Why Juventus should take the Europa League seriously this season

The final of the Europa League will be played at Juventus Stadium

            Juventus is right now well on its way to winning the scudetto for the third time in a row, something that the club hasn’t managed to do since 1935, when it conquered its fifth scudetto in a row. With 20 wins, 3 draws and only one loss, in that disastrous debacle versus Fiorentina back in October it looks like only a catastrophe would stop Juventus from becoming Italian champions. But is that enough to consider the season a success or does Juve need to win the Europa League too for that to happen?

            Last season Juve had a decent performance in the Champions League, reaching the quarter finals and losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich in a respectable performance.  This season one of the main objectives was to improve said performance. The signings of Tevez & Llorente renewed the line of attack completely, which was the weakest point of the team, and it looked like Juventus could become a force in Europe again. But after the first round, Juve find themselves in the Europa League, having won only one out of six matches in the group stage.

            It’s hard to put a finger on what went wrong for the bianconeri, but the main issue was wasting countless goal opportunities and failing to win matches that were completely dominated. Bad luck definitely played its part too, and a poor decision by the Uefa, allowing the match in Istambul to take place in an unplayable pitch, which ended up deciding Juve’s luck in the tournament. In the first match against Copenahgen Juventus dominated the 90 minutes, but poor finishing and a fantastic performance from their goalkeeper prevent the team from taking the three points home. It was a similar situation to that one last year, when Juventus also drew against a Danish team away (Nordsjaellan in that case), but this time dropping those two points would end up being crucial. In the match at home versus Galatasaray it look like Juve was winning a hard fought match, but a defensive mistake led to a late equalizer for the Turkish side. In both games against Real Madrid, Juventus dominated big parts of the match and definitely could’ve taken more than just one point from them.  In Torino Juve looked in control of the match until a defensive mistake from Cáceres let Madrid back in the game and in Madrid a debatable penalty and an unfair red card ended up giving Real the win.

            Coppa Italia never seemed to be a priority this season, just like in 2012-13. In fact not even in the first season under Conte it seemed to be despite the team reaching the final and losing to Napoli (only defeat of the season).  Last season it was understandable since Juve had a respectable showing in the UCL and starters should be kept fresh for it and the league, but after the quick exit this season the Coppa was a good opportunity to make amends and focus on winning the competition for the 10^th time, putting an end to the 19 year title drought in it. But Conte didn’t think that way and benched many players in the QF match versus Rome which Juve lost 1-0 at the Olimpico.

            Taking into consideration the disappointing showing in the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, Conte should aim to win the Europa League this season, tournament Juventus hasn’t won since 1993, and start gaining prestige in Europe again. The scudetto looks to be already in the bag and the team can afford to lose a few points here and there. Meanwhile, a good performance in the Euopa League would help the team massively in terms of experience for the Champions League in the future. Juventus have been dominating with the season long format in Italy, but in home and away ties with direct elimination the team has struggled lately, winning only two ties in Europe since 2006, versus Celtic last year and versus Ajax in 2010. Many teams in recent times found success in the Champions League after winning the Europa League first. Atlético Madrid is having a great Champions League this season, after winning the Europa League in 2010 and 2012, and Porto won the Europa League in 2003 and only a year later they won the Champions League.

            For these reasons Juventus should take the competition seriously this season, with the extra incentive that the final on May the 14^th will be played on the Juventus Stadium itself and it’s a golden opportunity to win a European title at home.

           

Uefa Champions League R16: Preview & predictions

The trophy everyone's eyes are on

Barcelona-Manchester City

                This appears to be the most interesting tie of the round by a fair margin. Manuel Pellegrini’s team is having a great season in the EPL where they’re 3 points behind Chelsea with a match in hand and they have a terrific record at home having 11 of the 12 matches they played. In the last match of the group stage they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 and ended their 10 match winning streak in the competition, which went back to the R of 16 last year, when they lost to Arsenal at home. Unfortunately for them Sergio Aguero, arguably their best player this season, will miss the first match due to an injury he picked up in January but will be back for the second match.  They were definitely the runner up every group winner wanted to avoid and weren’t seeded in the group stage only due to the poor seeding system from Uefa.

                Barcelona got off to a great start this season with seven wins a row but the team declined a bit the second half of the season and looked particularly vulnerable in defense. They’re still battling the league with both Madrid teams and will face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, but an elimination this early from the competition would make the season a failure undoubtedly. Barcelona have reached at least the semi finals in the Champions League every year since 2008, winning it twice, in 2009 and 2011 (beating Manchester United in the final in both occasions) and have been the best team in the competition in recent times.

