Tag: JUVENTUS

  • Juve made courageous move to appoint Pirlo – Zola

    Juve made courageous move to appoint Pirlo – Zola

    Gianfranco Zola admits Andrea Pirlo’s appointment as Juventus was a surprise.

    Sarri was sacked and replaced by Andrea Pirlo on Saturday after their Champions League elimination by Lyon.

    “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised by this,” Zola told Sky Sport Italia.

    “It’s fascinating and if the project works, it’ll go down as a huge success story for the club. It’s not an easy job, though, as Juventus are asking to win in a certain way.

    “This is a courageous move from the club and based on the quality of the man, but Pirlo will need their support going forward. It’s not simple, but I do think he can have real success.”

  • Juventus sack Sarri after Champions League exit

    Juventus sack Sarri after Champions League exit

    Juventus have relieved Maurizio Sarri of his position at the club following their Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon, Goal reports.

    The Continassa hierarchy held a meeting following the Old Lady’s failure to progress to the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition, with Sarri’s future at the club the only point on the agenda in the wake of the continental disappointment.

    It was decided that the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli boss is no longer the man to take the club forward, with Juve’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid making clear that their intention was to win the Champions League after several years of near-misses.

  • Devastated Sarri says he can’t be judged on basis of one match

    Devastated Sarri says he can’t be judged on basis of one match

    Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri was understandably devastated on Friday by his team’s exit in the last 16 stage of the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League after a 2-2 aggregate loss.

    But after losing to Olympique Lyonnais he said he did not believe he would be judged solely on Friday’s match which saw them go out in spite of a 2-1 win.

    In spite of winning a ninth successive Serie A title last month, Sarri’s team have not managed to convince the critics during his first season in charge.

    Their failure to even match last season’s quarter-finals performance in the UEFA Champions League has added to the pressure on the 61-year-old.

    “If I wasn’t devastated by not qualifying, I’d be happy with the performance,” Sarri said after his side were knocked out on away goals following a 2-2 aggregate draw.

    “I actually expected less from us, I think we played a great game. We fell behind to a penalty kick that could have made us lose our heads and we had three chances when we were 2-1 ahead.”

    Sarri pointed out that his side had dropped only two points in the group stage.

    Also, they were unbeaten in the competition until their 1-0 first leg defeat to Lyon in March, before the COVID-19 outbreak interrupted the season for three months.

    “This competition doesn’t take any prisoners,” he said. “If it was a normal ranking, we would be first or second after six wins, a draw and a defeat.”

    On his future, he said: “I don’t think top-level executives decide based on a single game. I think they make wider evaluations – whether they be for or against.”

    He added that the coronavirus pandemic had made it an unusual season.

    “We’ve had several months where we haven’t done anything logical,” he said. “We’ve been locked indoors, quarantined, individual training, then collective training, then 14 games in 48 days.”

  • Despite Ronaldo’s brace, Olympique Lyon knock out Juventus

    Despite Ronaldo’s brace, Olympique Lyon knock out Juventus

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace, including an unstoppable long-range goal, to give Juventus a 2-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League on Friday.

    However, it was not enough as the French side reached the quarter-finals on away goals.

    After both sides converted contentious penalties in the first half, Ronaldo struck from out of the blue on the hour but Lyon clung on for a 2-2 aggregate draw which sent them to next week’s Final Eight tournament in Lisbon.

    They will meet Manchester City in a one-legged quarter-final.

    The defeat left Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri in an uncomfortable position as the Champions League title eluded the Turin side for another season.

    Although Juventus have won Serie A for nine seasons in a row, they have not been able to get their hands on the Champions League trophy since 1996 when they won it for the second time.

    Despite continuing the domestic run, Sarri failed to give Juventus the flamboyant touch the club had been looking for as well as missing out on their main goal.

    It was an uphill struggle for Juve from the moment they conceded an away goal in the 12th minute, albeit in controversial circumstances.

    Rodrigo Bentancur appeared to get the ball cleanly off Houssem Aouar but referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot and chose not to look at the incident on the pitchside monitor.

    Dempay converted with a cheeky Panenka-style penalty which sent Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way.

    Ronaldo saw a free kick palmed away by Anthony Lopes but it was another controversial penalty which provided the hosts with their equaliser.

    Miralem Pjanic’s free kick struck Depay’s elbow in the wall and, although his arm was close to his body, the referee gave another penalty, again without consulting the pitchside monitor.

    Ronaldo converted.

    Juventus seemed to be making little progress after halftime until Ronaldo found space for a shot and blasted the ball past Lopes from 25 metres on the hour.

    After that, it became almost a Ronaldo one-man show as he set up a chance which Gonzalo Higuain headed over, then headed over himself and drilled a free kick into the wall.

  • La Liga: Arthur refusing to play for Barca

    La Liga: Arthur refusing to play for Barca

    Barcelona midfielder Arthur has told the club he does not want to play for them anymore as the midfielder refuses to return from Brazil, Goal reports.

    The Brazil international will join Juventus this summer after a deal worth €72 million (£66m/$81m) plus up to €10m in bonuses was agreed in June, but his contract with Barcelona will run until the Champions League campaign is over.

    Coach Quique Setien gave his players a break after their second-place finish in La Liga and the 23-year-old took the opportunity to return to his homeland.

  • Serie A: Juve line up Pochettino to replace Sarri

    Serie A: Juve line up Pochettino to replace Sarri

    Juventus are considering a move for former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino to replace Maurizio Sarri as manager.

    Sarri remains on thin ice in Turin, despite his Juve side leading Serie A and poised to become champions once again.

