What did we learn from all the friendlies that have happened over the past few days? Well we saw that improvements need to be made in the camps of Portugal, Italy, Germany and Ukraine.
But this in the past has proved to be nothing to go off so until the ball gets rolling this weekend we wont have any idea who will bring it.
Group A can be considered the group of the minors.
GROUP A:
POLAND (Co-Hosts)
Coming off a convincing 4-0 vs Andorra the Polish side coached by Frank Smuda look to have a side good enough to tackle their group favourites Russia and Czech Republic.
With striking power of Rob Lewandowski he will lead the attack and you never know what you are going to get from a nation who is co-hosting the event.
Faced with the task of playing Greece, Czech Republic & Russia it's a tall order for the Poles to get this right but with the home ground advantage we could see them perform above expectations.
Prediction - 2nd in group and out in the Quarters.
CZECH REPUBLIC
What can we expect from the Czech? Well a disappointing showing their last friendly verse Hungary leaves everyone wondering just what they can bring to these championships. With key players such as Cech, Rosicky and Milan Baros they can either be hot or cold.
I see the Czech beating Greece, on par with Poland but might struggle to keep up with the Russians.
With the squad they had back in 2006 or 2010 i don't see the Czech poising any threat with an inexperienced squad.
Prediction - 3rd in group.
RUSSIA
In their last friendly they faced the Italians and although the first half was even, they got the luck in the 2nd and dominated with taking their chances to prevail 3-0.
A very confident side with plenty of strike power with the left edge dominated by Zhirkov and up front led by Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko it could result with a total of 9 points in the group.
If that is the case they can only bring momentum to the Quarters and depending on who they play the Russians could see themselves as far as the semi's.
Prediction - 1st and loss in the Qtr Final
GREECE
Could this Greek side be another surprise package just like their 2008 campaign? Well all signs probably point to no in my book.
They qualified very well and love winning the tight battles 1-0 or 2-1. So if in an arm wrestle with only minutes remaining, i'd bank on the Greeks scoring from a set piece. I don't see them conceding from a set piece but they a left vulnerable from open play and on the counter attack.
So finally May 20 is here and the highly anticipated final held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. These 2 clubs have met in Coppa Italia 8 times, Juve winning 4, drawing twice and Napoli have won 2. Last time they met in the Coppa Italia was in 2010 at the Old Olympic Stadium of Turin and the Black and White prevailed 3-0 with goals thanks to Diego, Sissoko & Alex Del Piero.
For the first time these 2 historic clubs will meet at a neutral venue. The Stadio Olimpico of Rome was of course the place where Juventus last held a loft the UEFA Champions League trophy against an Ajax team that featured Edgar Davids, Seedorf, Van Der Sar, the De Boer brothers and Nwanko Kanu.
JUVENTUS FC: Antonio Conte
Juventus are coming off a hot season in the Serie A where they finished the year unbeaten with 23 wins and 15 draws and winning the Serie A title for the first time in 6 long years.
A lot has been written and said about the Old Lady of Italian Football and the whole match fixing that saw the club relegated but to their credit they bounced back in the most outstanding fashion and have produced a record breaking season.
Road to the Final -
vs Bologna (2-1)
vs AS Roma (3-0)
vs AC Milan (2-1) 1st Leg
vs AC Milan (2-2) 2nd Leg
vs Napoli ???
With Giorgio Chiellini out injured for this match it give a starting centre pairing of Bonucci and Barzagli to be the muscle and grint of the Juventus defence who have only conceded 20 goals for the 24 goals all season. Another injury concern is on the left flank with De Ceglie undergoing an operation to fix and on going knee problem but not to worry as Antonio Conte has used a rotating system all year which will see Caceres fill up that spot.
The key men for the black and white lie in the midfield with World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo acting as the playmaker and will pull the strings of the whole squad. He will be supported by Juventus youth product Claudio Marchisio and what I regard as the best tackler of the game Arturo Vidal who came to Juve in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen.
Del Piero will wear the captain arm band for the last time as he plans to get ready for life after Juventus. Hopefully for Juve fans and for the number the #10 it will end with the master holding the cup.
Juve tend to play a very conservative brand of Football. Very stable and sure at the back but risky and not afraid to try things up front. With Marchisio's damaging runs and with impact players such as Matri and Simone Pepe it could become a night the black and white all remember.
