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!