-Prediction: Barcelona 3 Manchester City 2

                Bayer Leverkusen-Paris Saint Germain

                Bayer Leverkusen-Paris Saint Germain is arguably the weakest match up in the round. The German side advanced despite receiving 9 goals combined in the two matches against group leaders Manchester United. They were able to take advantage of the weakest group of the competition and beat Real Sociedad and Shaktar Donetsk for a place in the second round. In the Bundesliga they are in second place but far below Bayern Munich who have the title pretty much secured despite a big part of the tournament has to be played yet.

                PSG had a comfortable first round but they didn’t face any big opposition (their rivals were Benfica, Olympiakos and Anderletch). Last year they gave Barcelona a run for their money and were close to causing the upset in the quarter finals. The squad has improved now and they’re leading the Ligue 1 with only one loss during the whole season and only with Monaco offering some challenge. They’re definitely the favorites to advance and equal the stage they reached the past season.

-Prediction: PSG 4 Bayer Leverkusen 1

                Galatasaray-Chelsea

                The match between Chelsea and Galatasaray is another one that has a clear favorite on paper. The Londoners had an easy first round despite two shocking loses against Basel and had no trouble advancing to the second round, making amends for last season’s fiasco when they became the first defending champions being eliminated in the first round. After a slow start they’re leading the Premier League ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal in a thrilling race that looks as it will be the closest one in recent times in the league. Mourinho hasn’t lost before the semi finals of the Champions League in his last four participations (one with Inter, three with Real Madrid) and will be looking to reach the final for the first time at Chelsea.

Galatasaray advanced despite only earning 7 points in the first round (only team that advanced with fewer points was Zenit, with 6). They were easily outclassed by Real Madrid in both matches and even lost to Copenhaguen, one of the worst teams in the competition, but a late goal from Sneidjer in a very controversial match vs Juventus where they pitch was unplayable gave them the win they needed to secure a place in the last 16.

-Prediction: Chelsea 4 Galatasaray 1

               

                Atlético Madrid-AC Milan

Atlético were one of the most impressive sides in the first round only dropping two points with 5 wins and a draw. They only received 3 goals in 6 matches which speaks largely about the quality of their defense (and scored a not too shabby figure of 15 goals). Under Simeone they built a team that’s arguably the best they had since 1996 when they won the domestic double. Not only they were impressive so far in Europe, but in la Liga they look stronger than ever and for the first time in ages there’s team outside Barcelona and Real Madrid battling for the title and with a serious chance of winning it. During the winter transfer season they brought on a loan the midfielder Diego Ribas, who shined in the team that won the Europa League in 2012. After winning said title in 2010 and 2012, now they want to go for the top prize in Europe.

Milan on the other hand has one of their weakest sides in quite a while. They’re having a horrible season in Serie A, where they’re only a few points away from relegation and far away from European positions. Despite that they were able to advance to the second round of this year’s Champions League, but not without a struggle. They had a hard time against Ajax in the last match and were only able to get a goalless draw in the last match when a defeat would’ve sent them home.  After Allegri was sacked the team improved a bit with Clarence Seedorf on the bench but not enough to consider the team the favorite against Atlético.

-Prediction: Atlético 3 Milan 2

Zenit-Borussia Dortmund

Zenit is undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the competition so far. Despite only collecting 6 points in the first round they managed to advance to the knockout stages and send Porto to the Europa League.  Despite Dortmund has struggled a bit compared to recent seasons it’s hard to imagine they can offer a strong resistance, but they already proved to be capable of surprises in 2008 when they won the Uefa Cup and after that beat Machester United in the European Super Cup.

Dortmund finished 1^st in their group but they were only minutes away of going to the Europa League until a late goal from Grosskreutz gave them the win vs Marseille in France.  Dortmund, Arsenal and Napoli all finished with 12 points in the “group of death”, but the Germans got the top position because of goal difference. The season has been a nightmare for them in terms of injuries which have caused them to be relegated from the championship battle in the Bundesliga (even failed to win a match two months in a row in December and January).  In the Champions league they looked strong nonetheless and are looking to repeat last season’s performance when they lost the final in a very close match with Bayern Munich.

-Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 4 Zenit 1

Bayern Munich-Arsenal

Bayern Munich is probably the biggest favorite for the title this season. After being close to glory in 2010 and 2012, losing in the final in both occasions, they were finally able to win their 5^th Champions League title last season when they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the final. Nobody defended the title since the new format was introduced in 1993, but they have the squad and consistency to be the first team ever to do so. After Heynckes left the coaching role after winning the treble there were doubts about how the team would respond, but those were quickly buried by Guardiola. A title in the European Supercup against Mourinho’s Chelsea, another title in the Club World Cup and a devastating showing so far in the Bundesliga where the team is cruising to the title. The team is pretty much the same side that won everything last year with a few new faces, mainly Mario Gotze who came from rivals Borussia Dortmund and Thiago Alcantara, whom Guardiola coached before at Barcelona.