Top goal scorer for Juve this year has been Alessandro Matri and funnily enough he may not start along with Quagliarella.
Last years favourite son of Turin was Milos Krasic but he is out of favour with Antonio Conte who doesn't believe Milos covers himself well in defence hence the midfielder looking else where next season along with Dutch young gun Elia who has featured in 5 Serie A games and last impressed in Juve's away win to Novara but still not enough to keep the other wingers out of the squad.
S.S.C NAPOLI: Walter Mazzarri
Napoli will be heading into this Final with a some what lack luster performance in the Serie A. A 5th place finish after a season which saw the team make the 2nd round of the Champions League eventually losing to Chelsea FC on aggregate. This could be the only silverware they will challenge for even for the near future as key players could be heading elsewhere next season.
Road to the Final -
vs Cesena (2-1)
vs Inter Milan (2-0)
vs Siena (1-2) loss 1st leg
vs Siena (2-0) win 2nd leg
vs Juventus ???
A full strength side will travel to Rome for the final with danger men obviously being Hamsik, Cavani & Lavezzi. But Juve should be aware of other players such as Italian international Maggio, Colombian Zuniga and off the bench Macedonian striker Goran Pandev.
A good match up will be on the right side as Maggio will be up against Caceres. Two players that love going forward to assist in attack.
Cavani has been the talk of the town with his possible switch to Juventus for the 2012/2013 season so expect a high intense match from the Uruguayan. Also a player that causes havoc every time he meets Juve is the playmaker Hamsik. The Slovakian is among one of Napoli's founded treasures over the past few years and his goals have helped them climb up the Italian ranks to where they belong.
Ezequiel Lavezzi is another hot topic has he could play his last game for Napoli with speculation that he is heading to Inter Milan to join Argentinian team mates Cambiasso and Zanetti.
Napoli play a very attacking style of play which last time they met Juve they failed to capitalize on and were caught out on the counter and on set pieces. Their 1st encounter with Juve this year saw the Sky Blues shoot to a 3-1 lead but let that slip and that has been the case all season. They tend to lapse concentration at the crucial parts of the match. This problem also saw them say goodbye to the 3rd and final spot in the Champions League next year and demoted them to the Europa League instead.
LAST 5 MEETINGS:
Juventus v Napoli (3-0) 2012
Napoli v Juventus (3-3) 2011
Juventus v Napoli (2-2) 2011
Napoli v Juventus (3-0) 2011
Napoli v Juventus (3-1) 2010
Juventus last won the Coppa Italia in 1995 beating Parma 3-0 on aggregate back in the day when the final held 2 legs to find a winner.
Napoli last won the title in 1987 beating Atalanta 4-0 on aggregate which of course was the Napoli side of the little Maradona.
So both clubs are hungry to have the Coppa Italia symbol on next years jerseys. Juve of course already have added the Scudetto to the jersey and would like to complete the jersey with their 10th Coppa Italia crown.
STADIUM:
In front of an already sold out Stadio Olimpico in Rome of 80,000 fans, this match should have it all. The stadium that plays host to the Roman clubs of AS Roma and SS Lazio. Apart from having the running track between the fans and the pitch, it truly has an amazing atmosphere and one fitting for a final of this capacity.
Prediction:
Juventus v Napoli (2-1) - (Del Piero, Caseres & Cavani)
Chiellini is a big absentie for black and white and filling his shoes will not be easy but I dont see Juve ruining a perfect season in a Stadium they have not lost in quiet sometime.
6 years fans of the Old Lady had to wait. They had to endure a match fixing scandal that players and coaching staff were kept in the dark about and that Luciano Moggi (ex president) organised with officials. 2006 was a dark time for Italian football, a time that saw Juventus demoted to Serie B and docked with a -17 points start. A period of time that saw AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Parma all docked minus points to start the season. Easy scudetto wins for Inter Milan right? The black and white army stood by the club and although star players such as Ibrahimovic, Zambrotta, Thuram, Cannavaro, Viera & Emerson all wanted out, there was a few super stars that decided to help this club out of a crisis. These players will forever be heroes to any Juventus fan and they are Del Piero, Buffon, Chiellini, Nedved, Camoranesi and Trezeguet.
