User talk:Vaselineeeeeeee/Archive 3

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Archive 4

Archive 5

→

Archive 10

Re: Juve 3

Messirulez Thoughts on today's Supercoppa Italiana? I did not get a chance to watch it as it was not aired over here and was not on RAI... Heard it was on RAI W witch I do not have. Anyway I saw the highlights and by the looks of it, this is the Juventus from last year, not from those dreadful friendlies. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 19:41, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, they definitely looked confident, and Lazio lacked the drive they had in the Coppa Italia final; it was good to get a win despite all the injuries and it was nice to see Caceres back in action; I think he's a good player to have, versatile, quick, strong centreback who is good in the air, and I like him as a right back as well, maybe even over Lichsteiner, who is reliable and hard-working, but less effective offensively, and sometimes he goes missing defensively against very technically skilled wingers. I was glad the new signings scored, too. I really hope Dybala can turn into a great player to replace Tevez, and hopefully some young Italian player like Berardi will turn into a superstar, so we can snatch him up! I hope we can get another midfielder and possibly another winger or a more offensive fullback to give the team some width; I feel that's one of our areas of weakness in Europe at the moment. It's still early, but hopefully we will have a good season. Best, Messirulez (talk) 21:13, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks! I modified it now, and I copied some userboxes off of you if you don't mind! ;) Messirulez (talk) 05:20, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, Haha, do not mind at all! I love these userboxes to show support. Nice you have done the same. I took some of your concepts as well. Didn't know you could create a userbox that easily! :) regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 12:23, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, what do you think of Juve's draw? Man City, Sevilla... Could be tough. As is Roma's as well. Certainly tougher group than last season. And with their disappointing loss to Udinese last week. Lets see if they can pick it up against Roma. Must win. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 17:15, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

I am so upset about the draws!!! It's absurd that there are four teams from the four top leagues in the same group! The Italian teams have had such difficult groups for the past 3-4 years! I think the last year's performance should be taken more into accout in the UEFA coefficient. I hope we can do well this season, but it won't be easy. Regarding the loss against Udinese, yes, it's a shame, especially when it was the first time something like that happened, and when it was basically their only chance (bad defending from Lichsteiner) when we dominated the ball, but it's quite a different team, so I think everyone needs to gel. I still think our team is stronger than all the other teams in Serie A (and once the injured players are back, that should help as well), although some teams have made some interesting purchases, which is always good, but equally, some interesting players left, which isn't so great. Hopefully Cuadrado will play well on loan; I always thought he was good, but I never thought he was a superstar, so hopefully he can prove me wrong.

