Asian Cup Assessment: The Future (Part III)

Abdallah Jaber: A future star and Palestine's player of the tournament. 
This entry is the third part of a three section entry assessing Palestine's performance at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In this section we will look at how Palestine should go forward after a subpar showing at the 2015 Asian Cup.

Eight days. That's how long Palestine's foray into continental football at the highest level lasted. For those of us lucky to be there it was a magical time and one we will not soon forget. Palestine was one of the best supported teams at this tournament despite the fact that only 9,000 Palestinians call Australia home. 

The level of support was overwhelming and it came to a surprise to many of the players. One player told me "The support here is amazing, I've played in so many Arab countries and this beats anything I have ever experienced in terms of support. The people here, they just want to support us to be close to Palestine- they want nothing else, no [ulterior motives]."



Perhaps the legacy of this tournament will be the creation of a more rabid supporter's culture. It's certainly true that many of the people in the stands in Australia did not have the sort of intimate knowledge of the team and players as the readers of this blog do. Going forward, I hope the kind of support on show by Palestinian-Australians gets mimicked in countries were Palestinians live in larger numbers. If we can get 11,000 people to come out and support Palestine in Melbourne maybe we can get similar numbers in Kuwait City, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Amman. Let's hope that the team becomes a bigger part of our national consciousness in the future. 

On the pitch, certain things are changing as we speak. Ahmad El Hassan has been relieved of his duties and will return to his post as Technical Director of the PFA. During the PFA press conference,  PFA President Jibril Rajoub stressed the importance of not crucifying the players for their poor performance. 

Unfortunately, Jibril Rajoub's press conference was filled with platitudes about participating and delivering a political message. That's all well and good but I do not think it is in line with the what the players were focussed on. He spoke of publishing a book that would document the team's historic accomplishment in qualifying for the tournament and promised yet another ceremony for the team (is that really necessary?). 

In my opinion, Palestinian players need no reminding for whom or what they're playing for; there is absolutely no need to keep banging on about it. When I spoke with Ramzi Saleh after the Japan game he wasn't happy, he was disappointed. He thought the team could have done better; and of course he was right. Our team cannot be happy to just make up the numbers- they are professionals and born competitors. 

Jibril Rajoub spoke of an independent investigatory committee to diagnose what led to the national team's failure at the Asian Cup. I don't think there is a need for such a committee as it is quite clear what happened: An internal war in the PFA chased out the most successful manager in National Team history. Instead of finding a suitable replacement, the PFA appointed an administrator who happened to have the requisite badges. That administrator then proceeded to exclude some of Palestine's best players from the final squad. 

I find it perplexing to listen to Jibril Rajoub talk about how he wants to create a generation of 18-22 year olds capable of representing the national team and qualifying for Qatar 2022. The intent is nice but there are more pressing issues like the summer qualifiers for Russia 2018 and the Asian Cup in 2019. I know Palestine may never become Japan but is superseding Jordan too much to ask? 

The fact of the matter is, Palestine's senior team has improved but the grassroots are still rotten. Women's Football cannot compete with Jordan (again, not exactly a superpower or a bastion for women in sport) and our youth teams still struggle, routinely suffering big losses. 

I think claims of wanting to improve the status quo are quite dubious. Mostly because we have not seen improvement in the past 17 years. I take all promises with a grain of salt and it is not a great sign that the PFA Press Conference concluded without any mention of a new coach or plans for the March friendlies and the summer qualifiers. 

Those friendlies in March could be crucial for our qualification hopes going forward. One site, gives us about a 20% chance of ending up in Pot 2 we need to do everything in our power to end up there and secure a favorable draw. With the ability of hosting games now in play the aim for this team should be to finish second in its qualifying group and clinch a place in the final round (12 teams) of Asian World Cup qualifying. Doing so would also guarantee a place at the 2019 Asian Cup. 

How can we do that without a coach? There are some important decisions to be made regarding a lot of our players. Will Ramzi Saleh remain Palestine's undisputed #1? What about the international futures of Raed Fares, Husam Abu Saleh, and Murad Ismail? How do we incorporate capable players from the Olympic Team into the senior squad? 

As always there seems to be more questions surrounding the national team than answers.   



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Asian Cup Assessment: Tactics & Style (Part II)

Exploited: Jordan found Palestine's weak link en route to a 5-1 victory 
This entry is the second part of a three section entry assessing Palestine's performance at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In this section we will look at how Palestine approached their games at the 2015 Asian Cup.

The great thing about Jamal Mahmoud's style of play is that Palestine never played afraid. Against superior West Asian opponents, Palestine was always in the match, often times taking a proactive attacking approach. In fact, Palestine rarely lost by more than the odd goal during Mahmoud's tenure. In fact, many losses could be chalked up to the fact that Palestine didn't have an out and out striker of repute. The team also evolved and improved from one that made many mistakes to one capable of going five straight games without conceding.

Given these developments, Palestine expected to be able to nick a result in their final two group games against Jordan and Iraq.


Unfortunately, the mastermind of the Palestinian revival was in Qatar commentating on games as opposed to managing in them. Enter Ahmed El Hassan, the PFA administrator charged with leading the side at the Asian Cup.

Not much was known about Ahmad El Hassan before he took the position and I am not sure we know a whole lot about him now. Most his previous coaching experience came in Iraq his brief spell in charge of WBPL side Hilal Jericho ended in disaster with his team becoming known for conceding goals at an alarming rate.

The warning signs were there for all of us to see. Palestine were sloppy against Saudi Arabia in a 2-0 loss and weren't a whole lot better in a 3-1 win over Vietnam three days later.

In December, sloppiness gave way to blandness. Palestine were not interested in attacking in games against Uzbekistan (L 0-1) and China (D 0-0).

Worse even was that Ahmed El Hassan did not know how to deploy his players effectively. His final squad for the tournament ended up being two players short of the maximum 23 signaling a disinterest in exploiting teams using a vast array of different options.

Although, Palestine were expected to lose against Japan there was a clear misunderstanding on how to approach the game. Palestine were overwhelmed by Japan's attacking fullbacks and a gap in the middle of the pitch was exploited over and over by the Blue Samurai. Javier Aguirre had done this before while in charge if Mexico a more prepared coach would have known how to prepare for this.

In this game there was no need for a player like Abdelhamid Abuhabib who needs space, time, and service to be effective. Instead an added physical presence in the shape of Musa Abu Jazar or Hisham Slahe should have been deployed. Japan's first two goals came as a result of this space being exploited.

On the wings, a midfielder with better defensive ability should have been played. Amour's attacking prowess was never really on display here. Jaka Ihbeisheh or Husam Abu Saleh would have been a better choice to help keep Japan at bay. A better tactical approach could have meant a more forgiving scoreline.

Losing to Japan or even Iraq isn't a horrible result. What was unforgivable was the self destruction at the hands of Jordan. Going into this game, Jordan was 0-2-8 under Ray Wilkins they handy scored five goals in his entire tenure and would not score a goal in their other two group games. Ahmed El Hassan conspired to make Jordan look like Japan over 90 minutes. The first goal excepted, each one of Jordan's goals was the result of a Palestine not being set up properly. 

