A walk towards Doha. Juventus and Napoli archive the 16th matchday without too many problems, the last of 2014, and prepare for the appointment on Monday, in which the first trophy of the season will be awarded. On the eve we feared deconcentration as the only risk, but the Bianconeri and Azzurri did not fall into the trap. And so Cagliari and Parma, rather than obstacles, turned out to be two small bumps, easily overcome by the men of Allegri and Benitez. Lots of goals (4 at Sant'Elia, 2 at San Paolo) and little, very little pepper: just think that even the cautioned players, over-quoted on the eve, managed without the slightest problem. The big loser of this strange championship Thursday is undoubtedly Zeman. Once again the Bohemian lost badly against his longtime rival, completely distorting his footballing ideas. "We'll try," he said on the eve, but after just a quarter of an hour his Cagliari side, surprisingly lined up with an unprecedented 4-4-2, had already raised the white flag. Merit of Tevez (paw in front of goal in the 3') and Vidal (splendid right-footed shot from distance in the 15') and, more generally, an almost perfect approach to the match. However, what disappointed Zeman the most is not the result, but the ways in which it arrived. You would expect everything from one of his teams except the fear of attacking, a problem that, to tell the truth, Cagliari has had since the beginning of the season, so much so that the public contests it and Giulini is increasingly full of doubts.
Aside from a few sporadic occasions (on which Buffon was perfect) Juve never risked anything, on the contrary they ended up winning big without even trying too hard. The seal came at the start of the second half (50') with Llorente, whose turn also found the kind collaboration of Cragno. The Sardinians' goal (Rossettini in the 65th minute) was just right for the scoresheet, a bit like the last part of the match, completely devoid of pathos except for a few sporadic occasions. Now the pressure is once again on Roma's shoulders, forced to beat Milan (tomorrow evening) in order not to lose further ground from the leaders. “It was very important to end the year in the lead – confirmed Massimiliano Allegri. – I didn't want a drop in tension, also to better prepare for the Super Cup". Yes, Monday will be final time. Opposite there will be an overall less solid Napoli but still determined to win. In this sense, the success against Parma (2-0 signed by Zapata and Mertens) can only be good for a qualitatively excellent group, but lacking in self-esteem and serenity. “It will be the most important match of 2014, fundamental for all of us – thought Benitez. – They talked to me a lot about Beijing but we don't need further stimuli, the cup up for grabs is already enough for those". Appointment in Doha in short, hoping that, this time, Italian football will only export entertainment, not the usual poisons.