The whole country bounced back though and Italy with 7 Juventus players won the World Cup which endured also the near death experience of Juventus veteren Gianluca Pessotto who felt the pressure and jumped off the Juventus office building and was in a coma until later making a full recovery.
After all this Juventus came back to the top flight to finish 3rd, 5th and lately 7th positions. Along came former player and now new head coach Antonio Conte to bring back the fire and grint that used to put fear in the oppositions eye. (video of Gary Neville finding out Juventus are the team he will face next).
This 2011/2012 season has been unique and record breaking. Juventus have not lost a game in all 35 league matches not including their cup final run in the Coppa Italia. With one game of the regular season left, it is apparent that the boys would want to finish strong in front of their home fans and hold aloft the cup that brings the club their 30th championship.
A lot has been written whether this is the 30th or the 28th championship but I'm sure the players and fans would agree 30 is the number that were won on the field and the politics that went on behind the scenes shouldn't affect the hard work the players and Lippi and Cappello endured.
Enough said since the left back of Juventus Paolo De Ceglie already customised his Jeep.
There have been many stand out moments this season for Juventus but here are my top five:
Del Piero's first league goal fittingly against Inter Milan in a 2-0 win.
Vucinic's 27 yard bomb that knocked AC Milan out of Semi Finals.
Lichsteiner's first goal of the opening game vs Parma.
Marchisio's goal vs AC Milan at the Juventus Stadium 2-0 win
Del Piero's free kick vs Lazio in a 2-1 win
Also many stand out players have been apart of this journey to the summit of Italian football and here is the list in order of the top performed players of season 2011/2012:
Andrea Pirlo
Arturo Vidal
Stephan Lichsteiner
Claudio Marchisio
Andrea Barzagli
Giorgio Chiellini
Alessandro Matri
Alessandro Del Piero
Gianluigi Buffon
Simone Pepe
Paolo De Ceglie
Leo Bonucci
Emanuele Giaccherini
Martin Caceres
Marcelo Estiggaribia
Andrea Pirlo cost the club absolutely nothing to get him to transfer from AC Milan and oh how that was a bad deal made by the Milan club. Letting one of the worlds best midfielders go for FREE to one of your biggest rivals. All Juve had to pay was his toll fare on the highway to get him over the boarder.
How about that image of Pirlo and Buffon, The Italian midfielder showing some water works moments after the win, for a player who last year went through hell sitting on the bench and his talent being played down, he over came all of this and proved the critics and especially the AC Milan club very very wrong.
Juventus have 2 competitive games left in the final season game at home vs Atalanta and the very important trip to the Olimpico in Rome for the Coppa Italia final vs Napoli which is set to be the last time we see Sir Alessandro Del Piero in a Juventus jersey and boy is that going to be hard to live with.
EPL -
Last year at this time the talk was all about the bottom teams and who was going to be the unlucky team to get relegated to the Championship. But this year it is all about the 3rd and 4th positions for Champions League qualification. The front runners are Arsenal and Tottenham but Newcastle are there also ready to pounce. The relegated positions are set and Wolverhampton will be joined by Blackburn Rovers and now awaiting one from either Bolton or QPR to join them.
Man City seem to have the league sown up if they can overcome one last hurdle in QPR who will be going all guns forward as Manager Mark Hughes faces his old club and also they are fighting for survival, whilst on the red side of Manchester, United head to Sunderland to try and end on a high and hope for an upset from the Blue side of Manchester. Chelsea's season is over but they have one more important game and that is the UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A tough place to play but even tougher without Terry, Ivanovic and Ramires.
PREDICTIONS:
Chelsea vs Blackburn = 4-0
Everton vs New Utd = 2-2
Man City vs QPR = 3-1
Norwich vs Villa = 2-0
Stoke vs Bolton = 1-1
Sun'land vs Man Utd = 1-3
Swansea vs Liverpool = 2-1
Spurs vs Fulham = 3-1
WBA vs Arsenal = 2-2
Wigan vs Wolves = 3-0
Juventus vs Atalanta = 3-0
Fiorentina vs Cagliari = 1-2
AC Milan vs Novara = 2-0
Parma vs Bologna = 2-2
Cesena vs Roma = 1-2
Lazio vs Inter Milan = 2-0
Chievo vs Lecce = 1-2
Genoa vs Palermo = 3-3
Napoli vs Siena = 4-0
Catania vs Udinese = 2-1
Overnight saw a very high scoring round in the EPL. We witnessed Everton tearing apart Fulham, the Swans and Wolves playing out an 8 goal thriller to finish up 4-4, Wigan revived their top flight hopes with an outstanding 4-0 win over the Toon side and it was the Luis Suarez show as Liverpool stole the point at Norwich with a 3-0 win. We also had a 2-2 draw at Sunderland who hosted Bolton and Stoke who drew with the Gunners 1-1.
