Sunday, July 27, 2008
Dortmund, Land Of Conquest
t was worth waiting one more day to see Juventus in Dortmund. The Bianconeri confirmed their favourable tradition in the German city and got a prestigious win that's also useful for all the pointers it gave Claudio Ranieri.
At Signal Iduna Park, it ended 3-1 with Juve on top in every part of the pitch and capable of dominating opponents that have been training far longer. Amauri opened the scoring; Iaquinta got two in the second half. Kruska scored the German consolation goal on penalty. Both Poulsen, who made a great pass for the 3-0 goal, and Knezevic enjoyed excellent debuts.
At the kick-off, Ranieri confirmed the same line-up that was supposed to play yesterday, with Buffon in goal, a defence with Grygera, Mellberg, Chiellini and Molinaro, Camoranesi, Sissoko, Zanetti and Nedved in midfield and Amauri and Trezeguet up front.
Chiellini and Sissoko started their first game and Camoranesi played for the first time this season and from the start. The Italian-Argentinean was immediately lively and, after a one-two with Grygera, set up Amauri's goal in the 5th minute. It would remain the only goal of the first half, a half in which Juventus had few problems, with only one Buffon save and chances for Trezeguet, Nedved and Sissoko.
In the second half, as planned, there were several changes. Zebina, Legrottaglie, Knezevic, Marchionni, Ekdal, Del Piero and Iaquinta all came on from the start. The former Udinese striker shone from the moment he set foot on the pitch, first forcing a goal-line clearance from a defender and then scoring with a header from a perfect Nedved cross after 51 minutes.
There were other line-up changes during the second half. Fausto Rossi replaced Nedved, Salihamidzic Molinaro, Chimenti took Buffon’s place and Poulsen came on for Sissoko. People were curious to see the Dane at work and he soon showed what he can do: his perfect 50 m long pass on Iaquinta's feet was converted by the striker with an extremely precise lob. Borussia finally reacted and scored after a few minutes. Just like in Copenhagen against Brondby, the Bianconeri let one in only on penalty, which was awarded to and converted by Kruska.
The final 3-1 result reminds us all of the legendary matches Juve played on this same pitch. But most of all it makes everyone look to the future with more optimism. In two days' time Juve will already be facing Inter Milan and AC Milan at the TIM Trophy (in Turin). Next weekend, it’s time for the Emirates Cup in London.
Sauce: Juventus.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment