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Originally Posted by Haroon
Juventus FC
Preview
UCL/ECC wins : 2
The Old Lady of Turin returns to Europe's competition with one of Europe's greatest coaches at the helm which is not a comfortable thought for opposition. Stubborn he may be, arrogant he may be but the Don is one hell of a coach who has a winning track record. He has gone on record as saying that the UCL is Juve's top priority this season. The Juve management made a coup by getting Capello from bitter rivals Roma but then made a mess of it by letting go of Maresca and Miccoli. If they had kept hold of those two then the Juve side would be a up a notch or two for sure but their absence will hurt their cause because both players are good at what they do.
Juve is Benfica Part 2 with a long list of failures in the final of the UCL. They have a good record in Europe of reaching the finals otherwise but the conversion rate of finals to wins is piss poor. They will win the next final they get to but only time will tell which year will that be. It might not be this season as Capello's first aim will be to get Juve into the knock-out keeping in mind that he failed to do with it Roma and it has been a while since he tasted the drama of a knock-out tie in Europe's grand competition.
Offence
 1/2
-> Trezeguet
-> Ibrahimovic
-> Del Piero
-> Zalayeta
Trezeguet and Zlatan are not likely to create something for themselves and are dependent on the supply considering that they are more of target men. Del Piero is on a constant decline and he can have a brilliant moment. It will be interesting to see if Capello can wave his magic wand and turn DP into something that he WAS. Zalayeta's only famous exploit will be the winner in the Camp Nou a couple of seasons ago. It was important to keep hold of Miccoli and convince him that he was needed even if he wanted to leave.
Midfield
1/2
-> Nedved
-> Emerson
-> Tacchinardi
-> Camoranesi
-> Kapo
-> Tudor
-> Olivera
-> Blasi
The midfield doesn't exactly strike fear into the opponents. It is workmanlike with a conventional look. Nedved and Emerson are the guys to control and more so Nedved. It also lacks creative spark and there is a lack of pace in the midfield. Selling Maresca is beyond me. And Capello prides in building strong midfields for his teams. It is hard to believe that he is satisfied with the squad he has.
Defence
-> Thuram
-> Cannavaro
-> Ferrara
-> Zambrotta
-> Birindelli
-> Zebina
-> Legrottaglie
-> Juliano 
-> Pessotto
The defence is the healthiest in the team. It has world class names present and Capello's sides don't have a habit of leaking too many goals so with the players available in this area his side will be hard to break down if he plays the right players and leaves out clowns like Juliano.
Goalkeeper
-> Buffon
World's Best Goalkeeper.
Starting Line-Up
4-4-2
Capello should play this line-up as I believe this is the most productive line-up for Juve considering their dire lack of personnel.
-----------------------Buffon--------------------------
-
--Birindelli------Thuram------Cannavaro-----Zambrotta--
-
--Olivera-------Emerson------Tacchinardi----Nedved----
-
-------------------------------Del Piero----------------
----------------Trezeguet------------------------------
This side can be a handful for the opposition but over a season especially in Europe where the match winners a required to lift the team to another level ... will the team suffice?
The positive would be that Capello knows what he is doing and he has seen the team in trainings so he should know what he has to offer with his Juve side. Juve has a reputation of a club that makes good value for money transfers. In years I think this Summer's transfers were far from good for them but the Cannavaro transfer was Juve like!!!  Inter proved once again that they can take it to another level without moving a muscle!
Been 10 years since Capello lifted his solitary UCL title. Football has changed and evolved during this time and he has failed to win the European cup with other sides. Been a while since he took reigns of a European powerhouse and the last time he coached an Italian giant he conquered all. Can history repeat itself? It may but this squad does not seem to have it to WIN the European Cup but a serious challenge cannot be discounted. If they get to the final they will win it.
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Juventus FC
Juventus FC (ITA)
Qualified as: Third place in Italy
Serie A status: First (P15 W12 D2 L1)
Group stage: Group C winners (P6 W5 D1 L0)
Best performance: Winners (1985, 1996)
2003/04 Champions League: First knockout round (lost 2-0 on aggregate to Deportivo)
RD-16 opponents: Real Madrid CF
Review + Preview
This Juve side is over-achieving due the coaching of Capello. He has brought in re-inforcements but had it not been for the world class defensive unit, Juve would've surely struggled and yet here we are in February and they are still top of the Serie A and group winners of the UCL. Even though things have gone wrong for Juve but they stand firm and are taking it game by game getting the job done slowly but surely.
