Rome in a nutshell - HD - travel guide of italy

Is Juventus still a big club?

Juve have the illustrious history, but what have they really done recently to still be thought of as a big club? They have not won anything since there return to Serie A, but also the reason for their demotion does bring some niggling doubts on previous achievements. But less on that, more recently they have had this habit of falling seventh in the League. In the 09-10 season they ended in 7th but they were still in Europe, whereas this season they fell to 7th again...but didn't even get in Europe! How are they still able to pull in big names like Aguero? It continues to baffle me, as a supporter, I am excited at the prospect of signing a talented young player like him, yet, I do wonder.. who will be sacrificed?

The Argentinian forward is a much sort after talent, he has scored 20 goals in 32 games and has mad at least 2 assists. The 5ft 7 forward has a bit of an ego, and who can really blame him with his constant comparisons to Argentina's idol, Diego Maradona, his ego was obviously going to be inflated. One does wonder, how is he going to co exist with Juve legend, Alex Del Piero? ADP has earned the right to be held in such high regard with his loyal service to the club, Aguero is the new kid and he might not realise his place.

Juve have already paid a huge amount to keep many of the players that they had on loan, and now Lichsteiner has almost become a juve player- One thing that Juve does have is a big wallet, but can that save them forever?

Claudio " il principino " Marchisio 2010-2011

New Stadium of Juventus Turin | 2011-2012.

Melo Madness...

Felipe Melo is the hardman in the middle of Juventus, let's face it, his first season at the Bianconeri didn't really put him in the best light, but this second season has seen a vast improvement in his performance and temper. After his first season he was awarded the " Golden bin" award, which is for that worst player in Serie A. It may have been a little harsh.. as Juve as a whole were disappointing to say the least!

He has formed a good working relationship with Marchisio... and let's face it, Claudio is not the toughest guy in the midfield, so a hard man like Melo is ideal, not only that but his temper has also improved, his first season saw him get 9 yellow cards and 2 reds, whereas this season he has only had 6 yellow cards and 1 red in 29 starts. Also being Brazilian he is not afraid to take a shot, albeit only 1 equalled a goal but he did have 34 shots. It is my humble opinion that the only reason they didn't sell him last season is because there were no buyers because every one's attention was on the other Brazilian...Diego. Could you just imagine how good Diego would have been if they only gave him a chance?!

I understand Melo's frustration at being used as a bargaining chip. It doesn't seem quite right or fair and sooner or later player will come to understand how fickle the people in Turin can be,

Diego Ribas - This is Magic

"Kun" to conquer Juve...

.... I believe this to be utter fantasy, even though he has indicated that he wants to leave Atletico, he still wants to play for Europe. Also I strongly believe that he doesn't want to fall victim to Juve's revolving door policy.... and who could blame him after the situation with Diego and now Aquilani. No matter how much money is thrown at him, I don't think he will move to Juve knowing that it is up to him to get Juve back to their former glory. And in all seriousness, how can you realistically expect one player to do all this?

I am still and always will be a Juventus fan and I would love to see a young talented player, like Sergio Aquero come to Turin.... but I don't think it's fair to pin all their hopes for success on this one player, it's not fair on him and the supporters.

Juve lack the patience and don't have faith in what they can actually do, in time. Not only that, but it is rather ridiculous to spend a huge amount of money on one player and least we forget his inflated wages!! One thing that does give me a little hope is the fact that they have decided to keep the players that were loanees. All of them have the potential to payback Juve pretty soon.

Sergio Aguero | Juventus Target

Addio Diego (Per una storia chiusa ingiustamente)

Diego trouble...

It seem to be going very badly for the little Brazilian, who has been fine half a million by current club Wolfsburg. He left the team hotel before the last match they had and was duly fine for his petulant behaviour, but can you really blame him? His ego has obviously been seriously wounded after what Juventus had done to him. Diego has wrongly been labelled as a "bad boy", okay he did take a penalty kick that was assigned to another player- and then missed, and then there is this incident, but after the way the Bianconeri had treated him, it's not surprising.

