Juventus 7-1 Aygreville: Bianconeri Pre-Season’s First is A-OK

Alps in the background, new Black & White jerseys with a beautiful Scudetto patch right on the chest. This was the picture painted by Juventus at Saint-Vincent Tuesday, who treated the sold-out Stadio Perucca crowd to a 7-1 Old Lady win, as Antonio Conte’s men enjoyed their first run out of the 2012-13 campaign.

After building up with five intense days of training in Chatillon, Juventus made the short journey to neighbouring Saint-Vincent to take on local Dilettanti outfit Aygreville in front of 3,000 enthusiastic supporters. Some members of the team upper management, including ADs Beppe Marotta and Aldo Mazzia, Fabio Paratici, as well as Mauricio Isla, who made the trip to Saint-Vincent to get a first glimpse of his new teammates at work.

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Conte opted to hand debuts to new arrivals Masi, Lucio and Asamoah in his tried and tested 3-5-2 formation. Cáceres featured in defence alongside the two summer signings, flanked by wing-backs Pepe and Ziegler. Padoin and Marrone joined the Ghanaian international in the heart of midfield, while Quagliarella partnered Vucinic up front.

As with last season’s first friendly fixture – a 12-1 victory against Val Susa in Bardonecchia – Juve required a shock opposition opener to spark them into life. A defensive slip by Lúcio sent Caputo through on goal, and even though the Aygreville striker’s shot was saved by Storari, Turato was on hand to tap in the rebound and put the home team in the lead. 0-1.

Five minutes later, the Bianconeri were level. Padoin squared it for Asamoah from the right, and the midfielder knocked the ball down for Fabio Quagliarella who guided a well-struck finish into the far corner. 1-1.

More danger came the opposition’s way shortly after when Vucinic spun his marker, only to see his rasping drive cannon off the underside of the bar. The Montenegrin – who was wearing #9 for the afternoon – looked sharp in the opening exchanges, putting goalkeeper Gini to work again with a delicate chip from the edge of the area.

The right wing was where the Bianconeri were creating the most danger, with Pepe well at ease in finding space into penetration. His 20th minute cross found Reto Ziegler in the middle, but the Swiss’s effort landed over.

Juventus went in front when Quagliarella sent Asamoah through on goal, who was hauled down in the area. Mirko Vucinic stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot and make it 2-1 for Juve, who quickly turned into 3-1 as an intricate flowing move involving Padoin, Asamoah, and Vucinic played in Fabio Quagliarella to sweep in the Bianconeri’s third on 23 minutes.

Juventus continued to push forward, very obviously (and expectedly) dominating the proceedings. In the 30th minute a lovely Quagliarella backheel sent Vucinic through, but the Montenegrin found the opposition of the Aygreville goalkeeper, a similar fate he reserved to the Neapolitan striker a few minutes later, as he was set up by Marrone.

Conte fielded an entirely different eleven for the second half (Leali – Untersee, Rugani, Magnússon – Lichtsteiner, Bouy, Gab.Appelt, Vidal, De Ceglie – Boakye, Matri), but despite the high concentration of Primavera players, Juve nonetheless continued to remain masters of the pitch.

After a long period of domination following the restart, Vidal’s trickery eventually proved too much for the Aygreville rearguard. The Chilean was floored in the box, allowing Alessandro Matri to stride up and ripple the back of the net with a low-struck penalty. 4-1.

Richmond Boayke, who two days ago joined the club on a co-ownership deal from Genoa, had his bright display rewarded when Matri slipped him through on goal. The Ghanaian prospect kept his composure to control the ball at the far post before sliding a neat finish under Gini’s despairing dive on 65 minutes. 5-1.

With Lichtsteiner continuing his relentless work on the right wing, Vidal putting his grinta to work in helping out the entire Juve midfield, and the Matri / Boakye partnership up front continuously improving, the Bianconeri multiplied their scoring opportunities. Before being substituted by Padovan (who immediately struck the post just as he came on), Boakye exploited a good Appelt through ball but could not drive past the keeper.

With the game nearing its conclusion, Arturo Vidal was again tripped in the penalty area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. The midfielder dusted himself down and found the corner from twelve yards. 6-1.

Just before the stroke of the final whistle, the Bianconeri made it seven as late substitute Stefano Padovan tucked the ball home with a cool finish. 7-1.

A satisfactory day for the thousands of Juventini in presence to see their idols. As ever, Juventus have begun the long road of the 2012-13 season on a good run.
 

[Match Report adapted from Juventus.com]

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	JUVENTUS-AYGREVILLE 7-1
GOALSCORERS: 1′ Turato (A), 7′, 23′ Quagliarella (J), 21′ pen. Vucinic (J), 56′ pen. Matri (J), 65′ Boakye (J), 91′ pen. Vidal (J), 93′ Padovan (J)
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Storari (46′ Leali) – Masi (46′ Untersee), Lúcio (46′ Rugani), Cáceres (46′ Magnússon) – Pepe (46′ Lichtsteiner), Padoin (46′ Vidal), Marrone (46′ Gab.Appelt), Asamoah (46′ Bouy, 70′ Schiavone), Ziegler (46′ De Ceglie) – Vucinic (46′ Boakye, 82′ Padovan), Quagliarella (46′ Matri). COACH: Conte. UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Branescu. UNAVAILABLE: Buffon (on holiday), Chiellini (on holiday), Bonucci (on holiday), Barzagli (on holiday), Pirlo (on holiday), Marchisio (on holiday), Giaccherini (on holiday), Isla (injd), Giovinco (on holiday). REMAINED IN TURIN: Motta, Pazienza, Melo, Krasic, Iaquinta.
AYGREVILLE (4-4-2): Gini (46′ Anile, 77’ Sterrantino) – Berthod (46′ Paganin), Challancin (46′ Dattolo), X.Vuillermoz (46′ Joly), Vitale (46′ D.Vuillermoz) – Marchesano (46′ M.Marchetto), L.Marchetto (46′ Rinaldi), Furfori (46′ Menegazzi), Salvadori (46′ Apparenza, 73’ Timpano) – Caputo (46′ Porro), Turato (46′ Cuneaz). COACH: Benedetti.

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