Like with Tevez, I'm annoyed Llorente went to Sevilla on a free transfer now as well (we just seem to be giving our players away...), but their contracts were up I suppose, so it would have been difficult to negotiate. Hopefully we can get another good (offensive) midfielder or winger. I hope Alex Sandro will prove to be a good purchase, but I would have maybe preferred a right back to replace Lichsteiner, as Evra is still solid as a defensive leftback, although he is getting old I suppose. I'm also annoyed Lazio didn't go through, especially when they have Bayer Leverkusen, and a team like Man U has Club Brugge...none of this helps the Italian league or their UEFA coefficient and it is becoming a bit of a vicious cycle; it will take a while for our league to catch up (I heard quite a few teams weren't even able to agree deals for shirt sponsors, and those that were have small deals compared to English, Spanish and German clubs), but hopefully with Inter, Milan, Roma and Udinese getting a new stadium (and hopefully Napoli as well), that will start to help things improve. I have no idea why Milan have planned for a 48.000 seater stadium though, when the minimum requirement for a 5-star UEFA stadium is 50.000...that's just stupid in my opinon! If they had planned it to be 39.000, then I could understand that it's difficult to make it larger (although I'm still annoyed that the Juventus Arena only seats that many people); but it wouldn't have made much difference to plan for 2.000 more! Ridiculous. Inter are planning to renovate San Siro and reduce it to 60.000; that is good, because it needs to be renovated, and it is old, but it's a shame because it is such a large, beautiful and intimidating stadium, so I hope they still manage to capture its architectural beauty and intensity once the renovations are completed. Messirulez (talk) 17:34, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez yes very frustrating as you have said. Italian team have definitely had it rough in the past few years and is annoying to see another group of death with the Italian teams. Especially with a group like Group H with Gent, Lyon, Valencia, and Zenit. And yes I am also a fan of Lazio and am frustrated they didn't make it to the CL. Especially after winning the first leg. They lost all concentration. Would have been good for the Italian league. I think giving away Llorente for free was also sort of wasteful, but at the end of contracts it is hard to negotiate as you have said. Juve sort of has a surplus of attackers at the moment, however with speculation of Zaza heading to West Ham, a couple extra could not hurt. And yes Khedira's injury as well as others are hindering us at the moment. Hopefully new signings of Sandro and Cuardado turn out to be good. I have always liked Cuardado. But what I though was very foolish was the 3-5-2 formation!? Ridiculous. Me personally hate when there are only 3 at the back, I like to see 4 with two CB's and LB/RB, much better flow, coverage, and defense. And why start Coman over Dyabla? Even start Padoin over plenty of others. Doesn't make any sense. Maybe Allegri thought they would strom out of that game with a victory easily, but was obviously wrong. Wrong tactic's in my opinion. I heard about those stadium plans but was not too sure about the details. I don't get why they would want to shrink the size of the San Siro? It is such a large and iconic stadium. Shouldn't Italy have a large stadium like that compared to other powerhouses in Europe? Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 18:30, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, I think the back 3 will only be used in Serie A, but in Europe he will definitely play 4 like last season...I'm actually hoping if SAndro is our attacking leftback, that maybe Caceres can play as a right back - I really like him in that position. Cuadrado could play as a winger in a 4-3-3 as well I think...maybe even as an inverted winger on the left, and with Dybala on the right, and Morata in the centre I suppose over Mandzukic. About the Juve game, I didn't entirely understand playing Padoin out of position...Pereyra could have also played as a central midfielder. I think he expected us to win so he was over confident. I was surprised Coman started as well, however. Regarding Milan's new stadium, I think they are decreasing the size of the stadium because attendance has been so poor...so many of them were also in bad condition and dangerous, so many fans prefer to watch games at home, so they are half empty, and many have tracks so fans are forced to watch the game from far away. But Milan's new stadium is too small for a team with Milan's history; I'm sure they will come back - they went through a bad few years between 1980-1987 and between 1996 and 2002 right after their glory periods, so it's normal that after the 2002-2007 period of successes they are also going through a difficult time. Messirulez (talk) 18:48, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Very true. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 19:19, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, can you believe it? Two straight opening losses. Again with the 3-5-2 formation. Much more can be accomplished with 4-3-3. Padoin playing again? Is Marchisio injured or something? Lichsteiner playing in the middle with Pogba on the side? Roma dominated, but fell asleep in the last 10 minutes which allowed our goal. Not enough. and two red cards? Shameful. Juve as dug a nice hole for themselves. If you do not start of strong, it is very hard to get out. I do not want to sound like a pessimist, but this is just not acceptable... How about the loan of Coman to Bayern? Two seasons for 7M, with an option to buy for an extra 21M. Do you think that is a decent deal?Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 19:35, 30 August 2015 (UTC)