Juve had signed him from German side Werder Bremen for 24.5 million euros and he was contracted for five seasons, however, he was returned to sender after just one. Juve had a terrible 09-10 season, with injuries to vital players at crucial times and changes in managers, so, it was not all his fault. What made this injustice worse was how Diego was treated, the whole summer they were playing around with this idea of selling him and then they came out and said how important he was to the team, he even played a pre-season friendly, and then he was sold for less than Juve originally paid for him, and now it looks like Wolfsburg are planning to do the same!

Footballers have incredibly fragile ego's, just imagine what this has done to his, at only 26 and having such a great season at Werder, where he scored 20 goals in his last season- and then to go to Italy in the hopes of bigger and better things, only to be returned after one season to the same league you left and to a lower team- this must have crushed him. I only hope that he can return to form soon. Juve will start to feel the repercussions of their revolving door policy when players don't wont to go to Turin anymore..

Review of The Socerer's Apprentice

A surprisingly funny film, obviously aimed at kids, but still enjoyable as an adult. Nick Cage was funny as the teacher with the unwilling pupil, what I love about this film is that it gives some love to the geeks, and it is the geek who ends up saving the world with some wacky thing called science ;) Dave was a likable character, and even though he ended up being the hero, he remained the normal geeky kid. Obvious romantic aspect thrown in there for good measure.

All in all, a fully enjoyable and watchable film,and I especially like the nod to fantasia, because the film basically follows the same storyline.

2 1/5 out of 5

Review of The Karate Kid...

Okay, now just this title in itself is racist, in China they do Kung Fu not Karate, and yes and know they mention this, but in a dismissive way like it doesn't even matter. Another strike against this is that Jaden looks like he's 5!! And do we really want to encourage kids to fight. This should be called The Karate Toddler.

The racism doesn't stop at the title, they imply all through the film how the "poor little children" aren't allowed to play, they don't see this as just having great discipline. The thing that rang true was how wasteful Americans are, they point it out with the hot water, I thought this was a nifty idea but they thought it was strange!

Another negative, the soundtrack was annoying, they were in China, yet it was stupid rock music- it didn't go with the film, I consider the soundtrack to be one of the most important aspects of a film.

You feel absolutely no sympathy for Jaden's character, he comes off as arrogant and stroppy, all you want to do is smack him, I mean they're moving to China and he doesn't bother to learn Chinese beforehand! This was such a cheap rip off, and is not even in the same class as the original. In the original, the fighting may be slow but atleast you felt for Daniel, you felt his pain and frustration. And another thing, how in Gods name can you learn Kung Fu from picking up your jacket! It makes no sense, at least in the original you understand why he's painting the fence and waxing his cars.... he believes if he does this Mr Myaghi will teach him Karate!













A film that has no identity, they tried doing this by moving to China....It didn't work!






1 out of 5- and that's only because those Chinese kids can really fight! Some things shouldn't be remade- they made a mockery of it.

Milos Krasic |Juventus| 2010/2011 Goals & Skills

Patience, a forgotton virtue..

People are so quickly to label you a failure if you don't bring instant success. This is more true than ever in the world of spots but more so in Football. Juventus is a club with tremendous history and a history based on winning lots of trophies. Lately however, they have fallen victim to their " incredible past". People expect them to be major contender in every competition they're involved in, this is likely to be daunting for any new player, but the player I want to focus on is Milos Krasic.

Milos has incredible speed and amazing dribbling ability yet he is physical rather small and has unfairly be accused of diving. People don't take into account that he is new to the league and maybe he just doesn't wan to end his career to end in agonising pain like Nedved , so he anticipates the hit before it happens and it MAY look likes he's diving but he's not! Anyway, he was praised and loved when he first arrived to Turin, but as soon as his for dropped just a little, the press, his coach and even some of the players turned against him. The Coach would substitute him almost every game and some of his teammates would get angry at Milos,it was clear, Krasic was not a happy bunny. It became increasingly obvious in his body language on the pitch, he rarely looked happy and was not seen to celebrate with his teammates. Krasic is a player for the future, at 26, there is alot he can still do if he was given a chance. But we all know Juve, they like to get rid of players aged 26 and bring in players aged 32!

It's not all the clubs fault, the fans are also very fickle, one moment they are chanting his name and the next they turn their backs on him, I'm not only talking about Krasic, anyone who has a slight dip in form is crucified... and that is largely due to the media frenzy surrounding a player. People must learn to make up there own minds and stick with the choices the have made.

Spoilt kids...

That is exactly the way Juventus are acting. Each season they go out and spend huge amounts of money only for their new players to run out of juice mid season. It baffles me how they don't have enough money to keep certain players, yet they have enough to spend on the likes of Tevez, Pastore, Vucinic and Aguero?!

Have they learnt anything from the last two seasons.... they cannot win the league with a few superstars especially when the rest of the team is not exactly stable. Not only that, but players need time to get to know the culture and style of Italian football and they must gel as a team, they can hardly do this when the personnel keeps changing and everyone is wondering whether they will be there next season. After refusing to pat Liverpool, they are without Aquilani and that poor lad has to return to England, but now they are reconsidering keeping Simone Pepe!! He has done well linking up with Del Piero and has proven himself to be very versatile, I'm sure he'll be able to adjust to whatever Conte decides to throw at him. Juve are starting to attain a revolving door policy, where, if by the first season you are not scoring goals in every game you are out... least we forget about Diego. It is my humble opinion that because Juve treated him so badly, it has forever left a bad taste and having to return to the same league but a lower team than before, this can have a damaging affect on anyone.... and to think he is only 26, he could have been great at Juve- him and Krasic, can you imagine what would've been?

Review of Predators

Nothing can beat the original, this on the other hand was a poor imitation. It started of rather slow with everyone introducing themselves, it had a few moments that would make you jump but the actual Predators looked to comical to take seriously. The original film would always have the predator in the shadow and you would never see it till the very end. In my opinion, that is more effective, as a general rule, the less you see the more scary it will be, the unknown is much more frightening. There were obvious moments in the film when they would just rip off the original movie, like the scene with the Japanese Yukuzo is facing off with the creature, this is the same as when the American Indian faced off with one in the original. It isn't a homage' if you just copy and paste from the original! It was a rather simplistic storyline and a little insulting to anyone with half a brain. The acting was okay but they had too man moments where they would stop and explain for the audience... again very insulting!

1 1/5 out of 5

Alberto Aquilani pt 2..

It seems as though Juve have opted not to make his move permanent, it seems an unnecessary cruelty to keep playing with players like this, least we forget the Diego saga... They got him and after just one season they got rid of him, what was worse with Diego was that they spent the whole summer assuring everyone he will stay and is an important part of Juve, they even made him play some pre-season games, and then they returned him to the Bundesliga!! And this is not only bad practice and frustrates the player but also the supporters. With Diego they made a huge loss, and the poor season wasn't Diego's fault, the entire team looked amateurish. If they continue with this behaviour it will harm their reputation in the long run, I mean who would want to be treated like this?!

Alberto may not have shone on his brief stint with Juve but he is only 26 he can still be an asset. And with the highest respect for Andrea Pirlo, but how long is he really going to last? Juve are being extraordinarily short sighted and I fear it will lead to the inevitable downfall of the " Turin Giants".

Alberto Aquilani....

At only 26, he is still a promising player. He had a torrid time at Liverpool ( who can blame him!)

and he has been okay at Juve. But let's face it... he wasn't exactly used in an effective way and the managers tactics were bizarre to say the least, how many times did he sub Krasic, one of the only bright sparks in the team?!

Aquilani has made it perfectly clear he doesn't want to return to England, he's even considering going to Inter...that's how desperate he is to stay! He obviously loves playing in Italy and when a player is happy they often play their best- with the exception of Tevez, who is always amazing.

I fear that Juve will let him go because he hasn't shone in his first season, but who does? With all the pressure and expectation especially from a club like Juve, who have lost their winning ways, the pressure can be too much. If some other Serie A club snatches him up, they will regret it. With all due respect, Andrea Pirlo is 32 and against Ireland he was the weak link, as Trap said, if you stop Pirlo you win the game.

Italy Vs Republic Of Ireland 0-2 - All Goals & Match Highlights - June 7...