It was fitting that in mid week Robin Van Persie was named the EPL player of the year and celebrating that award with a goal last night in the 15th minute. The striker has enjoyed a healthy run of goals this term and has him in good stead for the upcoming European Championships in June. A lot of clubs have been circling the Dutch striker and those clubs include Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. It is still unclear what the striker wants to do after this season but one thing is certain is that fans will have to wait after the Euro 2012 championships are done to see which jersey the prolific striker will put on in 2013.
In tonights games we travel to Stamford Bridge to see QPR try and wiggle their way out of 17th place and stay in touch with the likes of Wigan and Villa. Chelsea who are coming off a fantastic week that saw them qualify for the Champions League final and finally seeing Fernando Torres hit the back of the net, the club will surely love to end this week on a high. They are currently in 6th position but seeing as Arsenal (3rd) and Newcastle Utd (4th) both stumbled overnight, it gives the blues a chance to come within 1 point off Champions League places.
Tottenham are also in the mix for a top 4 place and they host Blackburn Rovers at White Hart Lane. Blackburn who sit in 19th place are all but assured the drop if they don't produce the game of their life and take home the 3 points. They will need results to go their way to escape relegation.
Spurs however sit in 5th spot and a win tonight will see them in 4th spot on goal difference. Lately Spurs have been in a purple patch with not having a win in the past 4 games:
Sunderland v Spurs 0-0
Spurs v Norwich 1-2
Spurs v Chelsea 1-5
QPR v Spurs 1-0
Spurs have a tricky run home to season end with away games at Villa and Bolton (both clubs fighting for survival).
I expect both games to have not one empty seat and hopefully plenty of goals.
Tuesday morning Australian time we see the game of the year. Manchester City vs Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium. As it stands:
Manchester United - 83 pts
Manchester City - 80 pts
A match that obviously City need to win to keep their hopes alive of claiming the title. But in saying that it is a position the master Sir Alex is all to familiar with. It will be a battle that I believe will be won in the midfield. Not so much by the play makers but by the hard working running of either De Jong or Yaya Toure for City and for United Michael Carrick. The strike power up front for City looks a lot better than United but all it takes is a brain burst by Mario Balotelli and the momentum swings United's way. Should be a fascinating game with plenty of goals.
Italian Serie A -
Overnight were 3 games and 3 draws. Palermo hosted Catania in a 1-1, Cagliari were held at home by Chievo Verona 0-0 and in the battle for 3rd place AS Roma scored in the last 10 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw against a determined Napoli side. The battle for the 3rd and final Champions League spot is heating up and it is between Lazio, Napoli, Udinese, Inter Milan and AS Roma. If Lazio win tonight they will be favourites to take the spot. But they do play Udinese who are 3 points away from them.
In other games the battle for the title is still on between Juventus and AC Milan. AC travel to Siena who are in 11th place and if they can pull an upset they can be as high as 9th if results go their way. In the last 5 meetings between these 2 AC Milan have won all 5.
Novara host top of the table Juventus and in their last meeting together Juventus prevailed 2-0 at the Juventus Stadium. A loss tonight for Novara will see them relegated to Serie B.