Arsenal has been one of the most improved sides this season. They’re battling for the Premier League and had a great performance in the first round of the UCL. They’re looking to finally end the title drought that goes back to 2005, when they won the F.A Cup.  The draw hasn’t been kind to them as most of the recent occasions. They had to face Barcelona twice when they were at their peak of their powers, in 2010 and 2011, and now they have to face Bayern for the second year in a row when they’re undoubtedly the best team in the world. A win would certainly give them a huge boost to reach the final, stage they hadn’t reached since their lonely appearance in 2006, when they lost to Barcelona, but a loss this early would probably be better than one in the QF or SF as they’ll have the chance to focus all their energy on winning the EPL and end the aforementioned drought. They lack a world class striker but they have one of the strongest midfields in the world in terms of quality and quantity with the likes of Cazorla, Rosicky, Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere and Arteta. The crushing 5-0 defeat to Liverpool a week ago hurt the team moral but this is a golden opportunity to restore it.

-Prediction: Bayern Munich 4 Arsenal 2

Olympiakos-Manchester United

                Manchester United is having a very disappointing season so far in England but that hasn’t been the case in the Champions League. They dominated the group with ease and won it without losing a match (Though it has to be said none of their rivals could’ve really been a serious threat to them).  After 27 years in charge, Alex Ferguson left the club last summer and Moyes replaced him. The poor showing in the league so far, where they are in 7^th place and outside UCL qualification, earned him harsh criticism but the team’s performance in Europe so far has been what United is used to.  They reached the final 3 times since 2008 but only one it once, in 2008, losing against Barcelona in the other two occasions, 2009 and 2011.

                Olympiakos struggled to advance to the 2^nd round; they needed a win in the last match and hope that the goal difference would be better than Benfica’s. A convincing 3-1 victory at home versus Anderletch was enough for that. They’re one of the weakest time left in the draw and although United aren’t at his best this season it still hard to imagine the may lose this tie.

-Prediction: Manchester United 4 Olympiakos 1

Real Madrid-Schalke 04

                After they conquered the UCL in 2002 with that historical volley from Zidane it looked like it was only a matter of time before they’d win their 10^th Champions League title, but since that it’s been frustration after frustration for the Spanish giants in the competition.  From 2005 to 2010 they were never even able to even reach the quarter finals and after that they had three straight heartbreaking defeats in the SF against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.  Now they have in Carlo Ancelotti a specialist in this competition, with Milan he won it twice in 2003 and 2007 and reached another final in 2005.

                The last few years have been very successful for Schalke, with great showings in the Bundesliga and qualifying consistently for European competitions.  In 2011 they were the biggest surprise in the Champions League and reached the semi finals beating Valencia and Internazionale in the way, before losing to Manchester United.  They are having a solid season so far and consolidated themselves in the TOP 4 in the Bundesliga but it’s unlikely they’ll have a shot of winning this tie.

-Prediction: Real Madrid 5 Schalke 2 

Australian Open 2014: Preview

Novak Djokovic looking to win his 5th Australian Open

    

         It seems it was yesterday that the 2013 season ended, with Djokovic beating Nadal in straight sets in the World Tour Finals final to deny the Spaniard the only big trophy still missing in his résumé.  Now, the 2014 season is well under way and with the second week coming to an end all the looks are in Melbourne Park where, as always, the first Grand Slam of the season will be played.

The biggest favorite for the title is definitely Novak Djokovic: The Serb is in a 21 match winning streak here and is looking to win a record-breaking fourth Australian open in a row. Apart from winning the last 3 editions he also conquered his first slam title in Melbourne back in 2008. After a shaky 2013 which include some losses to lower ranked players he finished in style winning four tournaments in a row (Beijing, Shangai, Paris and the World Tour Finals in London). He also won the two singles he played in Serbia’s defeat to the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup final, which means he’ll arrive at the AO with a highly impressive 22 match unbeaten streak.  The surface suits perfectly his game and he’s definitely the man to beat. A win here would make him the only player to win the Australian Open five times in the open era and would cement his status as the best player in the history of the tournament during that period.

