Major Blooper by Platini..

The comments made by UEFA President Michael Platini recently have caused a bit of a stir, he commented about how Juventus should consider themselves to be in the final 8 of the Champions League and how Celtic stood no chance.


As a Juve fan myself, I had a rather mixed feeling about this, on one hand I was glad that Juve were once again held in such high esteem, but on the other I felt a little uneasy. He was being incredibly unfair to a team that beat Barcelona, showing that they had quality but he was also opening Juve up to the conspiracy theories, should luck determine their victory. I for one am sick of Juventus being associated with scandal and these comments didn’t help!

Platini is the president of the competition and should be smart enough not to comment on the game, as the media will inevitable take this and whip everyone into a frenzy. Platini is known for being honest and open, but this is one situation that the former Juventus player should have kept his mouth shut.

Celtic have shown that they have the quality and the will to get this far, and lest we forget, it’s called The Champions League for a reason; they are the best teams in their respective Leagues. I’m just glad that no one from the Juve came out and said something like this. They seem to have their heads screwed on right, as Captain Gigi Buffon has nothing but good words for his opposition and the young keeper, he even went as far as saying he “ could be one of the best young goalkeepers”. Now that is class!

The Old Lady would be wise to ignore the comments made by Platini, if they start to believe it, complacency may set in and that is always a mistake! Anything can happen over two legs and the loss of Giorgio Chiellini will mean that Juve will have to be extra sharpe!

Juve in 2013 ...

What will the New Year hold for the Bianconeri? We don't know, all we know for certain is that 2012 wasn't half bad! Winning the title was perhaps the most satisfying moment as Juventus had a torrid time before that, finishing seventh in the league, out of the Scudetto race and out of Europe, critics didn't see this coming and to remain unbeaten for an entire season, well, what can you say?!

There were raised eyebrows upon hearing that Antonio Conte was appointed as Coach, but it worked out perfectly. The former Juve midfielder had just helped Siena return to Serie A and had little experience at managing in the top- flight. Conte surprised everyone with Juve's 49 game unbeaten run, and this record was not the only thing that impressed everyone- including me! He won his games with a brand of football that reflected his personality, it was both aggressive and never gave in even when they were trailing.

The comments coming from Arturo Vidal are great to hear, it is always a good sign when your players believe they have the ability to win everything. Yet he must not get to ahead of himselfor he may run the risk of winning nothing, because last year they didn't have to worry about the Champions League. Also last season they did draw a lot of games- 15 to be exact, and in a knockout game with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and yes, even Manchester United, it will not be easy!

Juve play their games with such a high intensity that sometimes I fear that they might burn out. Not to mention that if they don't get the goals early on that they have some difficulty getting the goals. All the talk is that because they haven't got the "big name" striker they are still lacking. I tend to disagree, they may not have the big names but they have intelligent players that work for the team. Intelligence goes a long way because these player know how and when it is best to go forward and attack or when it is better to defend, And this can help them maintain their momentum and energy, as they wont just be running around like headless chickens!

Maintaining their concentration and motivation will be up to Conte, but something tells me he has a handle on it! All I'm saying is that Vidal has to remember that they have to beat the best teams in Europe before they can think about doing the treble and that's no easy feat especially in your first year back.

I'll be with you guys no matter what happens, I'm proud to be a Juventino!

Cagliari V Juventus

A game that was not as easy as the score-line might suggest, this was a plucky Cagliari side that were not at all intimidated by their opponent's. A little bit of luck and some odd referring decisions helped the Bianconeri and they were crowned Winter Champions. But above all Alessandro got on the score sheet twice! Hopefully this will boost his confidence, and if Juve don't get the " big name striker", it wont matter as much.

The big news ahead of the game besides where it was going to be played, was the fact that Giorgio Chiellini was going to be out for 2-3 months. Chiellini is such a rock in that back three that it was going to be a challenge to play without him. Instead we had Martin Caceras, he had only started five games so far and you could see why, he was seen to be a little unsure on the ball and did give the ball away a number of times. A little slack was due, as he hadn't played and was noticeable rusty. One was a little confused as why the youngster Luca Morrone was not given a shot, he had played in the centre of defence before and had the energy and enthusiasm to go against this fiery side from Sardinia.

Juventus started this game at a surpising tempo, not as high as we have become accustomed and Cagliari were surprisingly organised and quick of the mark. They were so quick in fact, they were the first to score on 16 minutes. It was a well taken penalty by Mauriscio Pinilla, Gigi Buffon went in the right direction but could do nothing to stop the ball from flying past him into the net.

Juve did all they could to get back into the game but it became obvious that some changes had to be made as they were losing the ball in midfield to easily. The pressure was all Juve as they had a whopping 66% possession, and they did try and make it count with 30 shots and 10 of them were goal bound. Yet it was some fine saves by Micheal Agazzi that helped keep Cagliari in front.

In the second half The Old Lady player with more urgency and were helped a little when Davide Astori got his second yellow card and was given his marching orders in the 64th minute. The home side had a lot to do anyway but now with 10 men it was going to be difficult to say the least! Juve were in the ascendancy and they had an opportunity to level the scoring in the 71st minute when a Cagliari player was deemed to have tripped Sebastian Giovinco. Arturo Vidal stepped up to take the penalty, but he ballooned it over the crossbar.

Yet they didn't have to worry about it too long as Alessandro Matri was on hand to score against his old club. Nearly all the second half was played in the attacking half and with 6 added minutes it the perfect chance to break the wall of Cagliari players, and it was Matri again and just to add a cherry on top, Mirku Vucinic scored the third.

It may have took them a while to get started, but when they did it was like poetry in motion!

Good TV.....

... A thing of the past, it's sad really because not so long ago TV and movies used to be so much better, better characters, better dialogue and an intelligent storyline, now it's all about sex and violence. Don't get me wrong, these two aspects were always present but whereas they had relevance, now they are just placed in there for the sack of having violence and sex.

Tv shows used to be great, and it wasn't as if it was all that long ago, shows like Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Boston Legal to name but a few ended around  early 2000 to 2010, so not that long ago. I had a brief moment of hope when a show called The Mentalist started. It was a brilliant cop drama that had a good set of actors but above all a good story with excellent writers.

It centred around a character that suffered a tragedy, but that tragedy went on to long. Where it had a natural ending ( season three finale) they decided to drag it  out instead of innovating and coming up with a new story arc like The X-files, they just decided to extend it to the point of being ridiculous!

I grew up with shows like the X-files, where the show drew on actual events but moulded it to the show. They relied more on good dialogue between the characters rather then now where they will just distract you with fancy and unnecessary action scenes and nudity. Shows used to encourage the audience to think but now they do everything they can to prevent that, instead they try and encourage you to focuses on what they're wearing and who they're doing!

The X-Files like the Mentalist had a single tragedy that was driving the lead, but whereas The X-File went from strength to strength after they revealed what happened to Mulder's sister, The Mentalist missed the opportunity to try something new after Jane killed the serial killer: Red John and just became weaker and is insulting to anyone with half a brain cell! Not only that but it is unmemorable, I constantly forget what has happened in previous episodes, whereas before, we actual had discussions about the episode and where the story might take us, now I can't wait for it to end!

The general public has been systematical dumbed down by the media. And most of it is because now if show don't immediately do well they will be cancelled. And the way that they determine whether or not a show is doing well is by going by the "ratings", but that's not exactly the most accurate way to determine how well a show is doing. You cannot actually determine whether the person watches the entire show, how many people actually watch the show and you can not get an accurate result because you will never have enough information to conclude what the entire population is watching.

I have to a large extent actually stopped watching new shows and instead watch re-runs of Boston Legal or just dip into my box sets of The X-Files, BSG,Lost, Heroes and Due South. Shows used to have strong. Intelligent and witty story lines now they just have canned laughter or shows that lecture you like you're a child, which I find insulting. Show like Boston Legal and The X-File challenged the social norm and encouraged you to question things more, I miss that!!!

Gianluigi Buffon

Gigi as he is lovingly known by the supporters, he is highly regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it is evident by the number of accolades he has accumulated over the years. He is a keeper that exudes confidence and he is a true captain as he is always seen marshaling the troops.

For any players to be regarded as the best of anything, he must always remain a professional whenever in the public eye, and that is true with this man as he personifies excellence where ever he goes.

Recently Buffon collected  the Cartellino Viola award along with Milan boss Allegri in the wake of Novembers clash at the San Siro for their sportsmanship. The game ended with the home side winning, but after a dubious handball decision that went against Juve. This could have lead to outrage and there could have been conspiracy theories for days to come, except there wasn't thanks to the utter class from these two men.

Every Biaconeri fan could see that the team was not playing up to their usual standards and were being outplayed by the Milanese. The handball decision was a mistake, as later viewing showed that it hit Nocherino, but instead of dwelling on this one incident, Buffon just admitted that his team were outplayed by their opponent and sometimes mistakes happen in the game and that sometime they benefit from them and other times they don't. He showed his class and that is exactly why he is adored in Italy.

Allegri admitted to the fact that it was an error and that perhaps a draw would have been a fairer result. The Italian game has displayed great class and professional respect and the rest of Europe should show their respect to Calcio again!

Masters of Self Destruction?

Culture of violence




I am not surprised about yet another tragedy in the States. This is the second mass shooting this year that we’ve actually heard about, but perhaps this was the most tragic as it was elementary children that lost their lives. There was another shooting that happened in the summer in a cinema in Colorado, something of a trend has been happening for a long while but I hope now, they won’t be able to ignore it and actually take steps to prevent it from happening again.

But for a country such as America, it won’t be as straightforward as taking away the guns. There is too much money and politics involved, not to forget that they are the most paranoid people in the world, and they believe that danger is around every street corner- even gated communities with private security! One would think that maybe there is a reason that people and Countries tend to dislike them, they do remind me of the schoolyard bully, constantly humiliating everyone and taking things that don’t belong to them, then being left confused when they realise everyone hates them and they have no friends.

People are exposed with images of violence every day of their lives, from the moment they get up to the moment they got to sleep, they are exposed to it from the way the news is presented to video games, they have started to glorify it and because people are exposed to this kind of media 24 hours a day, they BELIEVE it’s true, that they need to be on their guard all the time and thus it becomes a normal part of everyday life. But this type of extreme paranoia can only lead to an extreme anxiety.. And is that really a way to live?

The availability of guns has to be looked at more carefully, and it’s not even normal handguns, these were military spec with extra clips of ammo to insure maximum casualties!! Does anyone see how barbaric it is, and what saddens me even more is the response by some of these “news” presenters, they actually believe that if the teachers had guns, it wouldn’t have happened??!! Do they believe that teachers will be calm and decisive in that kind of situation?? They haven’t been trained by Jack Bauer, there will just be more casualties! And lest we forget, Jack Bauer is a TV character, but he is another example of how they glorify violence.

The legislators ( gun lobbies) would go on about how they have strict regulations and can control who can have access to these weapons, but how much control do they really have when an allegedly disturbed person can just buy a military grade gun?? Something is not right! It goes even deeper, it’s about how they treat the mentally ill, this goes again to people not caring, I mean how does a disturbed person just be able to roam the streets and why isn’t there a better way of helping these people before they become a danger to society? The response will probably be the same as always, just lock them up, they respond to any and every threat that way. They believe that just by keeping them in a cage that they are actually dealing with the problem but in all actuality they are just creating more violent offenders.

In the wake of this tragedy gun sales have actually gone through the roof! What is wrong with these people? More violence is there only response to EVERYTHING!

Speading sickness..

The sickness in this society

I was walking through Windsor and was so sickened when I saw homeless people sitting opposite Windsor castle, that just describe this country down to a T doesn’t it. People starving and freezing with no place to go, while you have this enormous VACANT building just across the road from them. It’s despicable that they should call this country “ Great” Britain, I mean what’s so frekking great! The fact that we have empty castles while there are people with no roofs over their head! I don’t believe that’s at all “moral” do you?

How can these people sleep at night knowing that there are people out there starving and probably going to freeze to death? I mean what kind of uncaring sods are we turning into where we care more about profits than people?

The glaring fact is that things are just going to get worse, bills and other living costs are going to increase and the most vulnerable in society are going to get hit. In case you didn’t hear about it, austerity is going to continue for at least another five years!! The whole of Europe united in protest against these actions and did it by putting their bodies on the line, and how does the UK respond?? Firstly by condemning those actions and just blaming the “lazy Europeans” who just don’t want to work. But the UK fails to grasp who really is to blame.

The poor old couple or the students are not to blame yet they are forced to live with debts that will take almost a lifetime to pay off due to the obscene tuition fees that they have been burdened with. That is what we have done; we have condemned future generations to work of the debts of this society. It all started with letting the bankers getting away with stealing all our money and then the government using OUR money to bail them out, while they go off and do the same thing all over again. But God forbid we should put stricter regulations on the “banksters”, no, we should just strip the public of any benefits or rights because it's easier, and do you know why it’s easier here??? People here are so easily distracted and deceived by the media, that they would turn on each other rather than go after the people who are meant to be running this country.

Do you have any idea what austerity really is?? It is just the modern word for slavery, after all you will have to work like dogs for the rest of your lives and at the end of it you won’t even get a liveable wage. Wages have not increased for the last ten years, yet everything else including PUBLIC transportation seems to be going up every six months! Why is this being allowed to happen? All the government is doing is pushing more and more people into extreme poverty. And by having a more poverty stricken society you will also get more desperate people, which will then inevitably lead to more crime.

I heard something on the radio this morning that left me with a feeling of utter disgust. I did not get the specific because the media is purposely vague on important matters, but when it comes to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt we know the intimate details! Anyway, they briefly talked about how some people are so desperate that they have resorted to stealing food, and what I found disturbing was the response by the officials, which was basically how people shouldn’t steal when it can affect businesses and jobs!! So apparently, they would rather have half the population starve to death rather than disrupt business!!

What kind of government would rather lose their people than potential business?? People wake up, and see what is going on here… we are living in a Fascist country, where the promise of profit is more important than the promise of the people, something has gone seriously wrong here and we have been so oblivious to all the signs and have let it happen without putting up any form of resistance, but that's not the most enraging thing, this country has the arrogance to say that it's better than Europe and everyone else!! At least in European countries you wont find rubbish and puke in the main streets like you do in oxford circus!!

Juventus v Atalanta

Or as it's otherwise known as, The Old Lady versus The Giant Killers. Atalanta had come to acquire this nickname due to the fact that they have beaten both Milan clubs and were not to be underestimated.
Yet Atalanta could not make another big club from the northern regions of Italy suffer as Juve ran riot with a 3-0 victory in the first half an hour. Juventus extend there lead at the top by 7 points as Inter lost to Lazio on Saturday.

The game started of in usual way with Juventus keeping a lot of the ball. Mirko Vucini was the first player to inflict damage on the side from Bergamo. He was able to curl the ball with only the Atalanta keeper to beat. Almoat immediately German Denis could have equalised if it was not due to the quick thinking and intervention of Gianluigi Buffon. Buffon was a spectator for a major part of the game, only having to make 2 saves compared to Andrea Consigli's 9. However Buffon was always quick and alert to any danger, because he is a professional after all.

Just ten minutes later Juve had the chance to inflict further damage on the away side when they were given a free kick in an optimum area. Andrea Pirlo duly obliged when his direct free-kick curled over the wall and found its way in the top left hand corner of the goal past Consigli.Confidence was flying high as five minutes later Giorgio Chiellini had a shot from 20 yards just whistle by the post!

Juve did not have to wait long- 7 minutes to be exact before making it 3-0. Claudio Marchisio further demonstrated Juventus' dominance when his 25 yard thunderbolt of a shot went past the fingertips of the Atalanta keeper. All credit to Atalanta, they didn't let their heads drop but any response was made difficult when Thomas Manfredini committed a second bookable offence and left his team to fight on without him.

After the sending off Juve had an opportunity to take their foot off the gas, yet they continued in true fighting spirit. In the second half they had further opportunities to inflict damage on the visiting side. Yet it did not seen to happen as both Sebastian Giovinco and Fabio Quagliarella were either caught offside or were just wide of the target.

The first half blitz by Juventus was deemed enough as they won the game with ease and above all... a clean sheet for Buffon!!! Because no matter how great a keeper you are, this is the one stat that many people remember. Now we want a victory against Cagiari, so we can officially call Juventus Winter Champions!!

A closing society?