It's a bad start, yes, and the first time this has happened, but it's also the beginning of the season, and in the long run it doesn't necessarily mean anything - only two games have gone by, so it's too early to tell at the moment, but certainly not the most encouraging start. Then again, sometimes we have started off well but we ended up flopping (2009-10), or vice-versa; Roma started off well last year, but then they ran out of steam. Hopefully we can pick things up though; last year, for example, I definitely would not have thought that we would have reached the Champions League final, especially after drawing and losing to weaker teams in the group stage! It's a new team, we're missing some key players, so it's not easy, although I wish we had gotten a striker like Dzeko instead of Roma getting him. After four years of successes it's also hard to keep the team motivated, but I think the important thing is to qualify for Europe and manage a second place finish at least, and to try and progress to the quarter-finals, at least, of the Champions League, although anything further would be fantastic as well (albeit unrealistic at the moment, I feel). I still think we are the strongest team on paper in Serie A by quite a margin when the team is healthy, but we can't have an overly pompous attitude. I don't see why we didn't play with Dybala and Morata though, instead of Mandzukic, when he needs deliveries into the area, and Lichsteiner really cannot cross as a full-back. Evra is a decent crosser, but now he's more of a defensive-minded full-back as he is older. We sat back from the beginning and Roma dominated. We also were completely missing a midfield; I don't see why we didn't play Pereyra instead of Padoin out of position. Pogba was poor, but he didn't have much to work with, as Sturaro is still young, and Marchisio is injured at the moment, which is frustrating. I was annoyed not to see Alex Sandro play once again, and to see Cuadrado on the bench. Even though we were dominated, however, the goals we conceded were avoidable; Chiellini and Bonucci mucked up on Dzeko's goal. Bonucci was ball-watching and Chiellini should have tried to get in front of him instead of trying to out-muscle him. The free-kick was a nice strike, although I'm not sure why Buffon was so adamant about positioning himself more to the left (when it comes to positioning, he is usually flawless, so I found it odd when he was standing so far over); I'm not sure if he was more concerned about the far post and that he had been beaten there in the past, or if he was very confident with the wall...I don't know if he would have saved it even if he had positioned himself more centrally, however - he was glued to his feet, but that happens sometimes, and when a free-kick is well struck there isn't always much that can be done. He does seem to be in good shape though, and he made some good saves and his deliveries were good as well. To think we almost tied it right at the end as well from that corner...that would have been very fortuitous and undeserved! I was surprised about the Coman loan, because I don't see how he will gain playing time and experience, although I suppose training under Guardiola and with a team like Bayern isn't a bad thing. It also seemed like he would be given more chances this year, especially when he started the last match, although he certainly isn't a first-team player yet. Messirulez (talk) 04:20, 31 August 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, this has definitely been one of the worst, if not the worst start Juve has faced in their history. The funny thing is though, is that I actually thought Juve played well today. They created several good opportunities, they just could nit finish any. Especially that one that went off the post back out, somehow a defender blocked the rebound, and the third attempt went high... We were unlucky for Chievo's goal, as it bounced off of Barzagli's heel and right to a Chievo shirt. Undoubtedly, that was a terrific strike low and to the corner, Buffon couldn't do anything about it. Buffon played well as usual, making a great save or two. Bizzarri played fantastic though. Kept out a handful of saves. With Champions League around the corner against Man City, I guess Allegri wanted to rest up the top squad. He had no choice to put them in once the second half started. Once Cuadrado got on the pace quickened. After all, he was the one who sped into the box to draw that penalty, great stuff. Perfectly placed by Dybala. Juve is still 6 points out of top spot, even without tomorrows games played. Still along way to go to dig themselves out. Now our focus must be to give the well performing Man City a good run on Tuesday. Shame we have to go into that game after playing today's game. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 21:18, 12 September 2015 (UTC)

It is definitely a bad start...but for some reason I don't feel too concerned about how we are doing in Serie A, despite all the drama in the Italian sports newspapers, as to me it seems like we actually have a good team and coach, and an actual organised management team, and a long-term plan, and there is still time, so I think it's still a question of everyone finding themselves, and players coming back from injury (Marchisio is out for the Man City game - NOT good!). In the past it was more concerning as it seemed like we weren't rebuilding properly and that there was no long-term plan; we also had worse teams than our current squad (even when we had Baggio in the early 90s to be honest, the rest of the team wasn't that great, apart from Peruzzi in goal - Möller, Julio Cesar, and Di Canio were good but also highly inconsistent, Dino Baggio was solid but on the defensive side of play mainly, Marocchi and De Agostini were aging, Di Livio and Torricelli were work-horses but that's about it, Schilacci, Vialli, Casiraghi, and Ravanelli forgot how to score all of a sudden under Maifredi and Trapattoni...); still, if we keep this up, we will struggle to qualify for Europe, and I'm concerned about our Champions League run more than anything (we need to get through this group and try and make the last 8 at least; anything better would be amazing though). We have also been quite unlucky as you said - against Udinese we only conceded one shot, which they scored, and even against Chievo, I started laughing when we conceded because I couldn't believe how unlucky we were so early in the game - a deflected pass off of Barzagli's heel, as you said, and then they score an absolute, unstoppable scorcher from a first-time shot - well, that's football for you. We were unlucky not to score though, once again (not easy when teams park the bus though) - at least Hernanes seems to be more creative in his first appearance than he had been with Brazil, Lazio, or Inter, Cuadrado is a decent signing, and Alex Sandro looks like he will be able to provide a good attacking threat on the wing for once in the future with his pace technique and crossing ability (I think we needed to play a goal area striker to get onto crosses in a match like that). I really hope we can do well against Man City though! It's so annoying that we got drawn in such a difficult group... Messirulez (talk) 19:24, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