Palestine had possession in this match but in the first half they didn't have the weapons to exploit it. Mahmoud Eid was left on the bench as was Ismail Amour. It seemed for thirty minutes that Palestine and Jordan would be headed for 0-0. 

Then Jordan found Palestine's weakness. Tamer Salah was the least experienced player on the pitch and did not inspire confidence in his appearances as an over age player with the Olympic team in the Asian Games. 

Going down 3-0 in the space of 12 minutes before the halftime whistle forced Ahmad El Hassan to bring on Ismail Amour for Husam Abu Saleh. Palestine immediately found Jordan's weakness and could have scored on multiple occasions. It wasn't until the strange substitution of Ashraf Nu'man in the 75th minute did the score really get out of hand. 

In the mixed zone Raed Fares spoke of his disappointment in the players selected to play in this match. Stating that Palestine would have stood a better chance at winning if he, Khaled Salem, and Khader Yousef had been played. He was probably peeved at being left out in favor of Mus'ab Al-Battat at right back but he did have a point. Why was Palestine's most capped outfield player- Kahder Yousef- left out of the side? Many defensive issues were solved in the next game against by playing Khaled Salem at center back as opposed to Tamer Salah, was El Hassan unaware of his ability? 

I also found there to be a disconnect between the defence and the holding midfielders which often resulted in the team booting the ball as opposed to building an attack and retaining possession. 

In my dealings with him it never seemed that Ahmad El Hassan ever had a handle on this team. When managers walk into a room they usually have a presence and can command a manner of respect or recognition. El Hassan was like a ghost and his management style was erratic. There was no real schedule for team activities outside of trainings and meals. Top class teams watch tape and analyze their opponents endlessly- I saw no evidence of this during my ten days with the team. 

El Hassan tried to present himself as a hard man from the outset dropping players he claimed showed a perceived lack of respect to the team (Omar Jarun, Hilal Musa, and possibly Javier Cohene/Daniel Kabir). During the tournament he had Abdallah Jaber shave off the stars in his hairstyle but when his authority was really tested he could do nothing. Palestine was fined $1000 for smoking in the dressing room and when Ashraf Nu'man stormed off to the dressing room after being substituted, El Hassan claimed that the player needed to go to the toilet. 

Outside of getting his tactics wrong Ahmad El Hassan is guilty of failing to create an professional environment that could foster success. 

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Asian Cup Assessment: Preparation (Part I)

Man without a plan: Ahmad El-Hassan

This entry is the first part of a three section entry assessing Palestine's performance at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In this section we will look at how Palestine could have prepared better for their maiden continental participation.
 
It all seemed so promising. On June 1, 2014 Palestine returned home conquering champions. The man who led them to glory, Jamal Mahmoud, promised to stay despite his initial desire to resign his post. FA President Jibril Rajoub promised to spare no expense in preparing the team- promising 10-12 prepatory matches and a summer training camp in Germany with an eye towards recruiting foreign born Palestinians. 



The summer came and went with little activity on the part of the PFA. Palestine agreed to participate in the Peace Cup in the Philippines but neglected to do anything to put together a side. Just before the tournament's start the PFA hurridely sent Jamal Mahmoud and 12 players to the archipelago. The situation was so dire that Abdullah Jaber was pulled from the Olympic Side to provide essential cover. With little more than a single rudimentary training under their belts the team slumped to a 4-1 loss to Myanmar a side they had dismantled with ease less than 100 days earlier. 

A 7-3 win in extra time over Chinese Taipei papered over the cracks but it was too late for Jamal Mahmoud. Facing stiff opposition from many in the PFA he resigned his post. Mahmoud chose to keep his reputation intact instead of taking the fall for the PFA's administrative ineptitude. Rumors of a salary that went unpaid for months certainly didn't help. 

Three years ago, the PFA went to the WBPL in search of a competent, affordable manager to lead the side. One would have thought they would do the same thing. Instead, the PFA went for the cheap option- after realizing that Saeb Jendeya didn't have the requisite badges- they hired an administrator who was already on the pay roll. 

Ahmed El Hassan admitted to Football Palestine that he had no contract with the PFA. So just to highlight this, the PFA went with a bargain basement option ahead of the most important, high profile matches in Palestine's history. 

El Hassan took over officially after the team powered past India and Pakistan with their talent in October under Saeb Jendeya. 

The PFA's administrative blunders were on full display in the lead up. Two friendlies (against Morocco and Pakistan were canceled at the last minute. Instead of traveling from India to Pakistan directly the team flew in the opposite direction (to Dubai) to catch a flight to Lahore. 

Once El Hassan did take the reigns yet another friendly (against Thailand) was canceled because the PFA insisted it be played in Vietnam.

On the pitch, Palestine were grinding out results without the style they had came to be known for. A 2-0 loss to Saudi Arabia was followed up with a 3-1 win to Vietnam.

Palestine met for a pre-Asian Cup training camp in Dubai in December. The team fell 1-0 to Uzbekistan before flying out to China. That game, was a fore bearer of things to come under Ahmed El Hassan who seemed to think of the result as a step forward (Palestine had two entries into the box and no shots on goal). An additional friendly, against Iran, was canceled at the last minute. Instead of flying to Australia after the China game, the team inexplicably flew in the opposite direction and went back to Palestine for a week before traveling to Sydney via Dubai.

Things would really take a turn for the worse with the announcement of the final squad. Key members of Palestine's Challenge Cup squad were left out of the side for reasons that ranged from petty to ridiculous. Omar Jarun fresh off completing a long NASL season bowed out of the November friendlies and Hilal Musa didn't show up to a training camp because of a broken hand, no mercy was shown both were given the axe.
At least they had been given reasons Khaled Mahdi had to suffer the indignity of seeing the uncapped Tamer Salah selected ahead of him. 

Palestine also didn't seem to care about solving their striker problem. Matias Jadue had to be committed because somebody in the PFA messed up the paperwork in regards to his nationality switch. Highly touted WBPL-based and Gaza based strikers must have been besides themselves to see Khaled Salem included. The Hilal Al-Quds player had been playing as a centre back for the better part of two years. 

Breakdowns in communication also led to Javier Cohene and Daniel Kabir Mustafá being left out of the squad. Both players quickly claimed to be injured to save face but that clearly wasn't the case with Kabir who played 90 minutes for Atlético Venezuela the day before the Japan game.

Things would go from bad to worse with Haitham Dheeb unable to continue his Ferris Beuler scheme of calling in sick to his full time job. Although never fully fit, Alexis was called into the squad. Both players would never come close to playing in Australia. 

The PFA could have made changes to the squad up to six hours before the Japan match. They proceeded to call up Sameh Mara'ba who had been locked up in an Israeli jail without charge for eight months. Alas, Mara'ba's travel ban prevented him from making the trip.

When quizzed by Football Palestine about the shorthanded squad, Ahmed El Hassan simply stated "I'm happy with the players I have and I don't see the need for additional players." 

To recap, Palestine traveled to Australia without an actual manager, a short handed squad bereft of some of Palestine's best players, and canceled five friendlies along the way just for good measure.