The following are indications that society is closing:

1. Make people afraid of an internal and external threat
2. Secret prisons, where torture can take place undisturbed by the trifle of law
3. Develop a paramilitary force
4. Keep a watchful eye on ordinary people
5. Detain and release ordinary citizens- to show them you have the power
6. Restrict the press, so that you only get the news they want you to have
7. Label any dissent as an act of treason and criticism as espionage

8. Change the law when it suits you.

Any of this familiar????

One step forward, 10 steps backwards

Personality Disorder Checklist


• Unconcern for the feeling of others

• Inability to maintain meaningful/ long term relationships

• A complete disregard for the feeling of others

• Repeated lying, dishonesty and manipulating people in order to make a profit

• Not being able to feel any guilt or remorse

• Not having the ability to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviour.





The above is just a basic checklist, but I have a strong feeling that we can apply them to anything in this society. That is a sad thought, and it’s not just individual people but large corporations and entire governments. In this so called “developed countries”, everything is pushed towards the idea that if you don’t step on each other, you will not get far in life; it’s ingrained in everything we see and where it was a stigma to do the above, now it is encouraged!



A few points from the list pop out as soon as you read through it, the first one is: a complete disregard for the feeling of others. This can be proven just by reviewing what kind of television we watch amongst others. The “reality show”, first of all it’s not reality, the mere fact that it is being filmed and that there are cameras changes everything from what we would normally do. The format of these types of show are basically the same, a combination of humiliation and shame with a final dose of judgement and finally exclusion.



It makes me sick to my stomach that society has stooped this low into a world of depravity, yet these countries claim to be the moral compass which everyone should follow, the hypocrisy is nauseating. But it doesn’t stop at a person’s viewing habits but also the habits and practises of the governments and corporations. They make it policy just to think about the ends rather than the means, they don’t care whether or not they hurt anyone because of their actions, all they care about is profit. This kind of collusion between government and corporation reminds me an awful lot of Fascist Italy under Mussolini.

People have become so uncaring about anything other than themselves, and a large part is because of the media. Television shows, newspaper article all perpetuate this notion that to get to the top of the ladder you must be cold and willing to screw people over if it means success. All this has done is giving birth to a nation of selfish and hostile individuals, that will only pay you any attention if they will get anything out of it.



The next two points can be covered together as they have the same type of theme running through them. The first one: repeated lying and manipulating other for a profit and incapacity to feel any guilt. Now what springs to mind…. The banking sector!! They have used our money in their fraudulent activities and made US bail them out and then had the nerve to blame the public and calling everyone else lazy and have twisted the issues, so that it looks like it was inevitable and now it’s up to the public to suffer austerity for their errors!



Austerity is just the modern way of saying that we’re all slaves. Any benefits that we used to receive like a liveable wage will disappear. Not only will wages continue to decline but the cost of everything will increase, plunging more people into poverty. What the hell is wrong with everyone? Everyone has been tricked into believing that we must pay an obscene amount of taxes while the rich get away with paying the bare minimum.



The media is very crafty about how they go about distracting us with news about the royal foetus and how companies like Amazon have been avoiding tax, let me tell you one thing, the rules for big companies are written in such a way that they can pay pennies and get away with it, so in the end it’s the laws in this back ward country that need to be changed. What made me laugh hysterical is when they described these companies as being “ immoral”, I mean seriously, this government can hardly comment on morality, they are still opposing the tax on the wealthy! How is that moral? When you have people living out of dustbins and they get no help while you are bending over backwards to accommodate the rich and their private jets?!!

And the little help that we do get, will be rendered useless as living cost continue to rise, and it’s not as if it’s easy to get help, you have to jump through hoops for years before you even get considered and they will do whatever they can to make sure you get the peanuts!



I urge people to open your eyes to the truth, we are living in a fascist society and day by day they are trying to bring back the “ good old days” of the aristocracy. The society we live in now ticks all the boxes at the start of this piece and we’re all encouraged to be SOCIOPATHS!

The best league in the world.. Really?

Juventus have made it out of their group and have condemed the Holders Chelsea to the Europa League. But it wasn't all plain sailing as Juve had drawn the first three games, and dropping vital points that could have helped with my level of anxiety on the last day. Their final game against Shakhtar Donesk was always going to be difficult as the Ukrainians had won three games while only drawing 1 and that was against Juve.  Shackhtar only lost twice and they both had an element of fortune about them, the first was a narrow 1-0 to Chelsea and the second was again a 1-0 loss this time to Italian champion Juventus who were helped by a unfortunate own goal. Having said all that, when Shackhtar do lose, they don't lose by much!

It is no secret that The Old Lady has had some difficulty scoring goals, but to get far in a major competition you have to have a solid defensive line, as Chelsea showed last season by winning this competition by focusing on defending.

Juve have defied critics and the polls by getting out of their group, now all they have to do is get to the latter stage of the competition for Italian pride. As Juve are the only one besides Milan that hail from the Italian Peninsular, a lot will be riding on them to put some credibility back into Calcio. Italy lost their third CL spot to the Bundesliga which no one can dispute, having watched the German League on numerous occasions, I have to admit they are very impressive. What I do have an issue with is the English Premier League.

The EPL has four spots and two of the teams have been eliminated before the competition has really got started. Man City were the first to be shown the boot having not won a single game! And  they are the current holders of the EPL- says a lot about the league! Chelsea on the other hand won this competition last season and they couldn't find a way to win comfortable and we mustn't forget that they were pummelled earlier this season when they played the winners of the Europa League; Athletico Madrid. Chelsea's new boss Benitez hit the nail on the head when he eluded to the fact that other teams have surpassed them in quality.

