For the ranking and for the pride. Juventus are back on the pitch after Wednesday's beating, with the intention of resuming their journey towards a season that is, if not successful, at least dignified. It won't be easy, because the calendar foresees the insidious one transfer to Verona (18 pm), against a Hellas back to the levels of past seasons thanks to the Tudor cure, ironically the former Juventus sidelined perhaps too hastily. Last year the Croatian was on Pirlo's staff and many, between malice and reality, considered him a sort of tutor: a scenario that the head coach didn't like, who at one point decided to weaken him and put him on the sidelines. Tudor did not want to make a controversy (after all his Juventus militancy goes well beyond one season), but it is clear that he would gladly trip the Lady, especially now that he is already limping from him.
The moment is complicated, both economically (yesterday the shareholders' meeting approved the negative balance sheet of 209,9 million and the capital increase of 400) which is technical, but the company flaunts confidence and compactness, as can be seen from the words of Andrea Agnelli and Pavel Nedved. “I have faith in the management team, in Allegri and in the players – explained the president -. We have to work as one body, knowing that the team and the group come first. We are all useful, no one is indispensable”.
“Right now it doesn't make sense to talk about goals and the Scudetto, but just 10 days have been played and we can easily recover – echoed the former Ballon d'Or -. Now we have to think about one game at a time and recover positions."
The comeback necessarily passes from a victory at Bentegodi, not so much for a first place at the utopian moment (currently 13 points away), as for a Champions area not discounted yet essential. “It's a difficult match, I'm in a good moment – confirmed Allegri -. There's no point in explaining now, we have to be silent and work to achieve better results. The team is giving a lot, I can't blame anything, the lads always want to win, but sometimes you have to understand the timing of the match. If you win you are a good boy, if you lose unfortunately… you have the word”.
Now the word passes to the pitch, where the bianconeri will have to give answers to what happened on Wednesday. The numbers are worrying and don't just concern the standings: the 13 goals conceded clash, as well as the only 14 scored. That there is an attacking problem this is known from Ronaldo's farewell ("it was an honor to have him with us, but Juventus comes first" commented Agnelli), but while awaiting the winter transfer market (there is insistent talk of Vlahovic, now on course with the Fiorentina) it's up to Allegri to come up with something, because the Corto-Muso strategy, as we saw against Sassuolo, cannot be the only one available.
This evening the coach, forced to give up on Chiesa, De Sciglio, Ramsey and Kean, will once again rely on a 4-4-2 with Szczesny in goal, Danilo, De Ligt, Chiellini and Alex Sandro in defense, Cuadrado, Bentancur, Arthur and Rabiot in midfield, Dybala and Morata in attack. Classic 3-4-2-1 also for Tudor, who will respond with Montipò in goal, Dawidowicz, Gunter and Magnani in the back, Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso and Lazovic in the midfield, Barak and Caprari behind the lone striker Simeone.
To open Serie A Saturday however, it will be the challenge of Bergamo between Atalanta and Lazio (15 pm), which promises to be one of the most exciting of the entire day. Both are returning from victories that have restored confidence in their respective environments, but now the litmus test is missing, or the direct clash between Gasperini and Sarri, which has always been synonymous with spectacle and unpredictability. “As Guardiola said, playing with them is like going to the dentist, even if you come out unscathed you feel the pain – thought the Biancoceleste coach -. They are very aggressive, intense and of quality, but we go to Bergamo to play our game, despite a certain tiredness: we are in the fourth game with less than 72 hours of rest, it hasn't happened to any other team".
If Sarri makes a controversy about the calendars, Gasperini follows suit, this time however on the Var, another hot topic of the last few days. “There's a very serious problem, I struggle to understand handballs, VAR, tackles, yet I've been involved in football for many years – confirmed the Nerazzurri coach -. I don't understand it, the players don't understand it, the public doesn't understand it, unforeseen events happen in too many games, but above all there is no clarity. I thought maybe it's better not to be on the bench, at least in the stands, if a word slips by, I won't pay the consequences." Hot weather in short, for a match that promises to be a real direct clash for the Champions League. Sarri will play it with the usual 4-3-3, therefore Reina in goal, Marusic, Patric, Acerbi and Hysaj in defense, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva and Basic in midfield, Felipe Anderson, Immobile and Pedro in attack, Gasperini instead will respond with a 3-4-1-2 with Musso in goal, Lovato, Demiral and De Roon in the back, Zappacosta, Koopmeiners, Freuler and Maehle in the midfield, Pasalic in support of the offensive duo made up of Ilicic and Zapata.