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Rapid Reaction: Iraq 2:0 Palestine (2015 Asian Cup)



Palestine Starting XI: Toufic Ali, Harbi, Salem, Bahdari, Jaber; Salhi, Khader Yousef; Amour, Nu'man, Maher; Eid.

Substitutions: Jaka Ihbeisheh <--> Ismail Amour 67' // Abdelhamid Abuhabib <--> Mahmoud Eid 79'
Cautions: Hesham Salhi 21' , Ahmed Harbi 58' 
Recap: Ahmed El Hassan made a whole host of changes to his side with the stated aim of getting more players a chance to play at the Asian Cup. Ramzi Saleh and Husam Abu Saleh were dropped due to injury. The later of whom underwent a surgical procedure to treat s yet unknown ailment.
Toufic Ali got the start in goal and there were Asian Cup debuts for Ahmed Maher and Khaled Salem. The most shocking decision was Khaled Salem starting as a CB despite being listed as a forward with the national team.Despite the inclusion of an out and out striker Palestine were rarely able to create chances. That said, they had the best chance of the first half- stand in captain Abdellatif Bahdari's header off a corner was scrambled to safety. 
Iraq, for their part, struggled to break down Palestine's defence and Toufic Ali proved to be a safe pair of hands in goal coming up with saves when called upon.
Palestine and Iraq headed to the dressing room locked at 0-0 with fans wishing this composed performance had made an appearance four days earlier in Melbourne.Iraq would find a breakthrough, much to the delight of the large Iraqi contingent that had fallen silent, three minutes into the half. Younes Mahmoud- the wily Desert Fox latched on to a corner leaving Toufic Ali with no chance.
Moments later Ashraf Nu'man picked the pocket of Salim Shaker just outside the Iraqi box only to see his shot brilliantly stopped by Jalal Hasan.Palestine would grow in confidence during the second half backed by a sensational penalty save from Toufic Ali. 
The penalty call marked the second time a questionable penalty was called against Palestine at the Asian Cup. Even Justin Meram seemed embarrassed to see the referee point to the spot.
Palestine put Iraq under sustained pressure following the incident and silenced the partisan crowd in Canberra. That said, there were too few ideas in the attacking third, perhaps an indication of neglect by a manager who struggled to pick effective lineups throughout the tournament.In the end, the equalizer never came. Ahmed Yassin put the encounter beyond doubt with an insurance goal to set up a date with Iran in the quarterfinals.
What I liked: The team put a negative result behind them and showed that they were not out of place at this level. After the game, the players marched over to the supporters and thanked them with many jerseys making their way into the crowd.
What I didn't like: In transitioning from Jamal Mahmoud to Ahmad El Hassan this team lost its brashness. Did we lose to other West Asian opponents under Jamal Mahmoud? Yes, but we never went into the game in a bunker-and-pray mindset.Questionable Subs: Ismail Amour had a slight groin injury yet he got the start over Jaka Ihbeisheh who was Palestine's best player over 90 minutes against Jordan. Khaled Salem was used as a defender despite being listed in the squad as a forward highlighting the lack of depth at the position. He played well enough to have fans asking why he wasn't deployed against Jordan.
Man of the Match: Toufic Ali. The backup goalkeeper put in a solid performance and saved a penalty. If he can improve his consistency he could lay claim to the number one spot in the next cycle.
What's Next: Palestine will fly back home departing from Sydney to Dubai before the contingent each goes its own way.Ahmad El Hassan will most likely return to his role as PFA Technical Director. In the press conference he clarified his position to Football Palestine, stating "I don't have a contract with the PFA to tender my resignation I am the Technical Director of the PFA and will return to that post."World Cup qualifying starts in June with a draw to determine the groups slated for April. Palestine will hope that they can remain in Pot 2 (currently ranked 14th in Asia). In their favor is the fact that Korea DPR and Kuwait, ranked below them, also failed to pick up points at the Asian Cup.













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Preview: Iraq vs Palestine (2015 Asian Cup)

Yaser Kassim- Iraq's midfield engine

Game Information
What: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group Match
When: January 20th, 2016
Where: Canberra Stadium, Australia 
Kickoff: 0900 GMT

Streams: Live streaming available on the Palestine national football team facebook page and the sports section of pal24.net

Palestine Form: WLDLL
Iraq Form: LDLWL

Previous Encounters:
Iraq 3:0 Palestine
Iraq 4:0 Palestine
Iraq 3:0 Palestine
Palestine 0:1 Iraq
Palestine 2:2 Iraq
Iraq 3:0 Palestine
Iraq 4:0 Palestine
Iraq 4:1 Palestine
Palestine 1:1 Iraq 
Iraq 2:0 Palestine

Qualification Scenarios: Iraq must win this game to further boosts their chances at qualifying. Any dropped points will place emphasis on the result of the Jordan Japan game. For their part, Palestine can still qualify with a win against Iraq, a Japanese victory over Jordan, and an 11-goal swing.

Previous Matchday:

Iraq put in a strong performance against defending champions Japan while the wheels came off the bus for Palestine in Melbourne. Despite some strong attsckong play and a couple of early chances; Palestine were made to pay many a time for their lack of defensive organization.

Iraq for their part have been an excellent defensive unit in the five games under Radhi Shenashiel. They should draw confidence from their performance against Japan- whom they stifled repeatedly.

Prematch Press Conference

Ahmed El Hassan took time to emphasize that Palestine will be looking for the three points and chalked up the loss to bad luck, an inability to score early, and "a lack of expertise and lapses in the details of the game. Specifically, individual assignments."

The Palestine manager also lauded Australia's organizing of the tournament, stating that he believed the country could host a World Cup. He also thanked Palestine's fans for their great support over the past three weeks. 

In regards, to Ashraf Nu'man's status for the game Ahmad El Hassan denied reports that Palestine's star player would be held out of the last game after he stormed off to the locker room after being hauled off versus Jordan. El Hassan informed us and the media that Ashraf Nu'man simply had to "go to the toilet". 

One player that will miss the game is captain Ramzi Saleh who picked up an injury in training. Toufic Ali will get then start in his absence. 

Tactics 

Palestine have been a little hard to predict during this tournament. Ahmed El Hassan was proactive against Japan playing the likes of Ismail Al-Amour and Mahmoud Eid against the Blue Samurai but benching them against Jordan.

I would expect to see a return to a more proactive approach against Iraq as Palestine has shown a complete inability to defend. El-Hassan has suggested that additional players will get to play so perhaps we will get to see Raed Fares at right back or Musa Abu Jazr in midfield. The other players yet to play are: Ahmed Maher, Khaled Salem, and third string goalkeeper Rami Hamadi.

Iraq will be without the services of Alaa Abdul Zahraa who picked up a seco d yellow against Japan. Justin Meram who plays his club football in MLS for the Columbus Crew is the most likely replacement. Which means Younes Mahmoud will retain hist starting role.

For Palestine to be effective in this match they will need to stifle Yaser Kassim in midfield. Defensively, Ahmed Harbi's return should help paper over the cracks.