Even Man Utd lost  their last game to Cluj and they were hardly convincing in their previous wins. What Benitez said in his post match conference had alot of truth in it, English teams are all about speed and being physical, and that may be sufficient in the League where everyone plays like this, but on the big stage the team have started to evolve and have learnt how to play well without being big and strong- just look at Barcelona. One of the major problems with English teams is that they've become arrogant and have stopped trying to evolve, when this happens other teams will overtake you and embarrass the league as a whole!

Fragile Beauty

Is this progress..Really?



How far have we fallen as a civilization? It makes me sad just thinking about it, just the sheer coldness and how everyone has become so uncaring and oblivious to anything other than profit. People have always had a love affair with money that goes without saying, but now it has gone to a point where people are willing to stand on each other’s dead corpses to get an extra buck, it’s absurd!

It is not just individual people who think like this but entire governments. The purpose of having an elected government is so that they will be able to make decisions that benefit the entire population not just the elite few or the corporations. One has to keep in mind that corporations have only one objection- to make a profit, and if they have to stand on a few necks and screw some people, they will. It is up to the government to regulate them and make sure they are not taking advantage of the people and that they stick to the rules.

Many places in the so called “developed world” will allow these big companies to bend the rules, sometimes even write new laws to accommodate them, but for the struggling household they will enforce the law to death! It’s simply unfair and immoral.

This country has no right to be talking about morality; London is one of the most corrupted cities in the western world! A certain banking scandal started here, not to forget that the UK is a tax haven for the rich and entitled! And lest we forget how much the tax the average Joe, and where does it all go, because it doesn’t go towards improving vital infrastructure or towards any improvements on the NHS!



People in this country have become so complacent and arrogant that they have no idea that the rights that people have fought hard to achieve are slowly being eroded away. The only thing that would wake them from this zombie state is if they raised the price of alcohol! As long as the people are pissed off their heads they won’t notice if their houses were taken away and they were replaced by cardboard boxes!!

The people here are so repressed that they feel the need to get drunk everyday just to distract themselves from their meaningless consumer driven lives. Is there anything of any note here where you cannot find anywhere else? Shopping streets can be found anywhere, and you know what- they’re better. We have a lot to learn from Europe, they know how to live and some things are to sacred to privatise, like public transport, although because the banks decided to frack most of Europe, I fear this may change as the “ work till you die” culture may become more evident in some of the last nations of beauty and culture.

( free speech, got to love it!)

Juventus V Torino

This was a very special derby, " Derby della Mole"  and is always a heated  as Torino is mainly supported by the locals as it is more of a local team, whereas Juventus is supported all over Italy and the world. Il Granata has had its fair share of success mostly between the late 1920's and 1970's where they won 7 Serie A titles amongst others. But ever since the tragedy of Superga where " Il Grande Torino" tragically lost their live on May 4th 1949, Torino have been a far cry from Il Grande Torino, the team who won 5 Serie A titles in a row.

In the season 2011-2012 this current crop of players were promoted to Serie A after 3 years languishing in the lower tiers.

Torino did give Juventus a real run for their money but after Kamil Glik saw red after 36 minutes after a dangerous challenge on Emmanuele Giaccherrini, it was always going to be tough for Torino to get a foot in and it seemed that it was going to be a matter of time before the great wall of Torino cracked.

After numerous chances, most of all from Paul Pogba, who had 5 shots, some were just wide but others were cracking saves by the Torino Keeper, Andrea Pirlo had a penalty after 41 minutes, it seemed as though lady luck was a Bianconeri, but to everyones surprise he ballooned it over!

The half ended goal less but with both teams still having to do some work, most notably Torino who had to try and deal with Juventus' attacks with a man light. It wasn't long before the pressure got to them and it the 57th minute Juve youth product and local lad Claudio Marchisio bravely headed in the goal that would break the deadlock. Ten minute later it was another "Turin lad" to score, Sebastion Giovinco coolly slotted in the second, Juve did not stop piling on the pressure as there was still time for an upset, Marchisio scored his second in the 84th minute to insure a comfortable victory.

This victory not only insured that Juve remain on top but was a glowing endorsement of Juve's youth Academy as they were in scintillating form. Now all eyes should turn to the Midweek clash against Shakhtar in the Champions League, where Juve just need a point to qualify but in all honesty all three would be even better!

FORZA JUVENTUS!

The Ballon D'or

Yet again it's the trio of Messi, Ronaldo and Iniesta, but for the briefest of moments Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Mario Balotelli were in with a shot. No one can complain that the three listed should not be in a shot to win it, yet it does feel that La Liga is the preferred choice.

Both Pirlo and Buffon have had long careers at the very top and should be recognised for that. Buffon began his career at Parma at just 13 years of age and graduated to the senior level at 17, he had the coolness to get a clean sheet against the mighty Milan in his debut appearance in Serie A.. He is now 34 and he is still at the highest level. He is plying his trade with The Mighty Old Lady, Juventus. A Juventus side that are still on top of Serie A and were unbeaten all last season and that record was only broken this month by Inter.

Gigi has won the most prestigious award with Italy which is the World Cup in 2006, he has also won 3 Serie A titles , 1 Serie B title and Serie A goalkeeper of the year 8 times he has also won recognition from the IFFHS as the best goalkeeper of the 21st century- amongst many others! Now, you can't be blamed for feeling a little confused as to why he has been omitted.

The last Italian to win this prestigious award was Fabio Cannavaro he helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006, Buffon came in second that year, one could argue that Buffon should have won it that year, especially since he only conceded once from open play- and that was an unfortunate own goal.

