ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Juventus FC

Posted by Sumeet Paul on 02/09/2010

As I’m sure you are aware, it has been a very problematic and stressful time to be a Juventino this season. I have followed my beloved Bianconeri for many years, but never has our situation been so dire. I see a temporary solution to a long-term problem in Signor Zaccheroni and I don’t feel he can repair the damage that has already been done in the long run. So, if you could please come back to Turin, I would very much appreciate it.

I know I will in all probability annoy many Italians around the country by being so selfish in asking you to leave La Nazionale to come home, but I have given it a lot of thought and I can’t quite identify anyone else who can get us out of this mess. Perhaps with your arrival, our hopeless boardroom will have some sense of direction, and if you are feeling really generous then I’m sure your presence on the sidelines as Coach will be a great benefit to the side. Of course, your first task will be a very difficult one. Rumour has it we signed two Brazilians in the summer of 2009, however they were reported missing after a few months. They go by the names of Diego and Felipe Melo if you have heard of them? Also if you were to return, could you perhaps bring a respectable physio with you, as this year our treatment room has resembled a scene from ER.

As I mentioned before, we currently have several imposters making up our board. When they arrived they promised a lot, and in return have delivered nothing. They were supposedly men of football, instead all I see is a group of men bringing this great club to its knees. We are slowly losing ‘La Vecchia Signora’ as she passes away into the next life. Our current league standing is evidence of this, and of course the fact that we have a Europa League tie against Ajax to look forward to rather than a Champions League last-16 fixture. All-in-all, as we enter the business end of the season, I am particularly worried that not only will we not have any silverware to add to the trophy cabinet this year but also the lack of any kind of European football next season.

So in conclusion, it would make a lot of tifosi happy if you came back and delivered half of what you achieved in your previous years at the club. In many ways the club has gone backwards in the last year or so, so perhaps it will be a case of picking up from where you left off. With a real football genius within our ranks, starting from the top, maybe we can resuscitate the Old Lady before it’s too late...

Yours sincerely,
Sumeet Paul.

Ps. It would be even more enjoyable if you could come back to Turin as a two-time World Cup winner. Grazie.

Comments

Posted by Juve storia di un grande amore on 02/10/2010

Marcello Lippi? As much as all Juventinos would like to have him back, let's be realisitic here. Lippi has got his own problems to deal with with La Nazionale. I think Juve should hire Deschamps back. I though he was a good coach and despite only managing for a year for us, he promoted us quickly to Serie A after the most miserable of situations. Zaccheroni seems ok but it is too hard to get out of the mess Ciro Ferrara left us in. More than that, we need to sell all three Brazilians in our team: Diego, Felipe Melo, and Amauri. We should try to get another centre-back for faulty Fabio Cannavaro. If we instill these changes and bring in a decent coach, i think next year we will be able to sustain a serious title challenge to Inter.

Posted by Paolo on 02/10/2010

Deschamp is NOT the answer. I'm tired of meddling with 'potential' coaches and 'potential' players. Let's just break the bank and BUY some guarantees. The lineup is strong (although another centreback wouldn't be a bad idea.) Get rid of Melo and let's get another strong defensive midfielder but who can pass the ball. We need younger, creative and more explosive forwards who can be realistically purchased and (Rossi? Pazzini?)keep Amauri. He will do well with a fast athletic type to foil him. Get Giovinco some playing time and for God sake higher a coach is the COMPLETE package. We need to defend better on set peices, we need to distribute between midfield and forwards better, we need to be faster on the counterattack... I'll take Lippi post world cup, Rafa..I don't care, I'm just tired of gambling on "perhaps."

Posted by DeCeglie29 on 02/10/2010

to "juve storia di un grande amore" marcello lippi must get back to juve as president to replace blanc. Diego is playing well even if hes not scoring, hes delivering some great passes which in fact amauri cant convert...Diego is playing alone in attacking midfield...sometimes i see him alone between 3 or 4 defenders!We cant blame him...Amauri and Felipe Melo must be sold for sure! we need to bring Pazzini and D'Agostino for replacement!as for defence cannavaro must be replaced by bruno alves who is tall strong and could perfectly pair with Chiellini!For right back we need to keep caceres hes excellent...As for the left back grosso must be fired and De Ceglie playing instead of him...As for the midfield i think Giovinco must get his chance!!

Posted by Emin B on 02/10/2010

Currently, the quality and the depth of the squad is so bad, that even the "team of super-managers" such as Lippi, Ferguson, Hiddink and Mourinho on top will not be able to change much. Let's face it; we don't have a striker, a center forward who can score a goal at least every other game. Moreover, the defense is horrendous. Cannavaro, Grosso, and Caceras are especially bad. We need money to buy new players that can compete in Seria A for starters (I'm not even talking about Europe)...