That won't help that much now in this competition as Juve will need to find a solution to their low scoring rate as I can't see them keeping clean sheets throughout this competition till the very end.
A part of the problem for that lack of offensive punch has been Zlatan. I don't rate him much to be honest and even though I have been repeating this many a time that maybe he learns and improves but after every viewing the result is the same. He has to be thick-skulled to continue over-doing the dribble. He is not an impact player like Nedved. Nedved does the simple things correctly and therefore has more impact.
The game is played through the basic things. You do the basic things right first and then later on do the magic and tricks etc. ADP in '98 was pure impact. Even Trez on form is impact but Zlatan is a pure non-learner.
Well he has the biggest opportunity now in a Juve shirt to do the right stuff against Real but I wouldn't bet on it. The occasion and the surrounding star cast of world class players will just encourage him to show that he is on their level and do the dribble resulting in one too many. Loads of excitement, talent and work but no brains and no sense of the
'when' and the
'where'.
So much is depending on three main players for Juve offensively. Nedved, Trezeguet and Camoranesi. If they don't have good games from now till the end whenever that may be Juve could well struggle. And that is considering that the defence holds firm as they have done for the first part of the season.
HOME FORM
It is repetitive pattern throughout the group stage. Score 1 goal and maintain that lead. The wins against Bayern and Ajax are not easy but they got it. Problem is the lack of goals winning by miniscule margins.
-> 3 goals scored and 0 conceded.
AWAY FORM
Same pattern except Juve conceded one goal in Israel in a game that didn't matter to them.
-> 3 goals scored and 1 conceded.
Offence
1/2 (old rating: ditto)
-> Trezeguet
-> Ibrahimovic
-> Del Piero
-> Zalayeta
Same thing except that Trez is back so there is a glimmer of hope for Juve that the goals will come. Del Piero is on a continuous downward spiral and does play that magical game from time to time but they are few and far between. Zlatan and scoring is similar to Chandler Bing and scoring. It all reverts back to Janice somehow.
Midfield
1/2 (old rating: ditto)
-> Nedved
-> Emerson
-> Tacchinardi
-> Camoranesi
-> Kapo
-> Tudor
-> Olivera
-> Blasi
Maresca and Miccoli (forward line) would've come in so handy right now especially Maresca. The pressure on Nedved to deliver is just immense. Emerson is a good player but he doesn't perform in a big game vs. a big opponent. I expect him to have a rough time against Real in both legs now that Real has Gravesen has the bricklayer's job giving freedom to the others more so than in the past. Blasi is there to foul and break-up the momentum and play. Camoranesi needs to push up more and provide impetus to the Juve offence. Olivera in some other language must mean selfish :tongue:
Nedved piece of mastery can do it and Gravesen's sole responsibility will be to stop him if Luxemburgo knows what he must do. If you leave Nedved alone then you need a class defence to keep things in check. Real has a class defence for sure but add "less" to it hence Gravesen needs to be Nedved's shadow.
Defence
(old rating: 4 stars)
-> Thuram
-> Cannavaro
-> Ferrara
-> Zambrotta
-> Birindelli
-> Zebina
-> Pessotto
One of the best defences in Europe. The organisation and movement is superb. The anticipation is there and it is very tough to break down the defence. Real will need some nifty one touch football at the edge of the Juve box to break down the defence. And good finishing as well.
The defence is after all Juve's best line eh Glen? :tongue:
REAL - Espaņa
Big names playing. More than 100 trophies between the two clubs. Juve was the underdog last time around as well when they met. This time Juve were favourites when the draw was made but under the circumstances and change of fortunes of both sides the tide is turning into Real's favour slowly. It will be a mental blow to Real if they don't defeat Juve in Madrid and an even bigger shock if they somehow lose 0-1.
The only surprise could be Juve scoring a few goals in this tie. There are not many other surprises that one can expect. Real goes into this tie with ascendancy. The likelihood of Del Piero starting is perhaps on the cards as Capello said that Del Piero will thank him later for this. I get the feeling that maybe he will start him here which will spur DP on for a good performance. I wouldn't be surprised if DP is put in the hole with Zlatan and Trez up front and a 4 man midfield of Zambro-Ned-Emerson-Camo backed up by a 3 man backline of Canna-Thuram-Zebina!
Capello loves the 3-4-1-2 so you can never discount that he will revert to it when he has the players to play that. It will turn the tie on its head and Real will have trouble coping with that formation and players. Otherwise this 4-4-2 is static and heavily reliant on Nedved.