First of all you play, and this is already good news. Because when Cagliari is involved, anything can really happen and, as usual, the fans always lose out. This evening, in fact, the match against Juventus will be played in Parma, due to the umpteenth problem of the Is Arenas stadium, which was unusable until 18.30 pm last Wednesday. And so the 13 Cagliari citizens who had already bought tickets will be left empty-handed, a bit like the Juventus fans who had organized themselves with planes and ferries to reach the Sardinian capital. A little theater that has been going on since the beginning of the season, which the Lega Calcio must put an end to as soon as possible. “We are the injured party – Conte declared at the press conference. – Yesterday afternoon we didn't know where we were going to play and how to prepare for the finishing and departure. It's a pity that we come to the last minute to make such decisions. I hope that, as with other situations, these things make you think and we can improve”.
Logistical problems aside, this has certainly been an excellent week for Juventus. While waiting for the match against Cagliari, Conte got some good news from Nyon's urn: in the round of XNUMX of the Champions League, the bianconeri will face Celtic. A good team, but nothing transcendental, even if the Juventus coach quickly extinguished the easy enthusiasm: “The Scots beat Barcelona and qualified in a group with teams like Benfica and Spartak Moscow. They can count on excellent players like Samaras and Commons, the captain. We will arrive at this appointment with great enthusiasm, with the utmost respect for the adversary and the will to do our best on the European path”.
However, we will think about the Champions later, now it's time for the championship. The title of winter champion brought wild praise, but woe to ruin a splendid 2012 right at the photo finish: “There is the risk of thinking about the holidays, during the week we were praised by everyone, there is the danger of a satisfaction, to face Cagliari with presumption and thinking about the suitcases rather than the field. I will do mine and I expect an important response from the team. If we don't lift a trophy at the end of the season, I won't do anything about the winter title”.
The charge (at least that of the coach) is the right one, now we'll see what the field will say. Juve will have to do without Chiellini and the stop will be quite long (calf injury, we are talking about three months); pending an intervention on the market, tonight the leak will be plugged by Caceres. For the rest, Conte will rely on the typical team, even if Vucinic has some ailments and could start from the bench.
POSSIBLE FORMATIONS
Cagliari (4-3-1-2): Agazzi; Pisano, Astori, Ariaudo, Avelar; Dessena, Nainggolan, Ekdal; Cossu; Pinilla, Sau.
On the bench: Avramov, Rossettini, Murru, Casarini, Ceppellini, Thiago Ribeiro, Nene.
Trainer: Ivo Pulga – Diego López.
Unavailable: Eriksson, Ibarbo.
Disqualified: Accounts (1).
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Caceres; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Quagliarella,
I win.
On the bench: Storari, Rubinho, Marrone, Padoin, De Ceglie, Pogba, Isla, Giaccarini, Vucinic, Matri.
Trainer: Antonio Conte.
Unavailable: Bendtner, Pepe, Chiellini.
Disqualified: nobody.
Referee: Antonio Damato (Barletta).
Line Assistants: White – Paganessi.
Port Assistants: Orsato – Tommasi.
Fourth official: Tonolino.