Posted by Gago on 02/10/2010

I disagree with the post above in terms of selling Diego, he has been the only player on the field for us that looks like he even CARES about the game, he is in the middle of every play, he gets knocked down, gets back up without even whining to anyone, unlike Amauri, who is a waste of a human being, all he does is whine and bit*h!!! not to mention the money spent on him, we could have signed Cassano or Pazzini or even Rossi!

Lippi wont come back, but I do hope we get into the Champions League, if we miss out, then we have taken 10 steps back, and are no better than an average team in Calcio.

and for Juve's sake, PLEASE SOMEBODY PLAY GIOVINCO!

Posted by tex on 02/10/2010

No way Lippi is not the solution. I hear your pain for the great club - I feel the same - but the way out is to look towards the long term... the players are all right sure Melo has seen a dip ... sorry.. disastrous form of late, But the same squad + a super coach can help Juve get back on track. Try the following:
Guus Hiddink
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Jupp Heynckes
Gian Piero Gasperini

Posted by Peter on 02/11/2010

No, Diego should go. I agree with Juve storia. Our team is heavily evolved around the play of Diego, and unless he goes, the situation will stay like this. He is not a bad player, and has always fought till the end for our games, but he is not the type of player that fits into Juve's formation. Caceres bad? No, he's actually been one of the better defenders out there, especially with Cannavaro underperforming.

Posted by nemtudom on 02/11/2010

The most significant issues Juve have are a youth network that churns out players that can barely make it in Serie A, let alone Juve, and a scouting network that only seems to know how to purchase deadweight; and not even Lippi could produce success with the current squad.

Other than Giovinco and Marchisio, Juve's youth players can barely hold their own against established opponents. And during the summer, the club needs to purge itself of a vast amount fat, notably Poulsen, Tiago, Melo, Iaquinta, Salihamidžic, Cannavaro, Grosso, Legrottaglie and most definitely, Amauri. Only then can Juve attract a manager in the class of Lippi, one who can hopefully harness Diego's real creativity and abilities, as well as make proper buys.

Posted by terence on 02/11/2010

Juve had a decent squad. A team with Buffon, Cannavaro, Diego, Trezequet, Camoranesi, Giovinco is definitely more than decent. Only team was Ferrera wasn't the man who can lead them. When they started losing and/or drawing games, I suspect Ferrera wasn't much use as a motivator, and allowed things to free-fall. Zaccheroni is the man who can help rebuild the team's confidence, and bring them to at least a Champs League spot.

Posted by Frank O on 02/11/2010

COHESION!!! There is no chemistry out there! As the team slides back - individuals afraid for their jobs are selfishly forcing the ball everywhere on the pitch. The next coach will have to restore arguably some of the world's most talented idividuals...to play as a team again.

Posted by Chris on 02/11/2010

Yeah, ok...go ahead and get rid of Diego and make the biggest mistake your club has made in a long time. He's not only not been that bad he is still far too young, came far too cheaply, and is way too great to let go.

Felipe Melo...Why was he bought at all, much less for that much money?

Posted by anil on 02/11/2010

The problem is the management and Lippi himself. Instead of building up a decent team Secco/Blanc have been buying mediocre players like Grygera, Poulsen, Knezevic, Molinaro, Tiago, the tall swedish defender i forget the name. And then Lippi parked his aging favorites Cannavaro and Grosso who are technically good but slow to make the defence even worse. Melo can still be considered a decent buy but for the fact that Juve already had good cover in his position. What was needed was a good prompter at the back like Montolivo, Cigarini or D'Agostino. It is not too late now, to bring back Criscito, Kjaer, Santracroce and maybe Vargas. Also needed is creative cover for Camoranesi. But I will hold my breath...

Posted by Chelsea on 02/11/2010

The old person jokes were terrible but funny. Resuscitating the Old Lady before the passes away lol...

Posted by Paolo on 02/12/2010

Continuing on... Most of these are excellent comments. I do agree that Caceras (when not injured) is playing pretty damn well. I also want to say a word in Iaquinta's defense. When he's out there, he's performed productively without being showy. I think he's an effective player and an excellent substitute to keep on the bench. The Montolo/D'agostino etc. comment is excellent...that is EXACTLY what we need to link from back to forward, and to speed up our counters, but also someone to poke goals in. Potential substitutes for Camoranesi? I don't know that there are any. Marchionni was decent as an option B but he's been traded. We need a "Park" type in that position that can run back tirelessly, dribble, cross, distribute and occasionally score. I love 'il samurai', but dude is getting old...he won't last more than another year.

