Afterthoughts: 10 Things I Learned From the Parma Game

‘Afterthoughts‘ is a series where we give you our unfiltered, personal, and sometimes idiosyncratic views on the current state of affairs at the club. This space is reserved for more elaborate musings on a given theme and is entirely subjective (so don’t flog anyone but the writer, alright?!)

This post was guest-blogged by Laith Mughrabi. Follow him on Twitter (@LKM_Juve).

A new Serie A season has started. After Juve played this Saturday, I decided to write my first piece about Juventus. Here are 10 things I learned from the Parma game.

1. First of all, Massimo Carrera seems to be a good choice as our interim coach. For most of the first half, the team was sluggish and played with no continuity: I thought to myself the half-time break couldn’t have come at a better time. However from the start of second period Juventus came out swinging with different mindset and determination, and I attribute that to Carrera’s half-time speech & instructions. The fact that he stated — after the game — that he’d left his phone in the bus (to prevent haterz from saying he received communications from Conte) is a great indicator of the confidence and personality he has to lead the team. However, the only “issue” I have is that (just like Conte) he didn’t use his substitutions early in the game. This team is deep in different positions and we have substitutions that could make an impact on the game if used earlier on. But anyways, we won.

2. Even in the absence of Gigi Buffon, Juventus are in good hands… literally. I have to admit I had limited confidence in Marco Storari prior to this match, and have been late in jumping on the Storari bandwagon: as a Juve fan I have been spoiled with having the world’s #1 goalkeeper in net, and naturally when he is out with an injury I am always worried. But after Saturday’s string of saves & technique by Storari, I can finally say I’m convinced we have a GREAT back-up keeper (unlike our days with the “great” Chimenti).



3. Though Luca Marrone was a welcome surprise, our DEFENSE is not in form yet. Juve’s backline was in better shape than our core midfield, but still had some scary moments: Bonucci almost had a similar howler like in the Supercoppa, and I noticed that the defensive line was caught pushing too high up the field during parts of the game. This makes us susceptible to counter-attacks (Vucinic’s mistake, which caused Parma’s 3-on-1 chance thankfully neutralized by Bonucci’s last-ditch tackle, is an example). Hopefully this can be resolved when Giorgio Chiellini is back.

4. Although it improved considerably in the 2nd half, our core MIDFIELD is not in form yet as well. It certainly wasn’t as assertive as we’re accustomed to see and in my opinion, though Pirlo had great pass completion percentage, he wasn’t as effective as usual (especially because Parma had a guy pressuring him immediately). Similarly, Vidal was too ineffective and had limited shiny moments; Marchisio had some moments of brilliance (especially in the second half) but he too was sub-standard to his usual levels. With that being said, Juve’s midfield is the least of my worries as I have the utmost confidence it will be OK in no time.



5. The WINGS are in good hands with Stephan Lichtsteiner (decent game) and Kwadwo Asamoah (excellent game). Asamoah: what can I say? The man looks great and could potentially be our signing of the season. Sure, it is only one game, but just like last season Lichtsteiner seemed to be our engine on the right flank (and still is), on Saturday Asamoah was so solid and such a great catalyst on the left (confident & comfortable in his position, delivering many great passes and running tirelessly the whole match) he could rapidly turn into the most welcome surprise of the season. The Man of the Match surely.

6. We need a STRIKER or a TARGET MAN. Juve’s goals Saturday were scored by a defender and a midfielder: our front line failed to score again, and though Vucinic had a good first half and Giovinco a good second, in my opinion the duo failed to score because we lack a target man to give either one the necessary freedom to roam. Both Mirko & Seba are “roaming” strikers: they go to the flanks and try to create their own chances, but what Juve need is a player like Trezeguet, a goalscorer ready to pounce on the ball and occupy defenders’ attention thus providing more freedom for his striking partner(s). Marotta has his hands full, but I hope that after Saturday night he can truly see Juve’s weakness and complete a deal for Dzeko or Llorente.




So one’s gone to Man Utd… can we get one of the other two?

7. This Juve is better than last year. I know it is early to jump to this conclusion after one game, but in my opinion the Juve of last year usually didn’t win deadlocked games like this. When we didn’t play great and were very sluggish, games like this usually ended 0-0 for us. Saturday however we had a spurt of 10 minutes at the beginning of the second half that turned the game around: effectively Juve capitalized on the few chances they got, meaning they are much more clinical than they were last year.

8. Juventus fans should actually be happy Vidal missed the penalty kick. After watching the replays, it is clear the penalty shouldn’t have been awarded to us because Lichtsteiner was offside (the ball bounces off Vucinic). Yes, he was fouled but he was in offside position. That way, we deprived all the haterz and naysayers of additional ammunition.



9. This is related to the previous point and is very simple: ladies & gentlemen, WE ARE BACK! I can declare this for the first time in 7 years. Everybody saw how Twitter and sports websites exploded with fans from other teams complaining about the referees’ decisions going Juve’s way. Juventini: fans complaining and whining about Juve is a sign that we are winning again. Sounds like we are back in the 90s/early 2000s!

10. Finally in conclusion, I can only see improvements for this team. Next week Buffon will be back in goal, and as the season progresses our defense and midfield will get to form. However, the one area that remains a mystery is: are we going to get our STRIKER? If Marotta pulls a deal then get ready Juventini: this season could be even more exciting as the last.

I will finish with this: 40 GAMES UNDEFEATED IN SERIE A… FORTY!!