Rafael Nadal will undoubtedly be Djokovic’s biggest obstacle in his title defense (He beat the Serbian in both Grand Slam meetings they had in 2013, the Us Open final and Roland Garros semi final). The Spaniard will return to Melbourne after being forced out of the 2013 edition because of a knee injury that kept him seven months out of the tennis courts. His last match here was the memorable final in 2012 that saw him losing to Novak Djokovic in a 6-hour battle (he was leading *4-2 in the decisive set). He returned to the tour stronger than ever last season, winning 5 Masters 1000, 2 Grand Slams and 10 titles overall despite missing the first month of competition and started 2014 picking up where left off last season winning the title in Doha. A 2^nd trophy here would make him the only player to win every Grand Slam event at least twice since Rod Laver did so in 1969. His only win at Melbourne Park came back in 2009, when he won back-to-back 5 set matches against Fernando Verdasco in the Semi final and Roger Federer in the final.

The bets have the Andy Murray as the 3^rd favorite behind Djokovic and Nadal, but there certainly is a question mark regarding the Scottish’s opportunities to compete for the title here. He only played two official matches since last September when he left the tour for a back surgery and seems to be far from his best physical condition. In Doha he lost against Florian Mayer in a match he seemed to have on his pocket (lost 12 of the last 15 games of the match).  He had some great performances here the past few seasons and reached the final three times, losing to Roger Federer in 2010 and Novak Djokovic in 2011 and 2013 so he certainly is a player to consider nonetheless.

Juan Martin del Potro will be another man to watch during this year’s Australian Open. The Tower of Tandil has reached a Grand Slam Semi final again after 4 years in Wimbledon, where he lost an epic battle to Novak Djokovic. He’s been struggling a lot with injuries since 2010 but last season when he was healthy things looked promising, he beat Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer proving that when he’s on he can give anyone a run for their money on any surface. He will be looking to finally reach a grand slam final for the second time in his career since his memorable triumph in Flushing Meadows in 2009.  The AO is the only Grand Slam in which he hasn’t managed to reach at least the semi finals so far but he has a lot of points to gain after a shocking 3^rd round loss to Jeremy Chardy in 2013.

  After his worst season in more than a decade (finished outside the TOP 5 for the first time since 2002), Roger Federer got off to a good start in 2014 reaching the final in Brisbane. Federer last reached the final at the AO in 2010, when he became the top winner of the event in the Open era with 4 titles (record shared with Agassi and Djokovic) after beating Andy Murray in the final. After that he lost to Djokovic, Nadal and Murray himself in the semi finals each year. After struggling with back problems for a big part of 2013 he has been finally able to train pain free for a few months and is looking to return to the top places.  At his age it may seem difficult for him to go toe to toe in five set matches with Nadal, Djokovic or Murray who are five years younger and have a level of fitness almost unmatchable, but you can never count Federer out.

Jo Wilfred Tsonga, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych are regulars in Grand Slams quarter finals, but it seems highly unlikely one of them can battle for the title. The French reached the final here in 2008, but even though he managed to beat every player in the Big 4 at the slams he was never able to reach that instance again at a major.  His inconsistency always affects his performances and he was never able to produce his best tennis for two weeks in a row since that run six years ago.  Berdych is a similar case. He beat Murray and Federer at slams multiple times, but seems unable to deal with Djokovic or Nadal (especially the later, to whom he lost the last 16 matches they played), players who you must beat for sure to win a slam these days.  Ferrer reached a slam final for the first time in his career last Roland Garros, but he was favored by the draw that put Djokovic and Nadal on the same half. He has reached the quarter finals of every slam in the past two years but loses every time he faces one of the top players.

Some dark horses for the tournament include Stanislas Wawrinka & Jerzy Janowicz. The polish reached the Semi final in Wimbledon and had a respectable performance against eventual champion Andy Murray; he has made a lot of progress last year and a half and has shown tremendous potential. He struggled a bit with some physical issues lately, but at 23 he’s ready to give the final step and consolidate himself at the top. Wawrinka had the best season of his career in 2013, finishing #8 in the ranking and qualifying for the World Tour Finals for the first time in his career. He gave Djokovic a run for his money in both HC slams in 2013, losing in 5 set thrillers both times. In the AO he came really close to causing the upset, having a break point that would have given him the opportunity to serve for the match in the 5^th, Djokovic would end up winning 9-7 and would go on to win the tournament after that. Though it’s highly unlikely they can reach the final they’ve shown they can go far at slams and when their game is on they’re very tough players to deal with.