PREDICTIONS -
Chelsea vs QPR - 3-1
Tottenham vs Blackburn - 3-0
Man City vs Man Utd - 4-1
Fascinating match that showed 2 sides of the tactical game that we love. Chelsea managed by Italian coach Di Matteo had one game plan in mind and that was to score the away goal and then sit. Pep Guardiola's side needed goals and needed them fast and it was unfortunate that Lio Messi was on on his best form in this match. After sprinting to a 2-0 and in-between goals having captain John Terry sent off for what i thought was a yellow card offence, Barca kept the foot on the pedal but they must have thought they were still in the dressing rooms after a sublime pass by Lampard and a cheeky chip from Ramires saw the away goal in and the tie favouring the London side. It was pressure after pressure from the Spaniards but the Chelsea defence would bot crack sitting 10 players behind the ball and sliding one side to the other. It was very reminiscent to the plan Jose Mourinho had when he won the tie at the Camp Nou in 2010 with Inter Milan. At the end in the 91st minute a clearance from Bosingwa saw Torres one on one with the keeper and he slotted a well needed goal for the out of form striker.
Leo Messi would have some weight on his shoulders after a performance that he could be heavily critiqued for but come on, every player is allowed an off day and his off day was complete when he missed the penalty.
So Chelsea are through to the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich and will face the winner of tomorrows crucial clash between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Bayern lead the tie 2-1 and i believe have what it takes to hold that advantage when they travel to the Bernabeu. Key figures in this match will be the ever present Cristiano Ronaldo and Sami Khedira for Real whilst for Bayern i wouldn't be banking on a big performance from Arjen Robben but I think Ribery & Lahm can make the difference along with the 2 centre halves.
SERIE A:
Last night saw 2 important games that could decide the middle of the table and the last few spots in the Europa League. Cagliari were expected to fall against a well drilled Catania side but against all odds Cagliari won in a convincing manner 3-0. In Bergamo, Atalanta were expected to take the 3 points when they hosted Chievo Verona and that's exactly what they did with a 72nd strike from Moralez.
Tomorrow morning we'll see the rest of the Italian clubs play and it's obvious all the attention will be on the game at the San Siro where AC Milan host Genoa and also the match in Cesena where they will host the top of the table Juventus out fit. It's expected that both heavy weights will come away with the 3 points especially at the San Siro where AC are playing an out of touch Genoa side who have had their crowd problems as last week fans threw bottles on the field and the club has been hit with a 2 game suspension where they will play their home games in front on no supporters.
Juventus travel in healthy and momentes condition. Key figures in that match will be Vidal and the always dangerous Pirlo.
In other games Roma have a chance to heap more pressure on the last UCL spot when they host Fiorentina and in another crunch game Udinese are at home to Inter. Lazio should take the points at Novara and Napoli should do the job on Lecce.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:
In the one game overnight it seems that Villa are almost flirting with the relegation zone on purpose. They had chance after chance to finish off the Wanderers but in the end it was Owen Coyle's men who walked out of Villa Park with the 3 points to help their cause in getting away from the drop zone.
PREDICTIONS (tomorrows matches):
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich = 2-1 (extra time 0-0 and penalties won by Bayern Munich)
Let's kick off this blog with the Italian master Alessandro Del Piero. It really seems like the end of his career with the Old Lady of Italian football. The club keep refusing to speculate whether they will renew the captains contract. Juventus fans all over the world are fuming as they want to see their captain play in next years Champions League and also the simple fact that Del Piero should have the right to finish his career in the black and white.
Why Juventus need to keep Del Piero?
The club need him for several reasons. His presence alone brings confidence to other players in the dressing room and puts fear in the opposition when they see him on the team sheet. His experience on the european stage is second to none and coming off the bench is something I'm sure he won't have a problem with. Last weekend he made his 700th appearance in the black and white and scored his 289th goal for the club. Which means one more year and every fan would agree he would get his 300th goal in season 2012/2013.
It's a bitter sweet end as he has the chance to lift the Serie A title as well as the Coppa Italia if things go Juve's way.
There is talk that Juve will be making an appearance down under for a one off game in either Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne which will be great for any Juventus fan down here that haven't seen the black and white since they last visited Melbourne in 2008. In this trip Del Piero did not make it down due to being selected for the Italian Euro 2008 squad but this time he will make the trip and draw a healthy crowd.
It is certain that on the 13th of May, Juventus Stadium will be filled with both tears of joy and tears of sadness. It could be the arrival of the 30th Scudetto for the club and the sad part being Del Piero's last appearance. May will be a very interesting month.
While we we're sleeping !!!
