Do Juventus have a chance against Barcelona? Yes. For me as a Juve fan, how much of a chance we have will be determined by Allegri's tactics. If he plays the right team, I don't see Barcelona creating much and I'd back us to sneak in a goal or 2 and closing up shop. If we play the wrong set up, I have a feeling we're going to be in for a long night. Barca is very good at being front runners and chasing the game against them can lead to things getting ugly real fast. They do have the single most decisive player in world football.
My tactical notes:
1. This game will be won and lost in midfield - not the front 3 like some amateur fans will have you believe. It wasn't that long ago we were all masturbating over the BBC - Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo. When you cut out the supply (i.e. Modric), it was a disaster for Madrid. Similarly, Barca play a very simple formation. A 4-3-3 with Messi as a right winger who also drifts in to become a classic number 10. Handling him is going to be pivotal but if you've watched enough of him you'd know that if things aren't going his teams way, he tends to disappear from matches. The best way to do that will obviously be to neutralise his supply. Neutralising the supply would be making sure that someone like Iniesta and Rakitic don't have big games. Stop the supply to force MSN to drop down for the ball. Clog that fucker of a midfield with Marchisio, Pogba, Vidal, Pirlo/Pereyra (more on Pirlo in the next point).
2. Pirlo should not start. Unfortunately, there's too much politics involved in Italia and Allegri will have no choice but to play Pirlo in the starting XI. Pirlo's lack of athleticism is at a point where he hurts us more than aid us nowadays. Our pressing game falls apart when he's on the pitch as defensively he's such a big liability. He's not going to win much loose balls or put anyone under pressure. He's not going to cover our fullbacks or defend well into the box if they penetrate us. Essentially we need Marchisio there who can do all that. While he doesn't have the Pirlo passing abilities, his defending at the base of midfield is wonderful. Plus he's not all that bad with the ball at his feet.
3. Another adjustment I'd like to see us make is to play Vidal on the left instead of the right hand side of our diamond. Why? That's Messi's area and controlling him will be essential. Pogba is a fantastic footballer but defensively isn't near Vidal's level. Evra is an occupational hazard but him being beat on the inside has to be accounted for by the midfielder covering for him.
4.Another thing is Pogba on the right would need to play deeper than he usually does, and given that he's the most technically gifted midfielder we have that's also going to be important. We need him to use his passing range to beat the press and his dribbling to play out from the back. Another thing is that side is Iniesta territory and we've seen Pogba handle him well while playing for France.
5. We need our attackers to get the job done when the opportunity arises. In a match like this, there aren't too many chances. Pereyra/Tevez vs Busquets on the counter could be useful to us.
6. Barzagli is probably our best defender when healthy. Chiellini has been pretty inconsistent and mistakes by him led to goals vs Dortmund and Real. Perhaps Messi is so good, Chiellini's ankles booked a flight out of town in advance.
Andiamo a Berlino, Fino Alla Fine, Forza Juventus!
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Topic: The Football (Association) Thread (Read 316088 times)