    Yet Sarri’s side have lost as many matches as closest rivals Inter Milan this season already, being defeated on four occasions, and have failed to run away with the division as they have for several seasons previously.

    Now the powers that be at Juve have already begun to have a series of informal contacts with some of the world’s best managers, according to Turin’s La Stampa,

    Juve have reportedly had direct contact with a representative very close to Pochettino, as they earmark him as Sarri’s potential replacement.

    The Argentine coach is of Italian origin, to be precise Piedmontese, and is said to have expressed his willingness through representatives to try a new experience in Italy.

  • Serie A giant open talks with Lacazette

    Serie A giant open talks with Lacazette

    Juventus have opened talks with Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette.

    The French forward joined the Gunners from Lyon three years ago for what was then a club-record £52million deal.

    The 29-year-old’s form has dipped markedly this season and he went over a year without scoring a Premier League away goal away before netting the second in Arsenal’s recent win over Wolves.

    Le 10 Sport reports Serie A champions Juventus have been in contact with the north London side and the striker’s representatives for several days and insist initial negotiations have taken place.

    The report adds that Juventus are aware that Arsenal may not easily free up Lacazette to join them given that he has a contract at Emirates Stadium until 2022, but are hopeful a new challenge would tempt him in moving to Italy.

  • Ronaldo rescues Juventus in ‘robbery’ against Atalanta

    Ronaldo rescues Juventus in ‘robbery’ against Atalanta

    Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalty kicks, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute on Saturday, as Serie A leaders Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta.

    The draw helped the defending champions to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title.

    The Portuguese forward took his league tally to 28 goals this season as Juventus went eight points clear of second-placed Lazio with six matches to play.

    Atalanta are a further point back in third after being denied a tenth successive league win.

    Both handballs were clearly accidental but, under the current rules, referee Piero Giacomelli had no option but to award the penalty kicks.

    However, it was rough justice on Atalanta.

    The team, which leads Serie A in scoring, would have climbed into second place and cut the gap between themselves and Juventus to six points if they had won.

    Juventus, humbled 4-2 at AC Milan on Tuesday, dropped Miralem Pjanic but were quickly forced onto the back foot by a typically audacious Atalanta side.

    Duvan Zapata put the visitors ahead in the 16th minute.

    An intricate exchange of passes with Alejandro Gomez opened up the Juventus defence before the Colombian slotted his shot past Wojciech Szczesny.

    The visitors continued to pen Juventus into their half, enjoying 58 percent possession and five shots to the home team’s one before half-time.

    They however went on to fall foul of the handball rule 10 minutes after the break.

    Paulo Dybala fired a cross against Marten de Roon’s elbow.

    Although it was at point-blank range and the Dutchman’s arm was close to his chest, the referee immediately pointed to the penalty kick spot.

    Ronaldo smashed home the penalty kick, scoring for the sixth game in a row.

    The game opened up, with Atalanta regaining the lead in the 81st minute when Luis Muriel sent a pass across the face of the penalty area to Ruslan Malinovskyi.

    He took it in his stride before firing a right foot shot past Szczesny.

    But lightning struck a second time for Atalanta when Gonzalo Higuain got his foot to a corner kick and deflected the ball onto Muriel’s hand.

    The Colombian did not have time to get his hand out of the way but, as it was outstretched, the penalty kick had to be given and Ronaldo converted in the 90th minute.

  • Ronaldo shines in Juventus 4-1 win

    Ronaldo shines in Juventus 4-1 win

    Juventus beat Torino 4-1 in Saturday’s derby, as Cristiano Ronaldo impressed and Gianluigi Buffon made history.

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning goal and provided an assist as Juventus eased to a 4-1 derby win over Torino to open up a seven-point lead at the top of Serie A.

    Ronaldo was by no means a constant nuisance to the Torino defence, but the Portugal great turned it on when he needed to, setting up Juan Cuadrado before scoring a brilliant goal of his own on Saturday.

    Juve made a lightning start and opened the scoring through a fine Paulo Dybala effort, before Ronaldo teed up Cuadrado – who set up the opener – for their second at the Allianz Stadium.

    Read Also: ‘Messi may be tempted by Man City offer’

    Meanwhile, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon set a record for the number of Serie A appearances when he played his 648th game in the Italian top flight as Juventus beat Torino 4-1.

    The 42-year-old, who made his Serie A debut for Parma as a 17-year-old in November 1995, overtook the record previously held by former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini.

    Buffon stayed with Parma for six seasons, making 168 Serie A appearances, before joining Juventus in 2001. He left the Turin side at the end of the 2017-18 season and joined Paris St Germain, where he spent one season before returning to Juventus.

    He also played 37 times in Serie B after Juventus were relegated over the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in 2006 and 17 times in Ligue 1 with Paris St Germain. Saturday’s match was his eighth of the season in Serie A and his first this year.

  • Serie A: Ronaldo scores in Juve rout

    Serie A: Ronaldo scores in Juve rout

    Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain helped Juventus move seven points clear at the top of Serie A with a resounding 4-0 win over 10-man Lecce at the Allianz Stadium.

    Fabio Lucioni’s first-half dismissal left lowly Lecce, who had started brightly, facing a daunting task yet it needed a moment of brilliance from Dybala to open the scoring after 53 minutes.

    Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi were guilty of woeful misses in the opening period but the former lashed home his 23rd Serie A goal of the campaign from the penalty spot before excellently setting up Higuain.

    Matthijs de Ligt added a fourth that was harsh on Lecce as Maurizio Sarri’s men stretched their lead on Lazio, beaten 3-2 by Atalanta last time out, albeit their rivals have a game in hand.

    Goal