Predictability has definitely ruled men’s tennis the past few years and it doesn’t look like this year’s Australian Open will be an exception. It all points out to another Djokovic-Nadal final, the sixth one since the Us Open 2010 (and another virtual final in Roland Garros 2013). Federer’s decline, combined with the fact that he hasn’t beaten Nadal at a slam since Wimbledon 2007 and Murray’s recent surgery make it less likely that we can expect something different. Aside from the Swiss and the Scottish, only Juan Martin del Potro looks to have a real shot at upsetting one of the two best players in the world, but hopefully that won’t affect the level of tennis and we’ll have two weeks of thrilling and high-quality matches. 

World Cup 2014: Where does Argentina stand 6 months away and what do they need to improve?

Argentina is in the eyes of many one of the favorites to lift the world cup trophy in July. Arguably they’re one of the TOP 4 main candidates along defending champions Spain, hosts Brazil and Germany, but do they have what it takes to go all the way?

The talent is definitely there; few teams if any can form a squad with the quality and depth Argentina has. The likes of Messi, Aguero, Di María, Higuaín, Zabaleta, Mascherano, Palacio, Lavezzi, etc. certainly inspire respect and fear in their rivals.

Lionel Messi will be looking to cement his status as the
         best player of all time

The problem is though that most of those players are offensive-minded and occupy the same positions in the pitch, and as great as they’ve been during the qualifying campaign and the latest friendlies, the defense hasn’t been anywhere near showing that same level. Only the aforementioned Zabaleta seems to be a world class defender among the ones that have been starting lately for Argentina. The center back partnership formed by Federico Fernandez and Ezequiel Garay has never shown a really convincing level and the weakest points in the team are the left back and the goalkeeper.

Marcos Rojo has been Argentina’s worst player during most of the qualifiers and his level raised a lot of questions, but Sabella keeps insisting with him and will most likely start in Brazil.  Sergio Romero’s case is even more worrying. He hasn’t been playing regular football since last May. He left Sampdoria and joined Monaco hoping that’d change, but it hasn’t been the case so far and will request a loan during the winter transfer to see if he can finally get some playing time elsewhere. Lack of football has certainly affected his performances and most of the supporters question Sabella’s decision to keep him as the starting goalkeeper and not giving other goalkeepers a chance, especially Agustin Orion and Wilfredo Caballero, whose recent performances were hugely praised.

It’s understandable that the coach of a team shows confidence to certain players even when they’re not at a great level, but is it justified to leave out better players (or at least players that are  showing a much higher level right now) for it? Caballero and Orion have been doing enough merits to at least earn a place in the squad, but most likely they won’t make it to the final list or only one of them will do and as the 3^rd goalkeeper (the second one will be Mariano Andujar).

Add to that, while the Fernandez-Garay partnership hasn’t shown the level a team aspiring to win the World Cup would expect, some players that may fill those positions have been showing a great level in their respective teams lately, particularly Gonzalo Rodriguez (Fiorentina) and to a lesser extent Federico Fazio (Sevilla). Both have been playing consistently and at a high level during this season and have done enough merits to be in Sabella’s consideration.

While there aren’t many alternatives in the left back position, at this point it’s clear enough that Rojo doesn’t have the level or experience required to play for the national team. Clemente Rodriguez and Ansaldi have both being called up by Sabella in the last twelve months and deserve to start ahead the Sporting Lisboa player.

In the midfield and upfront, things are much clear for sure. The tandem Mascherano-Gago works wonders, very solid and consistent and the alternatives like Biglia and Banega have also responded when they were needed and are quality back-ups. Ahead, Di María will be the link between them and the forwards. The Real Madrid winger is in great form and has been decisive the whole qualifying campaign being the player that assisted more goals in the squad (5).

The line of attack is undoubtedly the team’s greatest strength: Messi, Aguero and Higuaín. Between them they scored 24 goals in the qualifiers and are one of the most (if not the most) prolific attacks in the world at the moment. Not only that, the alternatives are almost as good as them. Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi had an impressive qualifying campaign as well and would easily start in almost every other national team in the world.  The controversial absence is undoubtedly Carlos Tevez, he was never in Sabella’s consideration and hasn’t played in the national side since 2011. He has returned to top form in Serie A this season, but as they say “If it ain't broke don't fix it” and the current trio has proved to understand each other perfectly inside the pitch, so it’s highly unlikely the Juventus striker will make the list.

All in all, Argentina has definitely the tools to go far in the World Cup and win it; With the best player in the world pulling the strings and an overall solid squad it will be up to Sabella to fix the weak spots if the team  in the remaining six months and improve it as much as possible. Playing close to home will be a huge boost in Argentina’s World Cup chances as well. Every time the World Cup was played in America, the trophy stayed there and only once a European country managed to become world champions outside the old continent (Spain in 2010). Things certainly look bright.