WOW! What a win on the road against such a good team! If we could keep this up in Serie A too now that would be nice! It should be a confidence booster...it's a great result in a tough group so hopefully we can do well in Europe and start winning in the league now and keep this up. Sturaro played well after a shaky start, despite being so young, Pogba was so confident on the ball and really took the team by the reins and showed his influence on his taem-mates (great pass on the goal too and I think another linesman might've left his goal - debateable, but Morata didn't technically touch it even though it was aimed at him)...Chiellini played well in defence despite the unfortunate own goal (arguably a foul too) Cuadrado really worked hard for the team...Evra, Bonucci, Lichsteiner and Hernanes were solid, and great goals by Mandzukic and Morata...Buffon played so well...three great saves! Did you enjoy the match? Messirulez (talk) 20:42, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, yes what a great game!!! From what I kept up with from live commentary from Eurosport, I could tell it was a great game. Unfortunately my university studies will get in the way of all the Champions League games, at least for the group stage as over here in Toronto they start at 2:45pm, where my classes are scheduled. You have it lucky in Italy where you can watch it after work! Very upset about it but what are you gonna do. I could watch a re run of the game, but I can't quite ever get into it because I already know what happens, it's not fun to watch anymore with all suspense gone. (I like shouting at the TV screen) You probably know the feeling hahaha. Highlights are he best bet, but I know it doesn't show the full story of the game. So I can't banter much, but what a game it would have been I'm sure. I talked to my brother about it though, who had the luxury of watching the game and he said that if it wasn't for Buffon, it would be a whole different story. I love to see Buffon do well and still show people that despite his age he is still a top 3 goalkeeper at least! This just goes to show that you can't doubt a team's Champions League performance based on how they are doing in their domestic league. As a true fan, you are always criticize your team because how much you want them to do well (just like a parent), but always stay by them through thick and thin. Fino Alla Fine, or else you become like those plastic Barca "fans" for example haha. Hopefully Roma can give Barca a run for their money tomorrow! As you've said, this should be a great confidence boost for Juve and can hopefully channel it towards Serie A and further CL games, as there is still a long way to go! Hopefully Juve can win the title for a 5th straight and prove to all the people who think that it's Roma or Inter's time for the Scudetto in their place haha! Won't be easy now that there's a bit of a hole, they've got to use this game to get back on track quick! If anyone can do it, it's Juve! Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 21:19, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, better game today I'd say, at least it was a well needed win. Maybe the boost from beating Man City knocked some confidence into Juve. However I felt we were fortunate to get that penalty and fortunate for Pogba's shot to hit back off the keeper. Always need improvement, but at least it was a win. We must win against Frosinone next week to be prepared for Napoli and then Sevilla in CL. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 15:26, 20 September 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I think the result was what counted today more than anything after the Manchester City win, to help keep up the momentum and build confidence and not become insecure because of a lack of victories; hopefully Morata is ok. Playing against Sevilla and Napoli will be tough, and we need to make sure we are clinical with Frosinone and that we don't play stupidly, as they are a newly promoted team and will play their hearts out. Messirulez (talk) 15:32, 20 September 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, very disappointing wouldn't you say? Couldn't win against a Serie B team that hasn't gotten a single point until today. Inter is playing very strong, 5 for 5. But it's games like these that are clinical to pick up 3 points. It never fails that Juve/Italy do better against better teams. Maybe more motivation? And another thing to point out is that Juve/Italy usually concede their goals from corners. That is something they need to focus on defending a lot because you can't let those go especially in the last minute of added time! We are sort of in an injury crisis though... Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 02:06, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

This was annoying as we were winning and we conceded a stupid last minute goal (mind you our goal was scrappy, but we also hit the crossbar several times...); at the same time, switching the team around and dealing with all the injuries is difficult, but tying at home against a team like Frosinone, wtih all due respect, who have never been in the top division before is inexcusable (all credit to them, however)...nevertheless, I still think we will pick it up and do well, but it's very frustrating and disappointing that we didn't beat Frosinone; we certainly underestimated them and didn't finish off our chances, and we weren't concentrated when we conceded on the corner. Yes, defending set-pieces has been an issue, and I can't seem to understand why, when we have Chiellini, Caceres, Evra and Bonucci, who are good in the air, Barzagli who is also decent, Pogba, and now Mandzukic (and Llorente previously) and now we also have Zaza in our team...in the past two years we often scrambled on set pieces and conceded stupid goals, which were often the only chances we gave up.Messirulez (talk) 15:23, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez Agree 100%. All credit to Frosinone as you said, but it is certainly inexcusable to draw to a team like that. Also conceding from corners, is usually the only opportunity we give up that end up at the back of the net which is frustrating, also happened notably against Uruguay in the World Cup, but many more that you can't count on one hand. And yes, we didn't finish clinical chances which is also usually the case. Juve can't expect to squander these chances and get off with a 1-0 win. Now we have to face Napoli next week which will be critical, however they've been off to sort of slow start besides their triumph over Lazio. And then off to Sevilla in CL, so we'll see and hope for the best! Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 16:44, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