Bayern Munich got the edge over Real Madrid in the Semi Final 1st leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A result that is balanced, Real would feel hard done by due to the fact a draw was the right result but never the less getting the all important away goal. While Bayern probably could feel relieved to get the win after missing a fair few half chances and a defensive lapse giving Ozil a tap in for the equalizer. There was a late penalty claim for the German side but one i believe waved away by the referee as a good decision. Mourinho would be fuming at defender Coentrao after in the dying minutes he got lured in by Lahm and dived in to no avail as the Bayern captain pranced by and crossed a dangerous ball to Luca Toni's replacement Mario Gomez.
Tomorrow morning is another mouth watering encounter with Barcelona travelling to Stamford Bridge to take on the rejuvenated Chelsea side. A Chelsea side that deeply want to forget about that 2009 cup tie where they just had to hold on 3 more minutes and they would have faced Man United in the final for the second year in a row until Iniesta's volley sunk the hearts on the rich London side.
It truly is a tough one to call so please scroll down to predictions below for my thoughts.
SERIE A - ROUND 34 (round 33 re-scheduled for mid week)
Following the horrific death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morrosini the round 33 matches in Italy were postponed out of respect. The midfielder and former Italian U21 international who was on loan from Udinese suffered a heart attack early in the second half of their match vs Pescara. Doctors were unable to resuscitate him and he passed away on the pitch.
This weekend we see a few great matches to report with Roma travelling to the Juventus Stadium and Bologna facing AC Milan. Two massive games that could give us a new chapter in the race to the Scudetto. Juve will be confident as they are yet to lose a game and are coming off a 6 game winning streak while Roma have also hit form and Luis Enrique's men are starting to play some attractive football as they aim for that 3rd and final UEFA Champions League spot. AC Milan have to keep the pressure on the bianconeri and face a tricky opponent in Bologna who have a well known striker in Marco Di Vaio who has a fantastic scoring record at the San Siro and the former Juventus employee will be out to help out his former team mates.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE !!!
Big game of this weekend will be the London derby which will see Arsenal playing host to Chelsea at the Emirates. This could be a tricky affair for the blues as they may rest players for their 2nd leg tie against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. If that is the case I see nothing else but a Gunners victory. Man City play away to struggling Wolves and if last week was anything to go by, Mancini's men may put 5 or more past the boys from Wolverhampton. The red devils play at home to Everton and this could be a tricky game for the reds as Everton coming off a FA Cup Semi Final loss will want to bounce back with a big scalp like United. We all remember Tim Cahill's bicycle kick their so maybe he can produce that again. Liverpool play at home against West Brom and if you're a betting man like I am then you'd put money on West Brom grabbing the 3 points an Anfield.
PREDICTIONS:
Chelsea vs Barcelona - 1-1
Juventus vs AS Roma - 3-1
AC Milan vs Bologna - 2-2
Fiorentina vs Inter - 1-1
Arsenal vs Chelsea - 2-0
Man Utd vs Everton - 2-2
Wolves vs Man City - 0-6
Liverpool vs West Brom - 1-2
Next Blog will be about the A-LEAGUE FINAL and a review of the Chelsea vs Barca match.
Lets kick this off with Mr Mario Balotelli. "Why always him"??? Well this Italian youngster is getting on the nerves of not just the City manager Mancini but all those sky blue supporters who really thought this year was their year. Balotelli's actions is also going to put a dent in Italy's preparations for the upcoming European Championships. This young character has been given chance after chance and yet he is still around. No doubt he is one of Gods gifts to our game but there has to come a time where enough is enough. Now City are 5 points away after United stumbled this morning and Balotelli could well be on the starting XI for when he returns vs Sir Alex's men but can Mancini trust him?
Super Mario is walking on very thin ice and odds are yes Prandelli will take him to Poland and Ukraine but one more slip up and the Italian can spend the off season watching his country play in a tournament he knows he could have won.
While we were sleeping!!!!
The Serie A is starting to get to the pointy end of the season and with only 6 points left Juve retained top of the summit with a 2-1 win against 3rd place Lazio. A game that was destined to finish 1-1 until the ever game changing bianconeri captain stepped up and slotted away a beautiful free kick in the dying minutes. Del Piero is playing his way into a contract extension and what a way to perform on his 700th appearance for the Old Lady of Italian Football.