That said, Iraq have always given Palestine problems and although they may not be the team they once were, Iraq should have enough in them to win this game and advance to the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Iraq 3-1 Palestine 

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Rapid Reaction: Palestine 1:5 Jordan (2015 Asian Cup)

Al-Dardour scores Jordan's third
Palestine Starting XI: Saleh (C), Al-Battat, Salah, Bahdari, Jaber; Ismael, Slahe; Abu Saleh, Abuhabib, Ihbeisheh; Ashraf Nu'man. 

Substitutions: Ismail Amour <--> Husam Abu Saleh // Khader Yousef <--> Hesham Salhe // Mahmoud Eid <--> Ashraf Nu'man 

Goals: Jaka Ihbeisheh 85'

Cautions: Ramzi Saleh 82'


Recap: Despite an energetic first stanza to the game, Palestine were condemned to one of the most painful losses in their history. Coning into the match Palestine had high hopes, many fans thought this would be a key opportunity to grab three points against a dysfunctional Jordan team. The Nashama had not won in 10 games under Wilkins and entered the match having lost five straight- managing a meager goal in the process.

To make matters worse, Jordan's English manager had shown up to the press conference visibly drunk. To all present, it seemed that Jordan was on the brink of disaster.

That disaster may have come to be had Hesham Salhe's long range rasper found the back of the net eight minutes in. Alas, Amr Shafi did enough to deflect it and the crossbar proved to be his saving grace. Palestine were still adept enough over the first half an hour limiting Jordan while carving out half chances of their own.

In the 33rd minute, Palestine were made to pay for defensive confusion. With the line neglecting to press in front of the box, Yusuf Al-Rawashdeh collected the ball and curled it beautifully for the opener.

 The winner would arrive two minutes later, Odai Al-Saify blindly cleared the ball forward and an on rushing Abdullah Deeb blew past Abdellatif Bahdari and although Ramzi Saleh cut out his angle the shot across the face of goal met the foot of Al Dardour for an easy tap in.

With Palestine's mental state shaken they would proceed to let up another goal at the stroke of halftime. Al-Dardour again lost his marker (did he even have a marker?) and popped up for another opportunistic finish.

3-0 at halftime for the second time in four days.

The second half saw Palestine improve with inclusion of Ismail Amour. His pace and trickery gave Jordan fits and theybwere lucky to escape bookings for rash tackles on the Gazan.

Palestine were unlucky not to grab a goal over the next 30 minutes. The best chance falling to Al-Battat courtesy of Nu'man's cut back pass. Amr Shafi made a spectacular Dave to deny the 21-year old his first international goal.

Ashraf Nu'man's substitution with a quarter of an hour to play was perplexing as he was of Plaestine's best players on the day. Palestine were punished by two fast breaks shortly thereafter- Al-Dardour the tormentor again.

Palestine fans were given a long awaited moment of joy in the 85th minute. Mahmoud Eid's free kick found Jaka Ihbeisheh lurking at the far post. The Slovenian born winger ensured his place in the annals of Palestinian football with a measured finish. 5-1 to Jordan but judging by the reaction in the stands you would be forgiven for thinking it was Palestine's fifth goal.

What I liked: The fans for the second straight game created a fantastic atmosphere. I also thought Palestine were fantastic in the opening 15 minutes of either half- it's a shame that that didn't translate to goals.

What I didn't like: The squad selection was completely wrong for this game. Amour should have started alongside our only true striker- Mahmoud Eid. With speed on the wings we exposed Jordan's weaknesses repeatedly. There were chances and balls being played in the box that Eid could have finished. Defensively, it might have been better to use Al-Battat as a partner to Bahdari. His speed could have negated the threat of Al-Dardour.

Man of the Match: Jaka Ihbeisheh for making history and never giving up. Kudos to him for staying back to applaud the fans and for throwing his jersey into the stands.

Up Next: Palestine travel to Canberra to take on Iraq. They will need a win, a Japan win, and a 11 goal swing to qualify for the quarterfinals. 

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Ramzi Saleh apologizes to fans following blowout loss to Jordan


Melbourne, Australia- Palestine's captain and goalkeeper gave his thoughts on Palestine's unexpected 5-1 loss to Jordan. Raw footage from the mixed zone above (in Arabic). Translation in English after the jump...


I apologize to Palestinians everywhere for what happened. We entered the game with a lot of eagerness and excitement. We were the better team for 25 minutes and we threatened the Jordanian goal more than once but our lack of experience in Asian competition cost us. There was a suprising mental breakdown and it resulted in us letting up two goals in a minute. From that point on, the match was really lost in the first half. I'm sad and I want to apologize to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian Community in Australia that came out to support us. The thing that i am most affected by is the feeling that we embarrassed our people. This is football and sometimes these things happen. I know our people are sad and embarrassed and all we can do is apologize to them.

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Preview: Palestine v. Jordan (2015 Asian Cup)


Game Information:
What: Asian Cup Group D
Where: Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
When: January 16, 2015
Kickoff: 0700 GMT

Streams: Follow Palestine national football team on facebook. You can also access streams in the sports section of pal24.net


Previous Encounters:
Palestine 1:1 Jordan (October 2008)
Palestine 1:1 Jordan (December 2002)
Jordan 5:1 Palestine (April 2000)
Jordan 4:1 Palestine (August 1999)
Jordan 2:0 Palestine (August 1999)
Jordan 1:1 Palestine (July 2008)

Palestine Form: LWLDL
Jordan Form: LLLLL

Previous Matchday: Palestine fell 4-0 to defending champions Japan in predictable fashion. An early goal, the result of a lack of concentration set the tone for the Blue Samurai and a soft penalty put them up 3-0 before the break. Palestine played a more composed game in the second half but the damage was already done. 

Jordan played a nervy encounter against Iraq with both teams knowing that a loss in this match would represent a knockout blow to any quarterfinal hopes. Jordan's compact shape frustrated the Iraqis who had to wait until the 74th minute to find a breakthrough. Jordan's attacking struggles continued with the team managing a meager three shots on goal over the 90 minutes. Things would go bad to worse for the Nashama  with Anas Bani Yaseen being sent off for a second bookable offence with six minutes to play. 

Absences

Palestine and Jordan will be without key defensive pieces in Ahmed Harbi and Anas Bani Yaseen, their suspensions will test squad depth. 

Ahmed El-Hassan will replace Harbi with Tamer Salah a surprise inclusion in the final squad. 

Jordan manager, Ray Wilkins is a little less clear with the six listed defenders all starting the match against Iraq. 

Jordan will be without the services of the prolific Ahmed Hayel. The striker was unable to take part in a mandatory drug test and will be suspended as a result.

Palestine will officially miss the services of Alexis Norambuena with fullback suffering a recurrence of his ACL strain.

Prematch Press Conference 

 Ahmed El-Hassan confirmed the absence of Alexis Norambuena through injury. When asked about why additional players hadn't been called up he stated "I'm fine with players at my disposal I do not see a need to bring anyone else."

Abdelatif Bahdari Was quizzed about playing against so many Al-Wehdat temmates. With a grin in his face Bahdari stated "I'll play against seven of my friends, I know them and hopefully I'll be able to put in a performance that delivers us a win."

The Jordanian contingent provided more color in their press conference. Odai Al-Saify was disappointed to hear Jibril Rajoub comments regarding Ray Wilkins position.