Goalkeepers are often overlooked in these awards, but in my eyes Buffon is more than a goalkeeper, he is a leader both on and off the pitch. He gives his team mates confidence and advice when required and he is respected and above all.. loved by everyone because above all he exudes class.

Andrea Pirlo at the age of 33 shows no sign of stopping, After spending 10 years at Milan He has won 2 Champions Leagues and has won the league twice with the Milan club and once with Juventus, he was a vital component of Juventus' unbeaten run. He was also a key player at the 2006 World Cup victory where he also won Man of the match for game against Ghana, Germany and the Final against France, World Cup Top Assist Playmaker and he was also in the FiFPro 1X in 2006.

More recently, he was a vital component of Italy's progress to the final of Euro 2012.  During the tournament he was named as Man of the Match for games against Croatia, England and Germany. He was also named in the Euro Team of the Tournament 2012 and it was no surprise as he is always calm and decisive which was made evident in the game against England where he went for that cheeky chip during his penalty against Joe Hart, only someone who exudes confidence and class could get away with that!

Like I said at the start, it is no surprise that players like Ronaldo and Messi have been shortlisted for this award, players that score over 80 goals for their club team can hardly be ignored! Also Iniesta was the player that outdone Pirlo at Euro 2012, all I'm saying is that it's slightly saddening that other great players get dismissed, I mean players who have achieved as much as Pirlo and Buffon, they should also get some form of recognition- shouldn't they?

Revitalised Rossoneri!

What a game?! Another loss for Juventus against a side from Milan. What can be said... Milan just had more to prove and had more desire to beat Juve. As they said before the game, a win against Juve could just be what's needed to kick start their season. There was some talk in the ESPN studio saying that it was the magic of Berlusconi, all joking aside, whatever he said had an affect because they played a fantastic game, and who knows they may have just brought a " stay of execution" for Allegri!

Juventus had over 60% possession but when you keep giving the ball away cheaply and not putting any real quality in the final third, it doesn't count for much. On the other hand, this was perhaps Milan's best defencive display, all the criticisms about their lack of defensive quality were washed away as both Mario Yepes and Phillipe Mexes had a wonderful game and so to did the youngster:  Matthia De Sciglio.

Milan worked well as a unit while Juventus looked fragmented and to often you would see miss placed passes, maybe they still had a hangover after the win against Chelsea? Whatever it was, it was unsettling and much more was expected from the defending Champions. Throughout the game Juve had 2 shots on goal to Milan's 6, and Marco Amelia had only 2 saves to make while Buffon had 5. The back three of Juve looked unsure of themselves at times as Giorgio Chiellini wasn't there due to injury, which did result in some slack defending and even a mistake from Buffon!!

  Milan got there goal from the penalty spot on 31 minutes, it was perhaps a dubias call as further viewing saw that the ball struck Isla's rib and not his arm. Robinho put it away, but what made it harder to watch was that Buffon went the right way and got a hand to it, but it managed to hit the back of the net. Talk may be focused on this incident but the truth is, Juve didn't play very well, even Buffon commented after the game about how they had an hour to put together some sort of reaction but couldn't.

 The second half saw an odd substitution as Fabio Quagliarella came off for Sebastion Giovinco, he wasn't to pleased as he was seen shaking his head and mubbling something to Allesio. This could be seen as slightly disrespectful as whatever happens, Alessio is in charge- a lack of discipline at the camp maybe?

Late on Giovinco did have a chance to level things but miss timed his bicycle kick, a lot of Juve pressure in the second half but no one to finish it.

This was Juve's first away defeat in 18 months, let's just all hope that this is just a blip and Juve will soon return to winning ways. The Rossoneri have now Juve to 8th place while Juve remain on top, but only 4 points separate them from their closest rivals Fiorentina and least we forget that both Napoli and Inter still have games to play!

FORZA JUVENTUS!!

Juventus V Chelsea

The importance of this match could not be underestimated, not only did Juventus have to secure a victory to insure any hopes of qualification, but it also will shut the English media up, because every time they mention Juve, they never forget to mention that  they've never beaten a club from London. It was hilarious to hear their excuses at the end and the silence that followed.

It was a fast paced match with both sides having good opportunities in the first half, but what I found troubling was this growing animosity between Lichtsteiner and Quagliarella and Vucinic and Quagliarella. That is something that is rather troubling, I think maybe Fabio's hat trick in the league has given him a big head because sometimes when he had the ball and instead of passing to a team mate who was in a better position, he would go for goal- and miss, but not only that, Chelsea would then get possession and can start their counter attack.

One of the main difference between English and Italian teams, English teams have a lot of pace and with players like Juan Mata, Edin Hazard and Oscar they did cause the back three of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzargli some problem, and who knows, on a better day they might have put away the shots they did have on goal. After the second goal and when the game was nearing the end, it was visible and understandable that there were some tired legs out there, but what wasn't acceptable was thinking that it was done and dusted, thank God they had Gigi Buffon to snap them out of it as he was seen on a number of occasions trying to communicate the urgency to his team mates.

One of the most inspired changes that they made late on was when the brought in Sebastion Giovinco, his pace and energy disturbed Chelsea and he added to their pain by scoring the third goal. Last weekend Giovinco was jeered by the "fans" but now he has become their hero, as his goal made Juventus' victory secure.

Juve must keep in mind that this victory gives them hope,but it's not over yet, they still have to face Shakhtar which is no easy feat. Juventus still have a lot of work to do given that they had 25 shots but only 13 were goal bound and the fact that the only scored 3 goals out of so many chances, something they must work on especially if they are determined to win the last game of the group. For the game against the Ukranians they will be with the hardworking Claudio Marchisio who took a yellow card for the team meaning that he'll miss the next game.

The Juventus midfield of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Claudio are like a well oiled machine, so many of last seasons goals came from the middle of the park. Near the end of the game after all of the subs were on you could see Chiellini hobbling on the side lines, that is a slight worry especially since Juve have a big league game coming up- the big match against AC Milan.

Turin Giants.

This evening should be a very entertaining game for the neutrals, but it is going to be nerve racking for a Juventino like me! I will be proud of the lads no matter what the score is at the end, just as long as they keep fighting until the end. Juventus are a proud club with a fantastic history spanning 115 years and a "never say die" attitude that is admirable. They should be able to channel the frustration of the league result against Lazio and turn it into something positive.

The things that I will not be able to understand, is if they concede defeat and start making " silly" mistakes and rash challenges ( Giorgio Chellini I mean you.) The worst thing that could happen is that they give a free kick in a dangerous area or they score from a penalty and Juve find it harder to score because all Chelsea have to do is defend.

Too many people like to highlight the fact that Juve don't have the " top name" striker, but this Juventus is more than just the big names, it's a truly group effort, where goals can come from anywhere, and thus making them rather unpredictable. However, I still wish they would score more- just to help with my anxiety!

The last time these two met was in the 2008/09 season, and I remember it well as it was Pavel Nedved's last chance to get to the finals as he retired at the end of that season. They also had Alessandro Del Piero who scored in the 2-2 draw. They still ended up going out in the last 16 as it was not enough, that's what I fear tonight, that it won't be enough to secure qualification.

The Old Lady currently sit in third place just 1 point behind Chelsea, but as Juve have drawn the first three games and only won 1, qualification is not impossible, but a win will definitely make it less stressful!

There are only 4 players that have survived from the 2008/9 season encounter with Chelsea : Claudio Marchisio, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Sebastion Giovinco. Marchisio has grown into an integral part of Juventus' midfield and Buffon is the cool head that they need. But even though Chiellini is one of the best Italian defenders, he can get a little shirty with the opposition and we don't want to give the English media any excuse to turn him into a villan! Giovinco may not have the physical presence but he is determined to stay in this Juve side after a brief spell with Parma.

Turin couldn't be a better stage for this encounter as it is truly elegant and brimming with class and boast a tremendous history, just like Juventus!

FORZA JUVENTUS!

Top three all stall..

Juventus, Napoli and Inter were all pegged back to a draw in week 13 of the season to keep a 5 point gap at the top. And not only that, but because Napoli only drew with Milan they have surrendered third spot to Fiorentina who thrashed Atalanta 4-1.

The game that was probably the most frustrating was Juventus against Lazio, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Juventino. Juve had 21 shots and forcing Federico Marchetti to make 4 fantastic saves, Juve dominated the game and Lazio only had 5 shots and none were good enough to beat Gianluigi Buffon. This Lazio performance was the complete antithesis of the Rome Derby when they were on the winning side of a 5 goal thriller. One could get a sense that Juve had one eye on the big match against Chelsea, although you would hope that a big club like Juventus can walk and chew gum at the same time.

The game which was billed as an easy win for Inter was anything but. Cagliari were perhaps slow starters but they put in a valiant fight to end the game 2-2. The surprising thing was that Cagliari were leading Inter by 2 goals to 1 for a long time and a clever substitute by Inter and a devastating mistake by Astori even it up when he turned the ball into his own net. But even before that the Sardinian side could have won by a greater margin if they had more quality upfront.

This was a weekend that consisted of a wonderful comeback by Milan, an Inter that still isn't quite there and a Juve side that needs to work harder on getting the ball in the back of the net, it's never dull or predictable in Serie A!

Napoli V Milan

This was a game of great significance for Milan, they could not afford to lose it... but more importantly Max Allegri would have got the axe for sure, even if the President has given his full support, we all know how fickle they can be?

This game couldn't have started off worse for the away side as they went down by two goals in the first half an hour. The first goal was a rather freakish goal by Gokan Inler that wrong footed Cristian Abbiati, the second came from Lorenzo Insigne on the half hour mark.

Milan looked like a team lacking confidence and were constantly giving the ball away, they could have easily been down even more, with all the defencive errors plus  some questionable goalkeeping decisions, they were very lucky. But more than luck Milan had Stephen El Sharawary, a young player that seems to be carrying this team and for such a young lad the pressure could be just a little too much.

That doesn't seem to be the case as he struck before halftime to give Milan some hope. It was a wonderful ball that was struck with such power and accuracy, Morgan De Sanctis had no chance. After the half time interval Milan were on the front foot from the go, apparently the half time team talk had a profound affect on them as the were quicker in their attacks and accurate in their passing.

Milan's pressing payed off and in the 82nd minute it was that boy again! Only if they had begun the game with this sense of urgency and determination,they wouldn't be loitering in the bottom half of the table. But as good as Milan were in the second half, one could help feeling a little let down by Napoli, they took their foot off the gas and let Milan get back into the game.

Now only if Inter lose against Cagliari then it will be great for Juve, although that looks unlikely since Inter are just brimming with confidence. 

The dangers of arrogance...

Having a degree of arrogance is not such a bad thing, all it indicates is that you are very confident in your work and in a sport like football where you have thousands of eyes watching your every move and not to mention the millions of people watching you on TV, that's not a bad thing.