That wasn't a good performance; losing to Napoli wouldn't be a big deal, as they're a good team but we really did not play well and made too many mistakes and lost too many balls...we should have tied at least. Gigi looked like he wasn't well or something, he looked like he lacked confidence for some reason and I have no idea why... hope Insigne isn't badly injured - he's been playing well at least. Messirulez (talk) 14:39, 27 September 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, I agree, not a great performance, I too noticed Buffon playing out of sort for some reason... Maybe playing away from home? Especially on the second goal, he probably wishes he could have back. It looked like he was covering the short side too much, and gave a wide open lane to shoot to the opposite side. My hopefulness increased when Juve got right back up and scored within the next minute of play after the second goal had gone in. It was also great to see Lemina get his first goal in only a few appearances. Hopefully this won't bring Juve down too much for Wednesday's game against Sevilla! They did come off a bad draw to Chievo I think when they played Man City, so hopefully they can use this loss as fuel. Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch the game though as I've said in a recent post :( And if Juve cannot pick up 3 pints next Sunday against Bologna I don't know what I'm going to do! ahaha, at this rate they are not going to come in the top three to make the CL next year, so they really need to wake up. Hopefully in the following week, some inured players will be fit enough to play. I think Khederia should be back very soon. Anyway, hopefully they can pick up their socks because there is obviously still a long way to go, but they definitely cannot continue on this path. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 15:27, 27 September 2015 (UTC)

Nice win on Wednesday; I didn't message in case you wanted to wait to find out about the result or rewatch the game; they played well, and this weekend Sevilla beat Barcelona (mind you, Messi is injured, but still...), so that performance was encouraging...hopefully we can keep doing well in Europe and pick things up in Serie A! Best, Messirulez (talk) 00:27, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, yes great win indeed. It was weird how Juventus had 2 games in CL and 6 points, but 6 games in Serie A and 5 points... At least they won today against Bologna, which was much needed. It got off to a shaky start, but I knew that early into the game, a forceful comeback was one. Overall, good week for Juve. They need to continue this, especially against that "weaker" German team next round of group stage in CL, mind you they gave Man City quite a scare, as Juve usually have more trouble against the weaker teams oddly enough. Hopefully they can get the job done and progress to the next round and as for Serie A, climb back up into a CL position for next year. Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 21:03, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez Tough result today with Khedira hitting the post and all. Very unfortunate as he was all alone. It was a shame because for the most part we were all over Inter. And the long road ahead continues to get back to the top... Focus on the three points to grab on Wednesday's CL game against that German team with the long name haha. They are probably the "weakest" in our group, but the utmost concentration is still need to get the win. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 21:16, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

Yes, too bad...I thought it was a good game...too bad Khedira couldn't put it away...I thought Zaza played badly...he works hard, but he should have taken shots earlier on two occasions and he ended up losing the ball, and that shot he took early on was ridiculous...why didn't he try and cut in first instead of volleying with his left from that angle!? I don't know why Allegri took Morata (who was playing well) off for Mandzukic...he should have taken off Zaza, as Manduzkic can run a lot as well. Barzagli had a great game as always, and Khedira has been solid. I wish Alex Sandro would be given more opportunities. Inter have been playing well this year though and have improved...so it's a decent result in Milan...but we need to start winning more league matches now. Hopefully we can get a good result...it will be a difficult match. Best, Messirulez (talk) 21:23, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

Messirulez, yes I agree Zaza didn't play well today. A time in addition to the noes you've mentioned where I thought was rediculous was when he struck an off balanced shot from at least 10 yards outside of the 18 yard box that went terribly skyward when he could have easily played a through ball to I think it was Evra on the wing for a nice break... I was also confused when Morata came off before Zaza... I too believe Alex Sandro should be given more chances, when he plays he plays well. I thought Cuardado had a great game and got into some areas of chances often. We do need to start being more clinical of our league matches, and hope our great CL campaign can continue at least this week. Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 21:32, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