For his part, Ray Wilkins didn't really answer any questions put forth to him. He stated that he loved life.

Other highlights:

"My mum thinks I'm gorgeous, she's the only one."

"I'm alive, I'm breathing fresh air. Listen, I love football. No one hates losing more than I do."

My main takeaway from the press conference is that Jordan seems to be a team in dissaray. Palestine are the more confident bunch and for all of Wilkins's expertise dealing with the media he really misread the temprature of the room- perhaps that had something to do with the alcohol more than one reporter smelled on his breath.

Tactics

The question coming into this match is whether or not Jordan have a Plan B. The ideas Ray Wilkins has tried to implement have clearly not worked. Under Adnan Hamed, Jordan were perhaps the best counterattacking side in Asia. Their ability to turn defence into attack helped them beat the likes of Australia and Japan. The countless encounters Jordan had with Iraq also ended in favor of the Nashama on most occasions. 

Even under the maligned Hossam Hasan the team continued their positive play; as they made easy work of their qualifying group.

Wilkins has had no success with this team. With only two points secured out of a possible 30. He has dropped the past five matches and his team has only managed to score once in those matches. The only positive for Jordan? They are pretty hard to score against. 

Contrary to perception Palestine did try to attack Japan. They had a respectable 75% successful pass rate and won 16 of the 18 tackles they went into.

Both teams will have to open up of they are to have any chance of winning this game. Jordan will be without their main goal getter in Ahmed Hayel. In many ways tactics won't play a big part in this one as the teams are so evenly matched and will cancel each other out with theie two defensive midfielders.

That said, in terms of intangibles Palestine have the upper hand and should be able to exploit that.

Prediction:
Palestine 2:0 Jordan

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Palestine arrive in Melbourne


Palestine arrived in Melbourne anonst much fanfare with throngs of supporters getting then at the airport. At the city's Intercontinental Hotel, a dabka troupe and singer preformed for them.

Melbourne, home to the largest contingent of Palestinians in Australia seem to be intent on willing their team to victory come Friday. Initial reports say that the supporter's bay has already been sold out. The vast majority of Australia's 9,000 strong Palestinian community are based in the city and should be able to drown out any support the Hashemites can muster.


Players looked to be in good spirits despite their heavy defeat to Japan. Their campaign will continue without Alexis Norambuena who will return to Poland after suffering a recurrence of his ACL injury.

Matias Jadue, who was in the supporter's section with the rest of the fans in Newcastle has also departed. The PFA's inability to register him in time for the game means he will instead look forward to Deportes Antofagasta's Copa de Chile encounter.

The departures leave Ahmad El-Hassan with only 20 players to choose from for the rest of the tournament. 

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Rapid Reaction: Japan 4:0 Palestine (2015 Asian Cup)


Palestine Starting XI: Ramzi Saleh (C), Fares, Harbi, Bahdari, Jaber; Khader Yousef, Murad Ismail; Amour, Abuhabib, Nu'man; Eid. 

Substitutions: Khader Yousef <--> Hesham Salhe 70' // Mahmoud Eid <--> Tamer Salah 76' // Ismail Amour <--> Husam Abu Saleh 83' 

Cards: Ashraf Nu'man 43', Ahmed Harbi 45+1', Ismail Amour 60', Bahdari 68', Harbi 74' (sent off)

Goals: Endo 8' Okazaki 25' Honda 44' (p.) Yoshida 50'

Highlights and more after the jump...



Recap:

Palestine fell to the defending Asian Cup champions in a fashion that most would have expected them to. The first half could not have unfolded any worse for Palestine. Japan's first real attempt on goal found that back of the net after Palestine's players failed to push up to press Endo. A quarter of an hour later Kagawa's creativity set up Okazaki for a fantastic goal to punctuate Japan's dominance of the game. 

At 2-0 Palestine seemed to be aiming for halftime and a team talk and it should have finished that way only for the Qatari Referee to award a very soft penalty to Kagawa who seemed to be falling before any contact was made. 

Honda stepped up to convert and Palestine were left to pick up the pieces of a truly shambolic performances. The second half didn't start to plan either, with Yoshida finishing off a short set piece with a powerful header. Down 4-0 and with the pressure off, Palestine did begin to show some signs of life and it seemed like they had pulled one back via Abdelatif Bhadari. Unfortunately, for the sizeable Palestinian contingent the big man's powerful header sailed just wide. 

Ahmed Harbi's foolish yellow card left Palestine undermanned for the final quarter of an hour. Despite the setback, Palestine dug in and defended bravely. In the final five minutes of the game, Ramzi Saleh and his defence stifled the Japanese attack again and again and were greeted by rapturous cheers. 

In the end, that might be the image that will stick with fans as they depart Newcastle tonight. Palestine were undermanned going in and were never going to win but they fought to the very end and won respect from all who saw how they responded to adversity. 

What I liked: Ahmed El-Hassan was bold and assertive in dropping Raed Fares for Mus'ab Al-Battat. At wingback, the future is now for Palestine. The fighting spirit of the squad is still intact and that is nice to see. We should see a team ready and raving to go come Friday. 

What I didn't like: Palestine seemed to do everything correctly except for pressing the ball in front of their box- this led to the first two goals. At the end of the day, the things that went wrong for this team weren't a result of the plans for this match. Palestine have 20 healthy players eligible to play in Australia. They should have 23. The PFA, in my opinion, could have done more to ensure success. 

Fan Atmosphere: Palestine fans should be proud. They created a party-like atmosphere in Newcastle and in a tournament bereft of the vociferous support you might see at other major international finals. Down 1-0 they didn't stop nor at 2-0, 3-0, 4-0. All the way to the final whistle, this may be the start of something truly special. 

Man of the Match: Officially, it was Shinji Okazaki. For us, though, it has to be Shinji Kagawa who assisted two goals and consistently gave Palestine's midfield fits. The best player for Palestine? 21 year old Abed Jaber who completely neutralized Keisuke Honda. 

What's Next: Palestine face rivals Jordan on Friday, January 16th in Melbourne. Kickoff set for 0700 GMT. Jordan fell to Iraq 1-0 in their opening match.

Pictures to follow in separate post.....

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Countdown to Australia: Zero Hour

Had a random end to the evening stumbling across a cinema and deciding to watch Interstellar - which I've been putting off for a while. Love it or hate it, the movie does do a good job of making you think of the feeling of going into the unknown.

A sudden thought I had was, "hey, we are in uncharted territory ourselves". Then I munched on more maltesers.

Not long ago, you would have found us struggling at the oddest hours trying to figure out which Nepali tv streaming link worked best. Now we are on the big stage. I won't talk further about the significance of the Japan match because thats been covered enough. Though I will say Australia is a very fitting place for such a venture. This country might as well be another planet! The time spent travelling to get here and the time difference with home sure make it feel like that. And what the hell is Hungry Jack's?!

Here we go everyone, see you on the other side...

