Old Lady feeling young as Juventus close gap on Napoli
This Halloween, don’t think about dressing as a devil for trick-or-treat or you might have to return empty handed. And please, for your own good don’t go for trick-or-treating at Felipe Melo’s door step if you don’t want to receive a beating
of a life time.
Saturday’s match between A.C Milan and Juventus was one of the first biggest clashes of the Serie A season so far and there was no mention of the cursed word “dull” largely because the attacking prowess both teams had at their disposal.
But a great attack can only get you so far.
The strength of the midfield dictates the flow of the game just like a goalkeeper dictates his defence and this match was no different as it was a midfield battle.
Former Juventus legend, Pavel Nedved had already emphasized that the team won could win the battle in midfield, would eventually get away with three points. There was no question of “honours even” as both teams have already showed so far
this season the reversal of the idiom that says “a bird in hand is better than two in the bush”. They wanted all the birdies (in this case goal)!
The Rossoneri fans must have been jumping when they heard the news that Juventus will be without their new “Nedved Look-alike” talisman, Ivan Klasnic as his appeal for the ban imposed on him had been rejected. Those celebrations seem fair
enough as the summer signing from CSK Moscow has been tormenting every defence he has come across so far. But perhaps, it was forgotten that there are two men who seem to be on a mission and want to right the wrongs and mean business.
Not so long ago, Felipe Melo and Alberto Aquilani were considered to be a waste of talent and the biggest underachievers as they never rose to the occasions and always faded away in big matches and Aquilani was unlucky for having a debatable
injury history. The Little Prince was loaned to Juventus from Liverpool where he never really got a chance to settle down and was not considered in Roy Hodgson’s team plans before the start of this season. Melo had a very poor World Cup and last season, never
having really lived up this potential as Juventus finished 6th. Melo seems to have “mellowed down” under Luigi Del Neri but is now back to his best. The duo partnered up a great combination in the midfield, with complementing each other with their
plays.
If Melo and Aquilani keep on playing the way they have been playing so far, Juventus are going be a very tough team to beat in Italy and in Europe. Ahead of the game against A.C Milan, Juventus had injury worries and absence of Vincenzo
Iaquinta and Amauri meant that the attack would be missing the pace, power and penetration, attributes that are pre-dominant in Del Neri’s side. To make matters worse, Chiellini limped of moments before the game and had to be replaced and Simone Pepe was forced
to play as a Left-Back.
These were serious set-backs and were even very serious given the fact that Juve was playing away from home against a good attacking side. But despite all these setbacks, Juve showed great character away from home and each and every single
player rose on the occasion when the need was the most. The match was all the more important for both teams to show how far they have come in terms of their desire and ambitions to return to the glory days. An elated Melo said that they were 11 lions on the
pitch after the 2-1 win and lions they were.
Pirlo is always going to be a problem with his “Xavi” like vision and creativity and passing but he was contained and shackled excellently by “The Monster” Melo. Quagliarella and Del Piero made the fans forget the absence of Klasnic and
Iaquinta as they terrorized the abysmal A.C Milan defence. Aquilani supported the attack and also helped blocking the midfield with Melo. The defence never backed out of a challenge and after some earlier pressure by Pato and Ibrahimovic, settled down quickly.
That was the kind of Juventus spirit that has seen the Turin gladiators become Italy’s most successful team. Juventus still have a long way to go but revival is right in the corner if they carry on the great performances and back each
other up. Although, this side is not the greatest Juventus side, but it has the guile and talent to finish the season on a high and a trophy or two wouldn’t hurt either.
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