@Messirulez:, great win today. It seems as if they are sort of finding their groove. Still lots of work to do of course as they are still only in 12th! Too bad Pogba couldn't bury that penalty, he usually does well with them, but frankly, that was a terrible placement. I wanted to bring up TFC again though :) Finally after all those years, Toronto has finally made the MLS playoffs. Giovinco has made a terrific impact on the squad, and his pairing with Altidore is fantastic! The amount of goals he has scored is just unbelievable. So much better than the flop Defoe. He really is the best player in the MLS with Drogba right there with him. (And of course Pirlo! haha). Too bad NYFC couldn't make the playoffs. Hopefully we can edge out big time rivals, Montreal! With Giovinco joining the squad the support from the fans has been at an all time high this year! In the summer almost every game was sold out! As you know, soccer or European "football" is not as popular here as other sports, however TFC making the playoffs could unite the city. I don't know if you followed this but the Toronto Blue Jays, the baseball team also made the playoffs this year for the first time in a while, which allowed the city to unite. (Toronto teams don't usually do well in the playoffs, so it is great to see teams in the playoffs!) Anyway, with the Blue Jays in the playoffs, it over shadowed TFC making the playoffs as baseball is still more popular than soccer here. Mind you half the fans just jumped on the bandwagon when the team started doing well and weren't real fans from the get go. I just wish the city would make as much of a commotion about TFC as they do about the North American sports like the Blue Jays or the Leafs. Hopefully with the Jays eliminated, Torontonians will get more into TFC, as they are the only team doing well at the moment. The problem with the U.S. and Canada is that they are not accustomed to European sports and think that soccer is just a bunch of pansies that always dive, which is unfortunate because there is so much more to it. And how they say it is boring... Are they really saying soccer is boring and then saying baseball is exciting? Haha. They don't open their mind about how the plays are made and established to get a goal. They always want a goal every minute and don't appreciate the build up to the goals. There is a reason why soccer is the number 1 sport played and watched in the world! Anyway, that's my rant about soccer in North America. :) The real fans here really love TFC and hope they can make it far! Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 00:45, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi, yes, I'm glad Juve managed the win, and a shame that Pogba missed the penalty. Berardi also scored a great goal from a free-kick against Milan, which made me glad, and I think Donnarumma did well at the young age of 16 on his Milan debut! Yes, I have followed Giovinco in MLS quite closely (I really used to like him and always saw him as a bit of a misunderstood or wasted talent); I saw Toronto FC made the playoffs for the first time in their history, and that Giovinco won the golden boot with the most goals and assists in the MLS...he also scored an amazing goal the other week right after coming back from the Euro qualifiers the day before! It's nice to see he has played so well and had such a great impact (they're saying he will most likely be voted MVP, although I don't know how far Toronto can get in the playoffs even with him in the squad as their defence is poor). It's a shame that TFC couldn't win the last game against Montreal after being in the lead and dominating at first (nice assist by Giovinco, who played well); Drogba's goals were excellent, although the defending was very poor on the second...you don't leave him open on a set piece! He's an amazing player, but I never really liked his character (always getting into tussles or arguments), or the fact that he always dives despite being such a strong and physical player, but nevertheless he is a superstar who basically carred Chelsea to win the Champions League almost entirely by himself in 2012. I do follow baseball a bit and saw that the Blue Jays made the playoffs for the first time in 23 years as well, and yes, naturally that was a bigger deal than TFC making the playoffs for the first time, which is unfortuante as the results were historic for both teams. They played very well and the ties were close; it's a shame they couldn't do better against Kansas City with their chances...they had some great players this year. Regarding the popularity of soccer in the US and Canada...I'm sure it will catch on more; it's already grown so much since MLS's inception. Also, I know several people told me Serie A was a boring league compared to the Premier League (this was in the 90s...when Serie A had almost every superstar in the world, while the Premier League wasn't much different to MLS now...old superstars from Serie A, like Zola, Vialli, Desailly, and maybe a few rejects, like Bergkamp...), because according to them the Premier League was faster, less tactical, and more offensive with the long ball system, which I really couldn't stand to watch! Now the Premier League is definitely better, but then it wasn't, so I think as people gain more of an understanding for football, and as more notable players come to play in the MLS (as there is definitely a lot of money in the league and North American Sports in general...and MLS stadia and coverage are better than Serie A stadia and coverage...), it will gain popularity. I think Giovinco's decision to come here was probably better than he could have imagined though...I don't think anyone has seen someone as explosive, creative or skilful as Giovinco in the MLS; there may be players now in the league that were better than him at his age, but he's definitely the first real superstar in his prime to play in the MLS I suppose, so I think people will probably be watching it because of him, especially if Toronto make the playoffs and the CONCACAF Champions League next year, now that it can be broadcasted all over the world. I suppose the problem with it in the 90s (and the NASL in the 70s with Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia...), even though certain players like Donadoni and Valderrama were there, there was the lack of coverage and publicity; now it's no longer the case. It certainly has been a great year for new MLS input though...Pirlo, Kaka, Villa, Lampard, Gerrard, Giovinco, Drogba, Dos Santos (6 champions League winners, 3 World Cup winners, 1 Ballon d'Or winner...the first ever to play in the MLS, I believe, no?), along with others like Keane, Martins, Bradley, Altidore, Iraola, Donadel...and also other former star and decent players in the past 10 years (Nesta, Di Vaio, Frings, Llunberg, Lopez, Beckham, Donovan, Cahill, Ferrari, Corradi, Henry, De Rosario, Julio Cesar, Adu, Defoe, Dempsey, etc. It's just a shame that Pirlo couldn't play at his best despite the other good players on his team (although Lampard isn't fully fit); I suppose that new MLS teams are usually bad (all the other players on the squad I guess), and he hadn't really trained, so that makes a difference; I still expected him to have a much greater impact with his passing and set-piece taking (still probably the world's best at both), and a good striker like Villa, but maybe next year it will be different. He's old, but I think he will still be good. I'm also surprised he wasn't able to score any free-kicks! Best, Messirulez (talk) 12:50, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Bad result today...despite the fact that I defended the team before, this is a step back; now things certainly aren't looking good, after it seemed that they had picked themselves up again despite the bad start. Great goal, nothing Buffon could have ever done to stop that even if he had dived (although I would have preferred if it had been from the right and Berardi could have scored it at least)...disappointing that we didn't do better to come back and score when Milan managed to defeat them at the weekend. It won't be easy to fight for a Champions League spot, but they can do it; the Scudetto seems very unlikely now, however. Hopefully they can do well in Europe still; the draw at home last week was also very disappointing, especially when Man City undeservedly won yet again and now are only one point behind us. Messirulez (talk) 03:41, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