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Preview: Japan v Palestine (2015 AFC Asian Cup)

Shinji Okazaki: One of the Bundesliga's top scorers

Game Information:
What: Asian Cup Group Stage
When: 12/01/2015
Where: Newcastle, Australia
Kickoff: 0700 GMT
Streamspal24.net or follow Palestine national football team on facebook


Previous Encounters: None

Japan Form: WWLWW
Palestine Form: WWLWD



Holders v. Debutants
Palestine could not dream of a more marquee matchup to ring in their debut on Asia's biggest stage. Since debuting in 1988, Japan has gone on to win the Cup four out of the next six editions. Their current crop of players are so good that their are established Bundesliga players who got nowhere near Javier Aguirre's final squad.

That said, for all their talent Japan seem to still be searching for the missing piece to make them a truly elite world power. They floundered at the World Cup- picking up 1 point against 10-man Greece and collapsing against Cote d'Ivoire after dominating the first half.
Japan hired Aguirre in the hopes that the wily Mexican could provide the talented Blue Samurai with added grit. Turns out though that the former Mexican national team boss might be a bit too wily; he's currently being investigated for match fixing in Spain.
Under new management Japan have been all that different. Their squad's core players have been retained and their results- losses against South American powers (highlighted by a 4-0 rout at the hands of Brazil) have been coupled with a 2-1 win over the Socceroos and a 6-0 blowout of Honduras.

Japan will continue the tradition of opening up against a West Asian opponent and although they have never lost an opener they only picked up 1 point against Jordan and Qatar in the last two tourneys. In fact, Japan tend to start slow in this competition with their only multi-goal win being the seismic destruction of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon (4-1).

With so many players joining the squad late as a result of European club duty Japan might need a couple of match days to fire on all cylinders. Palestine will be hoping as much.

Palestine Ready despite setbacks
The last thing Palestine needed was to lose their two most in-form defenders ahead of the biggest game in their history. If the absences of Daniel Kabir Mustafá and Javier Cohene wasn't enough; Alexis is in a race against time to get fit. Also, did we mention that Haitham Dheeb's Ferris Beuler scheme has been busted by the Principal of the school he works at?
Lack of defensive cover is an issue and Palestine will be hoping yellow cards aren't dished out to the likes of Harbi and Bahdari.

Also there's the small issue of trying to get Matías Jadue registered in time to play. Palestine have until 12 PM on Monday and my sources indicate that the PFA won't be able to do it.

Bad news aside, the spirit in the camp is fantastic and results on the pitch are encouraging. Stamina no longer seems yo be an issue with players seeing out a 0-0 draw with China last month. They also strutted their stuff in a 4-1 win over Malaysian champs JDT in Sydney earlier this week.

Tactics

Expect to see a good amount of bunker ball in this one. For all its draw backs it remains the best way to approach Japan (see Greece, Natal June 2014). For Palestine to succeed they will need to pack the midfield and set a disciplined defensive line that doesn't fall too deep. Forcing Japan into playing the ball out wide is risky but if Bahdari and Harbi can play to their potential it represents Palestine's best chance at keeping a clean sheet. In attack, Palestine will need to counter with speed- loom for Ashraf Nu'man to facilitate that from a deeper position.

Prediction

Japan will win but i won't be as comfortable as the 19-1 odds suggest.
Japan 3-1 Palestine 

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Historical Analysis: How will Palestine fare at their first Asian Cup?

Teams that debut at major tournaments, namely the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup, tend to experience a steep learning curve. Even ones that are highly touted tend to be awed by the spectacle of it all. By that logic, many have thought that Palestine will struggle to get anything out of their Group D opponents.

Now that may end up being the case or it may not. The fact of the matter is that the Asian Cup is unique in 60 years the competition has metastasized from a four team round robin to a (soon-to-be) 24-team tournament. Along the way there were a whole hosts of debutants, most of whom could only qualify after the federations joined the AFC or after their nation became independent. Here's a look at how each debutant fared.

1960

Debutant: Republic of China (Chinese Taipei)
First Game: Win (2-0 vs. South Vietnam) 
Finished: 3rd (1-0-2)

1964

Debutant: India
First Game: Win (2-0 vs. South Korea)
Finished: 2nd (2-0-1)

1968

Debutants: Iran & Burma (Myanmar)

First Games: 
  • Iran 2:0 Hong Kong
  • Burma 1:1 Republic of China
Finished: Champions & Runner-up (5-team Group) 

1972

Debutants: Thailand, Iraq, Kuwait, Khmer Republic (Cambodia)

First Games: 
  • Thailand 1:1 Iraq
  • Kuwait 2:1 South Korea
  • South Korea 4:1 Khmer Republic 
Finished: Iraq finished bottom of its group with one point from two games. Kuwait lost a tie breaker after all three teams in the group finished with a win and a loss a piece. Thailand and Khmer Republic were losing semifinalists. 

1976

Debutants: China PR, Malaysia, South Yemen 

First Games: 
  • Kuwait 2:0 Malaysia 
  • China 1:1 Malaysia
  • South Yemen 0:1 Iraq
Finished: The heirachy of Asian Football started to develop with this tournament and it would be the last six-team tourney. China lost 2-0 to eventual champions in Iran in the semifinal but saved some face with a 1-0 victory over Iraq in the third place match. Malaysia missed out courtesy of inferior goal difference. South Yemen, who hadn't played any qualifying matches after a whole host of withdrawals, were romped 8-0 by Iran in their final game. 

1980 

Debutants: Bangladesh, Korea DPR, Qatar, Syria UAE

First Games: 
  • North Korea 3:2 Bangladesh 
  • Syria 0:0 Iran 
  • UAE 1:1 Kuwait 
  • Qatar 2:1 UAE
Finished: Bangladesh was blown out 6-0 and 7-0 by Iran and China after keeping it close against other debutants in their first two games. The final game in Group A was a showdown between Syria and North Korea for a semifinal spot, the Koreans, needing a win got the result. Qatar and the UAE finished bottom of their groups but kept things respectable until the fourth round with their exits more or less sealed. 

1984 

Debutants: Singapore, Saudi Arabia 

First Games: 
  • Saudi Arabia 1:1 South Korea
  • Singapore 2:0 India
Finished: Saudi Arabia finished top of its group with two wins and two draws and went on to lift the trophy. Singapore didn't advance but they did nick a point off Iran to finish with a 1-1-2 record. 

1988 


Debutants: Bahrain, Japan

20First Games: 
  • Japan 0:0 Iran
  • Bahrain 0:0 Kuwait
Finished: Bottom of their respective groups. Japan failed to score a goal and their opening game was the only one that didn't end in defeat. Bahrain managed two points with their losses coming as a result of a binary scoreline. 

1992 (No Debutants) 

1996

Debutants: Uzbekistan, Indonesia 

First Games: 
  • Indonesia 2:2 Kuwait 
  • Uzbekistan 2:0 China 
Finished: Uzbekistan cruelly missed out on the quarterfinals due to inferior goal difference. Indonesia played some entertaining football but exited the tournament after losing 4-2 and 2-0 to South Korea and UAE, respectively. 

2000

Debutants: Lebanon 

First Game:
  • Lebanon 0:4 Iran
Finished: The hosts of the tournament managed draws against Iraq and Thailand but were never in a position to recover after the scoreline quadrupled in the final 15 minutes of the opening game. 

