Rome, Oct 5 (DPA) A sound 2-0 beating away to Palermo late Sunday was a worrisome eye-opener for Juventus fans who must have asked themselves how their team can sit just two points from the Serie A top after seven games.
Newspaper headlines Monday ranged from La Gazzetta dello Sport’s “Juve sink in Palermo” to “The autumn of Juventus,” in la Repubblica, and peaked with Turin’s daily La Stampa titling “Nothing at all worked – This time Ciro is unforgivable”.
Coach Ciro Ferrara suffered his first defeat since taking over last May and did it in the worst possible way as Palermo walked over Juve in a game that, as defender Giorgio Chiellini said, “could have ended up 4-0 and there would have been nothing to say.”
Ferrara, a former international defender with Juve, was ruthless in his analysis, saying that “nothing worked, both from a physical and tactical point of view.
“Tonight (Sunday), a great game was played only by Palermo, who had many strengths, but we did nothing against them.”
Chiellini and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon were the only Juve players to put in decent performances while Mauro Camoranesi and Brazilian Felipe Melo appeared played farther below standard.
Palermo’s first goal owed much to Melo’s poor control in midfield, while Camoranesi, a seasoned offensive playmaker lost too much possession.
La Stampa gave both a 4.5 and invited Camoranesi to provide “less heel flicks and more substance, please.”
Brazilian striker Amauri as usual fought and ran to no avail as he continued a scoreless run that began last spring.
His striking partner Vincenzo Iaquinta has scored three goals so far, like Frenchman David Trezeguet, but Sunday spent his time running aimlessly as the team lacked the ability to offer him any possibility to threaten.
Support for the strikers and creativity was expected from Brazilian new arrival Diego, who shone with a brace against Roma in late August, but has since struggled to recover from a muscular injury.
Signs that a switch of gears was badly needed had come from the latest draws with Genoa and underdogs Bologna, where the team seemed to have forgotten how to play the game.
For the fans of the Turin side, it’s little consolation that giants AC Milan are even worse off and that champions Inter Milan, who lead next to Sampdoria, have likewise been far from impressive.
Further bad news for Ferrara is a two-week pause due to World Cup qualifiers.
“After such a bad game, the best thing is to play again soon,” Ferrara said. “Now we have to wait instead.”
But there could be problems also for Italy’s selector Marcello Lippi, who seems to have focused on Juve as the top provider of players.
Seven have been called for a crucial game away to Ireland Saturday and for the last qualifier against Cyprus Oct 14.
Ferrara and Juve fans will keep a close eye on them.
rounak