AC Milan are 1 point behind and will not put their foot off the accelerator. AC face Genoa at home next a team who historically do well at upsetting Milan especially at the San Siro. With many players out due to injuries and suspension, fans are wondering whether they can keep the pressure on Juventus. Mr Allegri and his men will no doubt fight to the very end.
The battle for the last Champions League spot is heating up as Lazio, Udinese, Napoli and Roma are all in contention. Overnight Lazio lost to Juve, Napoli lost to Atalanta and Udinese lost to Roma. All results that obviously went Roma's way. Inter are also in contention but on count back it is likely they will not finish above any of the clubs above them due to a poor poor season.
In other leagues:
In Spain there was a brief scare for Real Madrid fans as at one stage Atletico and Real were stuck at 1-1 which would bring Barca a few points closer. But to the rescue Cristiano Ronaldo comes with an impressive hat trick.
In the EPL Man Utd suffered a surprising loss to Wigan who haven't fared to well at home this year but have helped Man City a lot. The sky blues demolished a helpless West Brom and we saw Tevez hit the back of the net just like old times. Arsenal brushed aside Wolves with a convincing 3-0 away win and QPR beat the Swans 3-0 to help them in their fight for survival.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund have given themselves a healthy 6 point lead at the top after defeating the heavyweights Bayern Munich 1-0.
In Australia the A-League does not look good at all. We all thought that the introduction of this new league after the old NSL would bring Football in Australia to a whole new level and in someways it has but if we look at the success the MLS has had in the USA we here in Australia are miles behind. The MLS are averaging 2 new clubs every 4 years to strengthen the league and introducing clubs from Canada as well.
We recently saw the dimise of Gold Coast United and the introduction of the new team in Western Sydney. Soon after billionaire Nathan Tinkler hands in Newcastle Jets license back to the FFA. The A-League is in shambles and it's hard to see where it will go from here. After the national team has done the country proud on the world stage it is a failure that the Aussie league can't be recognised as a serious competition.
2 great blockbusters this week with Inter bowing out **thank god** and Chelsea coming back from a 3-1 deficit to knock out the elegant Napoli side who we should all admire due to the way they play their football.
Unfortunately the draw was kind to the Los Blancos of Real Madrid and we see Barcelona heading to the San Siro to take on the whinging side of Mr Allegri.
EPL -
Well now we can all say that the race is seriously on !! No more distractions for the 2 sides from Manchester and with Tottenham slowly sliding away the Sky Blues and the Red Devils have it all to play for. Sure on paper City look to have it done and dusted but the grint of the devils and experience of Sir Alex will have this one going down to the last game of the season.
Chelsea have seemed to get back to basics and the style of Italian Di Matteo seems to be doing wonders. After over turning a cup tie vs Birmingham and also the tie vs Napoli i believe they can catch Arsenal and make the last UCL spot there's
The Gunners and the reds of Liverpool will be fighting out for Europa League placings and if Liverpool aren't careful enough the turn around Martin O'Neill has made at Sunderland looks promising and that similar of what Roy Hodgson did at Fulham a couple of years ago.
Prediction:
1. Man City
2. Man Utd
3. Spurs
4. Chelsea
Serie A -
This weeks clashes are probably the most important due to teams that can either pull away from others or catch up. AC travel to Parma which is a very tricky task, taking on in form Italian atomic ant in Giovinco whilst Juventus travel to Fiorentina and with Fiorentina striker Amauri out to prove a point to his former employers. Inter at home will struggle vs an in form Atalanta and by far the biggest clash will take place at Udine when Napoli take on Udinese.
There isn't long left in the league and although Juventus are undefeated the draws are killing there title hopes but never the less it was clear that this years objective for the Old Lady is achieve and Champions League spot and win the Coppa Italia. So far they are 2nd, 4 points a drift of AC and in the Coppa Italia have the upper hand in the semi final after the first leg of AC Milan vs Juventus finished 1-2 for the away side. The 2nd leg takes place on the 21st of March at a sold out Juventus Stadium and a passage to the final looks good.
Inter have struggled ever since the "special one" left and its no secret that the leagues they won in the past can come down to the fact both AC and Juventus were disadvantaged due to points deduction or relegation. Now that the big 2 heavy weights are back the Inter side look terrible. They are sitting 7th and in danger of slipping down to 8th. They won't make UCL or Europa, you can quote me on that.