@Messirulez: Very true. It was a bad result today, but that free kick was perfectly placed. Frustrating to see the game end 1-0 from a free kick goal... After the win a couple days ago against Atalanta, I thought they were turning the corner. Hopefully they can muster 3 points in the Derby di Torino on Saturday! The scudetto is a far reach away, with Roma doing pretty well.. But anything is possible I guess. It would be a real shame if Juve couldn't get at least third place to enter the playoffs for the Champions League! A big shame if they don't... Next week Juve will have another chance against the German team with the long name in the CL and hopefully they can get some goals! Juve are lacking goals this season... And yes Man City is only a point behind us now so the stakes are higher to win every game. Juve cannot afford to let 3 points slip next week. TFC plays tomorrow! Hopefully we can get the job done in Montreal as I think it is just a one game knock out! Starts at 7pm eastern time in Toronto, so 1am Italy time... Should be a great game though with that big rivalry! Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 03:53, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

@Messirulez: What a disappointing game... 9 years to get into the playoffs to play how they did. Absolutely disgusting defense. In shambles really. All the goals Montreal scored were because of horrible defending that shouldn't be given up so carelessly. Terrible performance overall. What a shame. Defending has always been the issue and hope TFC can fix something about that over the winter. As for Vanney, I think he has to go. I hope Giovinco doesn't leave!! Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 01:48, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I actually watched the game and it was a shame as I was hoping Giovinco could go further in the playoffs; unfortunately they lost and Giovinco wasn't able to score, although he came close with his free-kick, and I guess at the beginning he had an ok chance, although they pushed him wide well so he had to produce an angled shot under pressure. As good as Toronto has been up-front with Giovinco, and also Altidore, and someone like Bradley to help out in midfield (Osorio has generally been quite good as well I think), their defence has been terrible (it was the worst in the MLS if I'm not wrong?), so they need to invest in a good defender (maybe when Barzagli decides to retire he can go play with Giovinco in Toronto...), and probably a better manager, whose tactics don't solely rely on passing it to Giovinco and hoping he can do something. It's a shame because they were so disorganised defensively (their shape was skewed, and there was too much space between the lines...and as you said the defending on the goals was poor; no one was following the attacking runs of the Montreal forwards). With all the space the players were giving Drobga, he was even dropping deep as an advanced playmaker to play lobbed passes and through balls to the on-running strikers...he looked like Totti! I mean, he was always a decent passer for a big striker, but never at that level! And Montreal, even if one of their counter-attacks had been foiled, always had enough players back to stop Toronto from counter-attacking, whereas whenever Montreal countered it looked like they would score; Piatti almost looked like Maradona when he would go one on one, and his shot that hit the post...one of Toronto's defenders left Drogba to double up on him; if he had passed it to Drogba instead of shooting (although it was a great strike and he almost scored) Drogba would have been open to run into the area and shoot unmarked. Reo-Coker and Donadel, although they aren't particularly young or outstanding anymore, even they were both decent enough in their prime, also really controlled the midfield and broke down anything Toronto produced (Donadel really stuck to Giovinco all game, and on top of that they often defended behind the ball). Oh well, hopefully Toronto can build on this and do better next year at least...overall it has still been a great year for Toronto, and hopefully after all the players that arrived this year, more will come. Hopefully they can also win the Canadian Championship next year and play in the CONCACAF Champions League, where I hope Giovinco can help them to do well... Best, Messirulez (talk) 