First the court, then the field. It's Juventus day, in every sense. The black and whites will play two decisive matches in the space of a few hours, one of which has nothing to do with football.
Around 12 in fact Calvi, referee chosen by Juve, will play a real final against De Giovanni, namesake of the FIGC. The opinion of Zaccheo, a Tnas judge with powers as president, will be decisive. The mood this time is good: we are heading towards a substantial sentence reduction (we are talking about 4 months), which would allow Conte to return to the bench before the end of 2012. So no total acquittal as hoped by the coach, the whose sporting record would remain stained by the omitted denunciation of Albinoleffe-Siena, but it doesn't matter: Conte could soon return to being a full-time coach, to the delight of the whole Juventus environment. In any case, the sentence will not arrive today: the judge will decide by October 7, but the news that filters through goes towards the solution we have described.
Conte won't be there, because tonight the other game is being played, the real one and he wants to prepare it down to the smallest detail, as always. The Champions League is back in Turin and the coach doesn't want the team to get distracted. After all, the appointment is one of those that count: Shakhtar are first in the group and not beating them would be tantamount to complicating life. The Stadium will be sold out and the atmosphere will be hot, as Chiellini hoped for at the press conference: “The first Champions League match at the Juventus Stadium is a great emotion for all of us. In London we have already tasted a special atmosphere, I missed it, the Champions League is hard to digest as a spectator.
We are aware that it is the most important match, we face an undervalued team, but not from us. We want to fill the stadium, with an even hotter crowd than on Saturday against Roma." The public will have to do its part, also because the Ukrainians are tough opponents, coached by that old fox Lucescu, someone who knows Italian football like the back of his hand. Massimo Carrera knows this well, and expects the usual game of great concentration from him: “It will be a difficult match and we will also have to suffer. Shakhtar are a technical team coached by a coach who knows Italian football perfectly. Many players are Brazilians, we have to be careful, they are good at counters and know how to play football. Juve must play a match like Juve, attack without letting them breathe, but up against us we will have a team that hasn't lost in 25 games". To beat it, Conte will send the best Juventus possible onto the pitch. The defense will be the classic one (Barzagli-Bonucci-Chiellini), as will the midfield (Vidal-Pirlo-Marchisio). The doubt is the usual: who will support the untouchable Vucinic? All the clues lead to Matri, but the chances of Giovinco and Quagliarella shouldn't be underestimated.
POSSIBLE FORMATIONS
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah, Vucinic, Matri.
Coach: Antonio Conte (suspended, Massimo Carrera on the bench)
Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Chygrynskiy, Rat; Ilsinho, Fernandinho; Alex Teixeira, Mkhitaryan, Willian, Luiz Adriano.
Coach: Mircea Lucescu.
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
