Serie A - Match Preview: A.S Bari versus Juventus
Juventus are all set to kick off their new league campaign starting off with an away fixture to A.S Bari in South Italy on the 30th of August, 2010. Juventus, who are also known as Juve or Bianconeri and they finished seventh in last season’s Serie A.
Alternatively, Bari performed at an average level in the 2009-2010 Serie A and managed to finish as the tenth placed team. For Bari it might be the first proper competitive fixture of the season but for the Bianconeri, European football meant that their football season had started in at the end of July 2010.
Due to their seventh placed finish, Juventus were unable to compete in the UEFA Champions League and had to deal with the consolation of participating in the UEFA Europa League, the second tier of European club cup competitions. Their first qualification play-off tie in the Europa League was against Shamrock Rovers. A play-off that they won by an aggregate scoreline of three goals to nil after the former European champions defeated Rovers by two goals to nil in Ireland and then by two goals to nil in the return leg in Italy.
After that Juve were pitted against Sturm Graz from Austria, a team that they easily dispatched off with an aggregate score line of 3-1, in doing so the Italian giants sealed their place in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.
On the other hand, A.S Bari have not had such a bright summer. They have not done any considerable business in the transfer window but regardless they will be looking to improve on their tenth placed finish from the last Italian league season. Bari will also consider observing their players fitness levels as they have not played a lot of football unlike Juventus over the past three months ever since the league season ended in May, 2010.
Juventus come to their Serie A fixture off the back of a fantastic win over Sturm Graz and in their five matches since the previous league season, Juve have won four and lost one. The Torino club has been quite active in the transfer market as they have managed to secure the signature of Krasic from CSKA Moscow, the skilful Serbian winger was a target of other European clubs such as Inter Milan, Liverpool and Manchester United but he opted to play for the men in black and white.
Juve have also captured the ex-Roma player and the out of favour Liverpool midfielder, Alberto Aquilani on loan from the Merseyside Reds. Up front, Juventus still retain their experienced campaigners like Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet but at the back they have lost the versatility of Cannavaro, who left the club in the summer transfer window.
Despite Fabio Cannavaro’s departure, Juventus’s new manager Del Neri has entrusted his team’s defensive organization to Giorgio Chiellini, who was part of the Italian national team’s disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign.
A.S Bari will be looking towards their latest co-ownership singing, Barreta, who is a Brazilian centre forward with a keen eye for goal. In his previous two spells with Bari, during which he was on loan to the club from Udinese, he scored thirty seven goals in sixty three appearances. If the Italian minnows are to gain a higher finish in the Serie A table then Barreta will be their main man in attack. A.S Bari also won this corresponding fixture on their home ground in the last season’s Serie A by three goals to one.
Juventus will be aiming for a top four finish this time around in the Serie A, so that they can qualify for the UEFA Champions League in the 2011-2012 season. They will be reliant on their striker David Trezeguet for goals, the experienced Frenchman scored ten times for them in the last club football season. Despite the fact that the match is scheduled to be played at Bari’s home ground, Juventus are considered as favourites to get a result nonetheless a draw is the most expected result right now given that Juventus played in mid-week against Sturm Graz.
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