2004 

Debutants: Jordan, Oman, Turkmenistan

First Game:

  • Jordan 0:0 South Korea 
  • Oman 0:1 Japan 
  • Turkmenistan 1:1 Saudia Arabia 
Finished: Jordan advanced the quarterfinals. Oman collected four points off of Iran and Thailand but went home early. Turkmenistan played Uzbekistan and Iraq to one-goal losses en route to an early exit. 

2007

Debutants: Australia 

First Game: 
  • Australia 1:1 Oman 
Finished: Quarterfinalist

Conclusion 

Overall, debutants haven't done all that bad in their first games at the Asian Cup. That said, debutants tend to come in groups- Australia excepted- there hasn't been a new team at the Asian Cup in over a decade. Palestine could very well get blown out in all three games down under but there is more evidence to suggest that that won't be the case. Yes, we could take the example of India (lost 4-0, 5-2, 4-1 to Australia, Bahrain and, South Korea, respectively) at the last Asian Cup as they qualified vis-a-vis the same path but we would also have to account for Korea DPR's competent display (scores of 0-0, 0-1, 0-1 against UAE, Iraq, and Iran) at the same tournament. 

Debutant teams have a 8-12-6 record in their first games at the tournament. In other words, the stark outsiders were able to collect at least one point from their opening match nearly 80% of the time. 

If Palestine are looking for inspiration they need to look no further than across the river. In 2004, a young Jordanian squad with no foreign legionaries held a World Cup semifinalist to a 0-0 draw. They used the same tactic to stifle and grind out points against the two other West Asian sides in the group en route to a quarterfinal finish. 

Jordan  repeated the feat in 2011 when they played Japan in their first game (grinding out a 1-1 draw) before knocking off overrated Saudi Arabia in the second game 1-0. The deciding game against Syria went Jordan's way (2-1) with the Nashama capitalizing on a series of Syrian errors. 

So are Palestine stark outsiders? Probably not. Will they get a point off Japan in the first game? Unlikely- unless everything goes to plan. That said there is enough data and historical anecdote to suggest that Palestine could take advantage of two out of form teams and sneak into the quarterfinal. 

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Juventus Blog - Game Over

Ciao a tutti ragazzi ,

questo non è un post come gli altri , è il 9271 , non un numero particolare , ma il numero che metterà fine alla "vita" di questo blog.
E' già qualche mese che ho in testa questa cosa , le visite stanno diminuendo sempre di più , la pagina Facebook non decolla e la gente è più "assetata" di notizie inutili e della qualità se ne infischia.
Dopo avere gestito per quasi 4 anni da SOLO questo blog , con sintesi , interviste , per le quali ringrazio gente come Super Fly o Vecchia Signora.com (e tutti gli altri) , dopo avere dato in anteprima Nazionale la data di inaugurazione dello Stadium  , dopo avervi raccontato giorno per giorno insieme agli amici di Giù le Mani dalla Juventus e Skyscrapercity la costruzione dello Stadium , è giunta l'ora di mettere fine a questo "hobby" che mi ha sempre tenuto impegnato e per il quale ho sempre dato il massimo , per soddisfare voi e anche me.
L'avventura di questo blog , si chiude con più di 5.5 milioni di visualizzazioni da OGNI PARTE DEL MONDO. e appunto 9271 post.
Ma oltre i numeri , si chiude con l'apprezzamento vostro , che siete stati in tantissimi e mi avete spinto a continuare sempre , anche investendo forze e tempo che avrei potuto benissimo per altro.

So già che mi mancherà terribilmente , prima e dopo ogni partita essere qua ad aggiornare il blog , farvi avere tutto e condividere con voi la passione per la Juventus , oppure prima e dopo lavoro , ma purtroppo non sarà più possibile...
Chiudendo , vi lascio con qualche link , che mi farebbe piacere voi leggeste e ricordaste il blog anche per queste cose , oltre per le statistiche su incassi , download della partite e non solo.

Mi rimane da dirvi solo una cosa , fino alla fine forza Juventus...

Radu Buliga

Data inaugurazione nuovo Stadio Juventus!
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3 stagioni di Juventus Stadium , più di 100 milioni di incassi.
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Jika performa skuad asuhan Rudi Garcia tersebut bisa

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Dopo Doha, ripartire

La sconfitta (intesa come la mancata conquista del trofeo) è stata bruttissima, proprio per il numero di volte in cui abbiamo ogni volta pensato di avere la gara in pugno, convinti di averla vinta. Troppe volte, considerando la doccia fredda che ci siamo beccati alla fine. Ma, appunto, per quanto brutta la sconfitta possa essere niente cambia il fatto che fosse una partita secca di Supercoppa, un trofeo che non ha nulla a che vedere con il coronamento di una stagione, a maggior ragione a dicembre. Ovviamente dispiace non aver portato a casa un trofeo. Che sia minore, che ci voglia una sola partita per portarlo a casa. Sempre un trofeo è. Complessivamente ha meritato il Napoli, specialmente perché la Juve ha avuto un numero molto grande di occasioni per chiudere la partita e non lo ha fatto. Loro ne avevano meno di noi, dovevamo sbagliare meno nei tocchi a centrocampo, i famosi "errori tecnici". Il vantaggio di Tevez, il 2-1 di Tevez e il doppio match-point ai rigori. Vero è che durante i 90 minuti siamo stati fortunati, il Napoli ha prodotto molto e colpito 2 pali. Abbiamo fatto di tutto per riaprire una partita chiusa dopo il gol di Tevez e il primo tempo in discesa. Nel secondo, invece, il Napoli ha alzato la linea di pressione. è la mediana che non ha funzionato. Difesa non protetta, loro nell'1vs1 hanno sfruttato gente valida, soprattutto nel secondo tempo mentre la loro mediana ha funzionato bene con Gargano e David Lopez prima, Jorginho poi sulla linea dei trequartisti.

