Finally it starts again! Never before has the Italian Super Cup been as welcome as this year, and never mind if the time difference will force Juventus and Napoli fans (but also football fans from all over Italy) to break up their Saturdays, for the "joy" of wives and girlfriends , who at 14 will lose their men for a heart-pounding couple of hours. After the Scommessopoli scandal, football descends on us like manna from heaven, and perhaps it is no coincidence that the season begins the day after the sentences in Rome. Today we turn the page and start again, even if you can bet (forgive the pun…) that the aftermath will go on for quite a while. Antonio Conte will watch the final from the grandstand, an appetizer of the 10 months he will have to spend in the stands while his Juve will fight on the fields of Italy and Europe. That the reigning Italian champion coach has been convicted (at first instance, it should be remembered) is not a good sign for our football, but that's it, and then we might as well look ahead, that is, to this afternoon's huge game. In the futuristic “Bird's net” stadium (Bird's nest due to its shape), we will start again from where we left off. Like last May 20 in Rome (Italian cup final), Juve and Napoli will still be playing for a trophy, and the match played 2 and a half months ago reminds us of how much balance there is: over the course of a championship, the two teams they are still far away, but anything can happen in the one-off race.
HERE JUVENTUS
As expected, he introduced himself at the press conference on the eve Massimo Carrera, who will replace Conte on the bench for the next 10 months (at least until the next degree of judgement). An important investiture, but the former defender didn't betray his emotions: “Me worried? I will sit on the bench of the Italian champion team, I challenge anyone to be. We talk about football and I've been in it for 40 years... I've been working with Conte every day for a year, so it won't be a problem to replace him – reiterated the "coach" – I'll try to give advice to the players near the bench, but it won't be my initiative, only the consequence of what we do every day”. A Carrera that has decidedly fallen into the part, enough to indulge the first controversy of the season with Walter Mazzarri, who the day before had claimed paternity of the three-man defense (the one with which Juve will face the match..): "If that's the case, I don't see why he should bother two of his men to spy on Juventus training sessions... As for the match, we'll have to stay watch out for their restarts, but we'll face it with great motivation from the first to the last minute”. Having said about the formation (the 3-5-2 of the Scudetto), let's now talk about the formation. Conte has two doubts: Asamoah-De Ceglie and Vucinic-Matri. The Ghanaian should win the ballot for the left wing, as well as the Italian forward, favorite over the bruised Montenegrin.
HERE NAPLES
After Walter Mazzarri's conference on Thursday, yesterday Gokhan Inler took on the role of official blue speaker. “We want to make the match ours, there is great emotion because after the Italian Cup we would like to win again – the words of the Swiss midfielder, reported on the official Napoli website -. We are ready and we want to give our best. It will be a balanced and beautiful match and we will play it until the end. Juve are strong but anything can happen on the pitch, I think it will be an open match." Inler has clear ideas on who is the black and white to stop at all costs: “In my opinion a lot will be decided in midfield, they have Pirlo who is a player I admire so much, but in the end it is the team's performance that counts. We know it's going to be another special night and all my teammates are focused and fired up. In Naples, the match against Juve is deeply felt and goes beyond the Super Cup. Now let's go to rest because a battle awaits us and we want to win it". Unlike his Juventus colleague, Mazzarri has no particular training doubts. Against Juve it will be 3-5-1-1, with Behrami in the midfield and the Cavani-Pandev duo in attack, with the baby phenomenon Insigne ready to take over from the bench.
POSSIBLE FORMATIONS
Juventus (3-5-2): 1 Buffon; 15 Barzagli, 19 Bonucci, 2 Lucio; 26 Lichtsteiner, 22 Vidal, 21 Pirlo, 8 Marchisio, 22 Asamoah; 32 Matri, 12 Giovinco. Available: 30 Storari, 39 Marrone, 7 Pepe, 11 De Ceglie, 24 Giaccarini, 18 Quagliarella, 14 Vucinic). Trainer: Massimo Carrera. Disqualified: Conte (coach). Unavailable: Chiellini, Isla, Caceres.
Naples (3-5-1-1): 1 De Sanctis; 14 Campagnaro, 28 Cannavaro, 5 Britos; May 11, 85 Behrami, 88 Inler, 17 Hamsik, 18 Zuniga; 19 Pandev, 7 Cavani. Available: 22 Rosés, 21 Fernandez, 6 Aronica, 8 Dossena, 23 Gargano, 24 Insigne, 16 Vargas). Trainer: Walter Mazzarri. Disqualified: nobody. Unavailable: Donadel.
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (Bergamo). Assistants: Faverani-Stefani. Fourth official: Bergonzi. Area referees: Rizzoli-Tagliavento.
