Juventus Going Strong in Serie A

Experts had predicted this would be a tough Serie A season and they were not far off the point. It has so far been one of the closest contested Serie A. Last year AC Milan had clinched the title with two rounds still to play over their closest rivals Inter Milan. Juventus had to contend for the seventh spot. This year Juve has come with a new lease of life by signing many new names into their squad. Their recent signings include Emanuele Giaccherini (Italian forward), Simone Pepe (Italian midfielder), Reto Zigler (Swiss defender), Mirko Vucinic (Montenegro forward), Fabio Quagliarella (Italian forward), Alessandro Matri (Italian forward), Andrea Pirlo (Italian midfielder), Marco Motta (Italian defender), Arturo Vidal (Chilean midfielder), Eljero Elia (Dutch midfielder), Michele Pazienza (Italian midfielder), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Swiss defender) and Marcelo Estigarribia (Paraguayan midfielder). Anotonio Conte was brought in as the new coach of the Juventus side after his successful stint with Siena. 

Simone Pepe, Stephan Lichtsteiner & Claudio Marchisio

The early signs for this side from Turin are inspiring they are sitting pretty at the top of the Serie A table with 16 points from 8 matches including 4 wins and 4 draws. While AC Milan is in the fifth position with 14 points and Inter Milan is in sixteenth position with 8 points. They have been composed in defence and have found a new lease of life while going forward. Another factor helping them, they are out of the Cahmpions League and can solely concentrate on the Serie A for this season. Their scores in the 8 matches so far played are:

Alessandro Matri Leading Scorer for Juventus

• 11th Sep 2011, Home: Juventus 4 [Lichtsteiner (15'), Pepe (58'), Vidal (73') Marchisio (83') De Ceglie (90')] vs. Parma 1 [Giovinco (90' pen)]
• 18th Sep 2011, Away: Juventus 1 [Matri (54')] vs. Siena 0
• 21st Sep 2011, Home: Juventus 1 [Vucinic (29')] vs. Bologna 1 [Portanova (52')]
• 25th Sep 2011, Away: Juventus 1 [Krasic (49')] vs. Catania 1 [Bergessio (22')]
• 2nd Oct 2011, Home: Juventus 2 [Marchisio (86', 90')] vs. AC Milan 0
• 16th Oct 2011, Away: Juventus 0 vs. Chievo 0
• 22nd Oct 2011, Home: Juventus 2 [Matri (6', 58')] vs. Genoa 2 [Rossi (31'), Caracciolo (85')]
• 25th Oct 2011, Home: Juventus 2 [Bonussi (13'), Matri (65')] vs. Fiorentina 1 [ Jovetic (58')]

Remarkable Win Against AC Milan

Though there is a lot of football to be played in the Italian league but Juventus have made a great start to the 2011-12 Serie A season. 

Jeopardy between Country and Club

We all love to watch the gripping display of the top players in EPL, Serie A and Spanish La Liga. These are the most popular football leagues in the world and millions of bucks are spent to make them stunning. Barcelona and Real Madrid solely would spend a total sum that would be good enough to feed the hungry people in Somalia! The players are paid handsomely and it is no wonder that they perform to their peak at their respective clubs. But the problem arises when there are national duties. Ask any upcoming player and their dream is to win cups for their nation. But ask the famous players it would be winning championship for their clubs. This how the psychology of the players gets affected after they fall into the elite league.

Everyone was criticizing the performance of Lionel Messi, the magician with the foot. But have you considered the price of that foot. If he incurred any injuries giving his all for Argentina and got wounded doing so then not only him but the club (Barcelona) would lose out on lots of money. Similar was the case with most reputed players featuring in the 2011 Copa America. Some of the national teams were also issued threats that they would be dragged to the court in case of injuries to their star players. This is a piteous situation. No wonder there are some players who think twice before turning up in their national colors.

Another factor that came to the fore in the recently concluded Copa America was the fact that players from the top footballing nations lacked co-ordination, such as Brazil. Most of the Brazil players play important parts in their club teams. They did not get enough time to practice and gel in with their national team members, thus they cut a shabby figure on the field. It was no wonder that the World Cup and Copa America have both been won by underdogs. The leading national team members are just losing interest in serving their national side. This might cause a lot of frustration for the fans, but they will be quenched once the major leagues start over again.

This is the reason people love Manchester United, they do not buy players rather they are a grooming ground for upcoming players. Other teams buy stars and want to get their money’s worth.