Man vs. Wild: Bear Grylls Eats a Fish- hope you have more than this for your BIRTHDAY! Have a good one!

Happy Birthday Bear!! (hope you have a great day 2morro)

Bear Grylls is an amazing man, and should take a break for his big day! He is a smart man,not only for what he has done but for what he has done for us- given us a decent TV show that is both entertaining and educational. Bear, I am so grateful for your show, considering how much dribble is on TV, this is the shining light, the one glimmer of hope for humanity. That might sound a bit extreme, but just look at kids today... they need a positive role model to look up to.

Bear's shows shouldn't be compared to the likes of Jackass etc. He is a properly trained individual and he knows his limits. He does not do what he does purely for fame but also to educate us. He does not say you should go out of your way and get into these situations, he simply explains how you can get out alive and gives the audience the know-how, so they can get out alive when there is no one around and where your iphones etc don't work. A scary thought, being without technology but it can be gone in an instant so it is better to be prepared.

Mr Grylls, we thank you and wish you luck for the future!!! And stay safe!!

The dream that was Rome...What was it?

Well, the answer to the above question is evident in everything we do. Just a quick run down of what they have done for us and believe me there are many more, I just don't have the time to list them all out. They made the magnificent Aqueduct system, which allowed water from high in the mountain to reach the cities, sanitation, roads, irrigation, education, medicine and public order, they were able to manage the people of Rome and keep everyone relatively satisfied ( unlike now!)

Rome was once a mere village but it soon became the model which every other city was trying to emulate in some way. One of the many smart things they did is giving the people an identity to be proud of, everyone was proud of being a Roman and would try and live up to the dream of what Rome was. The main thing that made any empire great was the military, and Rome had the best, the most advanced and maybe even the most progressive. You see, many soldiers in the military were not even born in Rome, they came from all over the Empire, including Spain and Greeks and after a service of 25 year you were given Roman Citizenship, which would mean you had the same privileges and were bound by the same law as the average Roman.

The Romans gave us more than just roads and military tactics, they also gave us language and philosophy- that has sadly diminished somewhat with the Anglo-Saxons and in the dark ages. But you can still see evidence of what was once the Roman Empire, you just have to look a little harder.

To be continues....

Italy Vs Estonia 3-0 Group C All Highlights And Goals 03-06-2011 Euro 2012

Italy v Estonia- 3-0

A wonderful result for the Azzurri as they are 5 points clear with 4 games left to play. The stats speak volumes: Italy had 14 shot with 9 on target and worked the keeper into making 6 saves, while Estonia had 4 shots and 1 on target and only tested Buffon once. While possession was an equal 50/50 everything else was all Italy. Italy were without a traditional striker as Mario Balotelli was out injured, so he went with Milan's Cassano and the soon to be Barcelona man, Giuseppe Rossi. And what a pairing, Rossi opened the scoring on the 21st minute while Antonio Cassano doubled the lead just before half time, Rossi had a number of chances to score more but the woodwork denied him. All this does make me ask question as to why he wasn't grabbed by any Serie A clubs? He's not that tall at a mere 5ft 8in, but you don't have to be huge to be a star- Messi proves that! Rossi has had a wonderful season at the Spanish club Villareal, scoring 30 goals in all competitions, one always wonders whether we messed an opportunity. Juventus were linked as a possible destination, but like I've said be fore, the Italians are mistrustful of their youth- they must be kicking themselves now.

Marchisio leaving....

That is the most outrageous piece of gossip I have ever heard. He recently signed a contract extension of 5 years and has been a starter for at least 32 matches for Juve last season, now how did anyone think he would be on the outs is beyond me... but this is Juve and they are known for doing these kinds of things. I do admit that Juventus have been purchasing a few midfielders, and that may make you wonder... bur Pirlo is hardly a long term solution at 32, Marchisio is only 25, he grew up sweating black and white, coming through the youth system and captaining the side on many occasions, now where would anyone get the ridiculous notion that he would leave?

Juve need to construct a team and for that they need stability and continuity, they can hardly do this if everyone is worried about their future at the club. Claudio has earned the right to wear the Juve jersey through blood, sweat and tears, it would be sheer cruelty to take that away from him.