in Italy, but their recent performances have not been up to the mark. In their first season, after the return, Juventus got their place in Champions League with third position. In the following season, Juventus improved by becoming the runners up in Serie A. However, there was a significant downfall in team’s performance in 2009-2010 season, as they managed to get only a seventh place in Serie A.
During the last season, the team did not perform well in home matches. They only managed to win nine matches, while losing six, which resulted in an ultimate downfall. Juventus’ performance away from home was not exceptional either. The team won only seven matches, while they lost nine. The goal-scoring was not good enough, as only 55 goals were scored. On the contrary, the defence was even weaker with 56 goals conceded throughout the season.
The real problem with Juventus is the presence of old players in their squad. Their three main strikers, David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta, are already above the age of 30. There is not enough strength left in these players, due to which they play only a small part throughout the season. However, out of these three players, Del Piero played a bigger role, with only 23 matches in Serie A, which is not great news for Juventus. These three stars were the team’s top three scorers last year, which means that goals are hard to find in their absence.
This time, Juventus has been strengthened with the introduction of some youngsters from their youth academy. Moreover, some players are bought, including Jorge Andres from Catania, and Davide Lanzafame from Parma. Despite their inclusion, the possibility of goals is still bleak for the club in their Serie A season.
The condition in midfield looks better for Juventus. Their midfield has been graced with the presence of players like Diego Ribas, Mauro Camoranesi, Mohamed Sissoko, Claudio Marchisio and Felipe Melo. The only difference from last year would be Christian Poulsen, who left the squad to join Liverpool, and the addition of Simone Pepe from Udinese. Last season, Juventus had a lot of trouble regarding fitness issues of their players. None of the midfielder had the legs to play the whole season, which became a major cause of team’s downfall.
Even the defence looks good for Juventus; the concerns of injury and fatigue are there as well. Juventus’ defence is led by Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Paolo De Ceglie, Fabio Grosso, Zdenek Grygera and Nicola Legrottaglie. Behind this defence, there is a presence of legendary Italian keeper, Gianluigi Buffon. Again, on papers the team looks great, but they have been unable to win a single title for the past three years.
The real difference, this season, would be the injury troubles of Juventus. If the things go well for the team, throughout the season, they are capable of at least earning their Champions League spot. Also, a lot would depend on youngsters, who would get rare chances, because of the inability of older players to stay fit for the whole season.
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