13:38, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I agree, TFC relies on Giovinco too much. As well as the poor defending, that needs get fixed. They need to spend money on decent defenders. One of the goals where the defender lost his footing and slipped I guess wasn't his fault as it can happen to anyone, as it happened to Bonucci. But very frustrating to watch. The last goal was just a scramble. TFC was allover the place, cleared the ball, just to let it come back into the box and Drogba is wide open and just side foots it home. Very disgraceful performance, but what are you gonna do... Overall it was a good year as you've said with the first playoff entrance, but they cannot just let it slip like that on the first game, especially in that fashion. Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 13:56, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

A very fortunate late win today, but a good result nevertheless; at least the Derby matches have been much more exciting in recent years, kind of like they were in the 90s and early 2000s. Nice goals on both ends; I thought Buffon might have been just ever so slightly late on the equaliser, although I don't think he was really at fault as the trajectory was slightly covered by the wall and it was still an excellent strike so I don't think he could have done much anyway to get it (a fraction of a second earlier and he would have gotten to it as he managed to cover the area - in his prime he defeinitely would have saved it which is why I think people are sometimes critical of him as he gets older, as he is just ever so slightly slower, although still one of the best in his position). He made an incredible save on Glik, maybe even better than the one he made on Zidane in the 2006 World Cup Final in terms of difficulty (although admittedly not quite as important!), and he did well to stop Glik's second header on the line (his technique in catching that was very good even though it didn't seem like a very difficult save). Torino played well and probably deserved better, at least to tie, but maybe even to win the match, and came close with a few strikes on goal and even hitting the post with Quagliarella in the first half. We did have some good chances ourselves though and we hit the bar at the end. Now hopefully we can get a good result on Tuesday. I'm just worried about Khedira; it's a shame because he's a good player, but he just always gets injured...I hope it's nothing serious at least. Best, Messirulez (talk) 20:11, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

@Messirulez: Yes it was a fortunate win today, but those last minute winners are always very exciting. even if you have to wait that long , it makes it all the much better! Pogba had a terrific volley right in the top corner, perfectly hit. The goal scored on Buffon by Bovo, was a tough one to save. Bovo was fortunate that his shot bounced back to him, as with all the momentum already on the ball, he stuck it pretty sweetly. Yes, Buffon was a fraction of a second too slow, upon reply of the play, you could see his finger tips just missing the ball. But it was such a well timed and fast moving shot that it was almost impossible to react fat enough. And yes, that crazy save Buffon made was in a similar fashion of the one he didn't save earlier in the game, this time I guess he had more time to react, or he had a fire burning from the last one he didn't save to do better on the next which he did! Incredible save. And yes, the one he saved on the line didn't look hard to save, however the focus it takes to watch the ball the way down and to not fumble it since there are only 6 yards in between you and the ball, is tough. Although he was lucky it went straight at him and not to either side, as all he would be able to do is watch. (Any keeper in that situation could only watch). Those are the toughest to save of a very close header like that. And MAYBE Torino deserved better, however we have been so unlucky this season, with the loss to Sassuolo the other day, and also with that late equalizer Frosinone scored on us a few weeks ago, it was OUR turn to be a bit lucky! :) Anyway we got the needed win, and yes, hopefully Juve can get revenge on the German team in the CL on Tuesday! Regards, Vaselineeeeeeee (talk) 20:24, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Archive 4

Archive 5

→

Archive 10