Posted by cantona7 on 02/12/2010

We need to find a good manager like Laurent Blanc or Dunga. Young but firm. And as mentioned by EVERYONE above, get rid of Amauri. We need to retain Diego, but we need to set our strategies around him. He is very good, he can lead the team.

Posted by soraystud on 02/12/2010

I don't know if bringing Lippi back is the final solution. I am not entirely impressed with what he has done with the Azzurri in his second go-around.

I dislike Mourinho immensely, I simply do not like his attitude but I also acknowledge that he is a magnificent manager who knows how to get the best out of his players, and has a very good eye for recognizing talent. That is the kind of person we need, who is not going to bow and scrape to what the misguided board think they need for the team.

90% of the team right now looks like a bunch of divers who fall over theatrically every time an opposing player crosses their shadows. Ridiculous!

We need to clean house, start afresh and build a new grittier mentality in this team. For long periods the team looks disinterested and uninspired during games, as if the other team should be honored to be playing against Juve. Maybe once upon a time that was so, but not now.

Change is required, and it has to be sweeping change, top to bottom.

Posted by CETATEANU on 02/13/2010

If Lippi will come back to us, as our President, we will be far better than we were with him as our coach. If only this could be true... Respect, Mr. Lippi!

Posted by pepe on 02/13/2010

you need an iron sergeant like gentile to take over, and stick with giovinco as your playmaker.diego is not the great player every one thinks, if he was he would be on the brazilian national team.

Posted by italia on 02/14/2010

I agree with pepe and the others who think that Diego is NOT necessarily the answer. As technical as he is, he doesn't fit in. Sell Amauri, Melo, and Cannavaro and possibly Grosso. Also KEEP IAQUINTA. I don't know why we should get rid of him as he started the season well and is a productive goalscorer (something Juventuslacking with Amauri). Del Piero, Trezeguet, and Iaquinta should be sufficient for La Vecchia Signora.

Posted by joetex13 on 02/15/2010

i say keep iaquinta for sure. always enjoyed watching him for udinese. he can still perform. juve needs a striker, and i agree with most of you, amauri and melo need to go. real madrid might get rid of benzema, juve should definitely take him. he's a physical presence in the front, and he's got the energy when he's well. he will peform once trezeguet leaves and the end of the year.

Posted by Dannie321 on 02/16/2010

very nice letter, it is true Juve does need another coach, now as far as lippi goes as of right now he can not come to turin because frankly this season is already shot got juve because lets face it we all know they will not be able to pass inter or get remotely close, we only have 3 months left of the season and the best thing to do at this point in time is to get those young guns out on the feild (joevinco,caceres,legrottaglie,poulsen)put there legs to work and try to come up atleast 3rd behind milan or inter. for the future yes a change of couches is in order wether it be lippi or someone else im pretty sure theres someone out there that can fit ferrara's shows and quite possibly so better.

Posted by Dominico on 02/17/2010

Diego is class, dont blame him. Blame the aging squad, we need some more youth to suit the name of the team. The squad is far to aged, and Canavaro should never have been allowed back in unless he crawled back for free. Judas

Posted by stephen on 02/18/2010

That youth sting and element is missing from the Juve squad. Why is Giovinco not playing? AC has pato, real have a few; benzima, ronaldhino etc, Inter, manu and so on...oh how can I forget messi..and why did we allow that judas(Canavaro) to return. It is obvious he's not faithful to the organization, why would he give his all-if he has any to offer-I remember our boys that stayed with us when were down, literally. Amauri has potential but he complaints too much, Diego is not that bad, actually I think he is good. The problem is, PAVEL NEDVED is almost irreplaceable and as such we face a major problem in our present midfield. Another point mentioned was the chemistry, or rather the lack of and I totally agree with that point. At present I have no suggestion for that problem as it seems like an in-house issue and I live on the other side of the hemisphere. However I suggest that Giovinco gets more run time, more money be spent on our medical team and get rid of canavaro, tiago and others

Posted by Lee on 02/21/2010

Juve is picking up. Zaccheroni is an experience coach. This is only Diego's 1st season, he needs time to adapt.
Juve's play is always to have a good midfield, R.Baggio, zidane, P.neved were some example.
That's why they bought Diego. Never forget ,Diego had been a consistent star midfield with W.Bremen for many years. Pls believe in him.

Posted by Xlint on 03/19/2010

I think diego,melo & Iaquinta are not bad at all.our problem is more on d defenders,get rid of dat useless good for nothing canavaro and possibly scout for some firm african defenders like Nigeria's Adeleye or Apam or some south american hard nuts they are beta options cos they r less injury prone than what we have nw.Zach is not doing badly at all

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