When you believe that you never need to get better and that you are better than everyone, that's when you've taken it a bit too far. One has to be respectful of your teammates and the fans.. even when they criticise you. I'm referencing the whole Cristiano/ Messi debate. I have never heard Messi advertise his personal life in the press or comment that people are jealous of him because he is " rich" and "handsome"

Some people ( Frank De Beof on ESPN) may think that because Messi refrains from the limelight that he is boring. I tend to disagree, he has a job and that is to be a professional footballer, I had no idea that his private life is part of his job! Messi didn't get the Ballon D'or because he had an exciting private life and was covered in all the tabloid papers, he won because he was good at what he does.

No one is saying that Cristiano isn't an equally good player but when you openly talk about how a certain person doesn't deserve the award and everyone likes him and everyone is against me, you start to sound rather petty and childlike- not very professional at all!

For a player to be at such a high level as these two, it is inevitable that the media will want to write a story about everything you do, but whereas Messi shys away from the media, Ronaldo seeks out all the attention he can get, and this is the persona that people see and judge. Football is almost background noise when it should be the focus.As they are Football players! And he must remember that not all attention is good.

It is the Celebrity obsessed culture that comes with being in the public domain. And it is in people's nature to judge people on what they get from the media, so if Ronaldo wants to be seen differently, maybe he should learn how to manipulate the media to his desired result. I know that's part of why I dislike him the other part is his attitude on the pitch, he always seems to be moaning about something.Not only that, but one day you might end up angering someone on the pitch and the results could be, well...not pleasant!

Happy Birthday Alessandro Del Piero!

Like a fine wine, he just keeps getting better. He may not be plying his trade in the Italian Peninsular anymore, but I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say, he is missed. After spending 19 years and amassing over 700 appearances Alessandro will always remain in the hearts and minds of every Juventino for a long time to come.

Throughout his last season he was used sparingly by new coach Antonio Conte, who was also a former teammate, yet when Del Piero was used, his impact on the game would be immense. His first goal in the new Juventus Arena came against Roma in the Coppa Italia quarter final which they went on to win 3-0. Another important goal came in the Coppa Italia semi final second leg against Milan. He scored a beauty to secure a 2-2 score line on the night which meant a 4-2 aggregate score which insured their route to the final.
His first Serie A goal of the 2011-12 season came against bitter rivals Inter on the 25th March to secure a 2-0 victory.

His final game in Serie A was against Atalanta, it was rather emotional. Everyone was finally coming to terms with the loss of this amazing player. He was eventually subbed on 59 minutes but that was not before he scored an amazing goal to double Juventus' lead. The emotions were evident and open for everyone to see as everyone took the opportunity to embrace the legend before he left the pitch.
The emotions on the pitch were nothing compared to those seen in the stands, fans were seen in tears, not just the women and children but also grown men. They felt no shame for shedding a waterfall of tears, as they were witnessing the departure of a legend.

The focus was all about one man: Alessandro Del Piero, even as the game was still going on the great man couldn't leave things like that and he did 3 laps of honour while play was still going on.
Del Piero's final match in the Bianconeri Jersey was the Coppa Italia final against Napoli which resulted in their first defeat yet it was Del Piero who rallied the troop to fight on to the very end. It may have not been the fairytale ending that they had hoped for, but the emotions felt by every Juventino at the final whistle was the same.. It was an end of an era.

The club had planned to retire the No 10 Jersey out of respect for the legend that wore it, yet it was Ale' who stopped this from happening as he wanted kids to be able to aspire to the idea of being the next No10 for Juventus. After an illustrious career Alex Del Piero had the choice of retirement, yet his love for the game was soo much and he wanted to share his experience to try and better the game, and on September 5th he signed for Sydney FC. And so, we say goodbye to the man, but the legend will remain with us forever!

Happy 38th Birthday Il Pinturicchio!

Juventus V Inter- Derby D'Italia goes to Inter

This was the most talked about game in Italy, and it didn't let us down. Inter put an end to Juventus' winning streak and also ended one of their own taboos. Talk before the game were about how Diego Milito had never scored against Juve in an Inter shirt, well, he put that to rest when he scored 2 in the second half, one from the penalty spot and another after some uncharactoristic sloppy defending by the home side.
It had looked as though it was business as usual from Juve when Arturo Vidal scored the opener within 20 seconds of the whistle. Juve were playing their fast paced game and looked full of confidence and even had a couple of good chance to double it. Claudio Marchisio had 3 shot but only 2 were on goal and bot were straight at the keeper. But 12 minutes later Inter had thought they got the equaliser but Palcio was deemed to be offside, this would have been the main talking point had the game ended with a win for the home side. Stephen Litchsteiner was a little too up for this game and got himself a yellow card for some dangerous tackles, but he was subbed in the 38th minute as there was growing fear that he might get himself sent off and put Juve in a difficult position.
The Old Lady was growing more anxious and was pushing harder to secure a comfortable win. That inevitably meant that someone was going to make a mistake and we didn't have to wait long, in the 59th minute Marchisio tugged at Milito just before he got on the end of a wonderfully worked free kick. And instead of Milito almost scoring, he was sure to score from the penalty spot- and he did.
Juve tried everything to get back on level term but Sebastian Giovinco wasn't having the best of nights as the game was far too physical for him and Nickolas Bendtner didn't do much better, he often looked slow and clumsy on the ball.

Inter won by 3 goals and Juve suffered their first defeat in 49 games and there first ever in their new stadium. This result has meant that only 1 point separates these two. However it is my hope that this loss has given Juve some much needed humility as they came into this game almost expecting to win. Having lost this game may have also released them from the pressure that comes from being undefeated for so long. The Bianconeri's response to this loss will show whether or not they truly deserve to be on top. It is a long campaign and anything came happen between now and May.
I'm still proud of the lads in black and white!