Let's talk about the best leagues in the world and by that I mean me bitching and moaning about what everyone thinks is the best league and saying NO !!!
La Liga is SHIT - unless its the Super Classico it is up there with one of the most boring and predictable leagues. Every year Real and Barca fight it out for the title and this year we see Madrid running away with the title for the first time in a long time.
Serie A - after the last couple of years the standard has been very poor, but 2011/2012 season is in its league of its own. Finally the days are back where the title could be decided in the last 10 minutes of Round 32. There are multiple teams in the running this year from Juventus, AC Milan, Udinese, Lazio, Roma, Inter Milan and Napoli. All very close to each other and the quality of the games is very high. Now I might sound biassed in saying this league is the best because I'm italian but i tell you what im fed up with. On TV if you are watching your team playing a smaller side away from home at thier shitty stadium well it automatically looks boring even before the whistle blows. There are only 3 stadiums in Italy where i get excited bout watching the games and they are Juventus` new stadium. Roma and Lazio's Olimpico and Inter and AC's San Siro. It's time Italian clubs invested more in their facilities and from there i'm sure attendances will pick up.
EPL - quality is high but defending is poor. Titus Bramble is still playing and I don't know how. This league has it all from the flare of Man City to the never say die attitude of Man United to the one man team of Van Persie's Arsenal. Not to mention the choke artists of Liverpool and the hot and cold of the boys from White Hart Lane. At times there can be a gulf in class between the ones at the top and the boys at the bottom but then again you have those special surprises that keep everyone guessing. You've got Sunderland who are stringing a couple of good results then you have West Brom who away from home slotted 5 in at Wolves.
Notice i haven't mentioned Chelsea, well they have lost there class and are playing like West Ham did last year, no creativity and very predictable and pinning there hopes on a striker that has done nothing for them all year.
But theres nothing like EPL on the weekend is there, your sure to see a full stadium and some shit defending along with the killer instincts that Rooney, Bent and Van Persie can bring to a side. You also have your loose cannons like the Balotelli show and the Suarez vs Evra or the black guys vs the KKK brigade run by John Terry.
Bundesliga - Once was the leagues that everyone knew Bayern Munich would win hands down, but now with clubs such as Dortmund, Wolfsburg, Bremen, Hamburg and Schalke. The Germans alone have been a great side Internationally with a very consisted resume with multiple finals and semi finals and it reflects in the league.
EURO 2012 -
Here's your insight in the championships this June.
Group A -
1st - Russia
2nd - Greece
3rd - Poland
4th - Czech Republic
Reasons - Russia will bring to the table a youthful side but with the odd players that have plenty experience, players like Arshavin, Pavly to prove to be the difference and Greeks to qualify simply on consistency and one hell of a back line.
Group B -
1st - Germany
2nd - Netherlands
3rd - Portugal
4th - Denmark
Reasons - Germany have the mentality and just the expectations of making it to the later parts of tournaments and the side they bring to EURO's will emulate that. Holland will also be going through with a side that Van Persie will control and just all over the park very very strong. Portugal will unfortunately have the task of possibly being the one man show and lets face it Ronaldo in the portuguese jersey hmmm not that hot (footballing terms).
Group C - (mark my words)
1st - Italy
2nd - Ireland
3rd - Spain
4th - Croatia
Reasons - a very very tricky one to predict but i think the World Champs won't be as hot this tie around. With poor results on the lead up with losses to Switzerland and Italy i think they are losing their spark. The Italians look very strong and after their win in a friendly against Spain the signs look good but ONLY if Cassano and Rossi recover and Balotelli screws his head on right. Also the defence look solid with most of the back line coming from a Juventus side unbeaten and only conceeded 13 goals this season. Ireland are the dark horse and Trappatoni's men are eager to do well and are a solid team.
Group D -
1st - England
2nd - Sweden
3rd - France
4th - Ukraine
Reasons - out of principle because i hate the French they will not qualify out of the group !!! England will qualify with 9 points and 9 goals for and 3 against. Zlatan will come out of retirement to lead the Swedes through.
A very confident side with plenty of strike power with the left edge dominated by Zhirkov and up front led by Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko it could result with a total of 9 points in the group.