Brutta idea quella di non attaccare una difesa come quella del Napoli per 70' e poi farlo gli ultimi 10 rischiando il contropiede. Calati di tensione, ci siamo cullati troppo. Poca lucidità e personalità, scarsa attenzione nei momenti clou della gara. Poteva resistere l‘1-0. Doveva, invece, il 2-1. Perché gestirla e non chiuderla? Problemi di ritmo, intensità, atteggiamento, non modulo o stanchezza(almeno non in maniera assoluta, anche se l’aver disputato la Supercoppa dopo la prima parte di stagione sulle gambe ha influito). Ci siamo fermati perché era saggio arrivare al 60esimo con energie? Eviterei comunque ogni discorso sul modulo(almeno in questa partita) e più che di testa parlerei proprio di atteggiamento e di approccio a questo tipo di partite. Vanno aggredite e non studiate. Non sciupando, sprecando, dilapidando un doppio vantaggio e tre bonus sui rigori. E’ stato qualcosa di testa che, invece, ha riequilibrato la partita: il Napoli non l’ha mai persa, la Juventus l’ha usata troppo. Perché andare in controllo quando hai l’avversario potenzialmente alle corde? Perché interpretarla come fosse campionato? Diciamo che anche con Conte questa squadra aveva un atteggiamento chiaro a buttare via partite già vinte - in quelle dentro o fuori – e la seconda metà di stagione ci si limitava a segnare e mantenere il vantaggio. Obiettivo Scudetto sì ma con molti punti di vantaggio sulle altre non si è migliorato a livello di gioco e le altre competizioni sono state “sacrificate”.
è mancata la gestione della partita nei momenti chiave. Quando abbiamo preso il pari abbiamo ripreso a giocare. Una volta in vantaggio, di nuovo campo e palla a loro, quando sarebbe stato più semplice tenere la palla(altro concetto caro ad Allegri) facendola girare in difesa con un possesso fine a se stesso, senza doverci necessariamente abbassare. Loro hanno fatto di tutto per vincere e noi di tutto e di più per perdere. Giusto così. È un grande rammarico perché quando la Juve ha giocato ha messo a nudo i difetti del Napoli e quando ha cercato di gestire non è stata in grado di farlo.
Partita a ritmi bassi e intensità minima, praticamente da amichevole estiva per scelta e per necessità. Non era neanche mai successo di giocare una finale a questo punto della stagione. Agonisticamente location e contesto tutto non hanno aiutato. L’ impressione è che non si sentissero sicuri del loro stato di forma, c'era netto il timore di non averne per 90' o 120' nonostante i giocatori ne avessero ancora perché lo hanno dimostrato nei supplementari. Per questo 90 minuti a non prenderle. Insomma, si possono fare tante ipotesi. La Juve ha preferito contenere per evitare le ripartenze del Napoli che, quando è riuscito a ripartire, puntualmente ha creato azioni pericolose.
I gol sono arrivati(per fortuna o per sfortuna) da due errori tecnici sui quali Allegri insiste dicendo sempre che bisogna migliorare tecnicamente e fare in campo la cosa giusta. Sbagliare un passaggio o un gesto tecnico perché si è costretti è un conto, sbagliarlo perché si fa la scelta sbagliata è un altro e la Juve spesso, in alcuni frangenti della partita, fa la cosa sbagliata. La più difficile e non la più facile, ad esempio. Allegri ha capito che a volte ci complichiamo la vita da soli.  Juve di coppa, per spiegare il malinteso al limite dell'area tra Bonucci e Buffon, con miracoloso rimedio del portiere su Callejon, e l’atavica avversione della Juve per partite secche e gare di Coppa?
Detto ciò, negli scorsi anni la squadra aveva un calo fisiologico a gennaio, quest'anno mi pare che il calo sia avvenuto a dicembre, mentre a novembre abbiamo visto le cose migliori, compresa la reazione veemente contro l'Olympiacos e un mese di sole vittorie, alcune molto larghe e convincenti. Non escludo dipenda dalla preparazione: c’è chi dice che dal warm - up pre - partita abbia notato che gli anni precedenti c’era molto contatto con la palla e prove di scambi veloci, quest’anno molta cura fisica, scatti ed esercizi.
La difesa della Juve è una delle meno battute in Europa eppure ci sono dubbi e perplessità sulla tenuta individuale e di reparto dei difensori. Io credo che questa difesa a 4 della Juve sia una difesa molto “artigianale”, che funziona bene perché abbiamo difensori intelligenti che la linea a 4 sanno farla ma è evidente che il miglioramento del cambio di modulo deve vedersi in attacco dove si guadagna un uomo in più nel reparto e una migliore dislocazione in campo dei giocatori. Per vedere automatismi ben oleati come quelli della difesa a 3 di Conte credo che ci voglia tempo anche se non è detto che Allegri punti alla stessa, ossessiva, perfezione. Nonostante lo scorso anno col Real Madrid c’è stata la dimostrazione che si poteva già fare la difesa a 4 Conte preferiva una squadra "italiana", coperta, compatta (passò a 3 dietro per proteggere Pirlo e far giocare contemporaneamente Barzagli, Bonucci e Chiellini), frutto del pressing del primo anno e dell’organizzazione rimasta sempre marchio di fabbrica della squadra, distintasi per coraggio, grinta e corsa, non certo per razionalità e malizia(vedi in Europa) in questi anni. Allegri preferisce rischiare qualche contropiede in parità numerica ma cercare di imporre la qualità e la tecnica di squadra appena possibile, vuole una Juve più razionale ed abile a gestire i vari momenti della gara con lucidità e cinismo ma capace allo stesso momento di decidere la gara con un gesto tecnico o una giocata. Questa è una Juve nata per tenere palla, non per contenere e lasciare il pallino del gioco agli avversari. Sia con Conte che con Allegri quando ha deciso di difendersi lo ha fatto ma spesso soffrendo. Che abbiamo la miglior difesa del campionato è un dato di fatto ma i gol li prendiamo sempre quando ci abbassiamo, cerchiamo il palleggio e perdiamo regolarmente il controllo della partita. Su questo bisogna migliorare perché è una precisa scelta del mister, è una sua convinzione. Tenendo palla si corrono pochi rischi e si fanno correre gli avversari. Concetti semplici perché Allegri non è un rivoluzionario.
Non so se al momento dei tiri di rigore Evra si sia defilato o se altri come Pereyra, Chiellini e Padoin si sentissero più sicuri tanto da sostituire Evra. Io credo che il francese sia però più tecnico ed esperto degli altri e non riesco a credere che non se la sia sentita o si sia spaventato uno che ha fatto 4 finali di Champions. Ed è stato un suicidio l’ordine dei rigoristi così stilato dopo il quinto. È andato chi se l’è sentita? Allegri ha dettato solo la lista dei primi 5?
Vero che uno come Pirlo, soprattutto in vista dei rigori, non dovrebbe mai essere sostituito ma Allegri ha giustificato il cambio dicendo che serviva più copertura(già detto che la mediana non ha funzionato) laddove Pirlo veniva preso in mezzo da Gargano e David Lopez. Si affondava. Eppure abbiamo preso gol nel momento in cui avevamo trovato un equilibrio con l’ingresso di Marchisio. È il calcio. Pereyra Ha costretto a riposizionare la squadra, con Marchisio in regia e Vidal mezzala destra, con un effetto domino su assetto e certezze infatti il gol è arrivato proprio da destra con Pereyra spaesato. Peccato.
Pereyra gran bel giocatore se non ci fosse il problemino del gol che ha manifestato in questa prima parte della stagione. è veloce, ha tecnica, salta l'uomo e sa crossare. Ma non vede la porta. Un trequartista deve fare almeno 7-8 gol a stagione o basta che il trequartista sia uno che serva i compagni tra le linee, che il gol lo crei e lo costruisca, che salti l'uomo in ogni punto del campo, da fermo o in movimento?
In quella posizione, Allegri ha provato anche Vidal che ha mostrato di sentirsi, secondo me, limitato nelle sue caratteristiche migliori di corsa, pressing e inserimenti. Allegri sta cercando di riproporre ciò che fece con Boateng ma a Vidal mancano il timing e l'elasticità che gli sono consuete. Non dà qualità, non ha spazio per inserirsi, rimane solo l'interdizione. Aldilà di testa e fisico è chiaro che Allegri chiede a Vidal qualcosa di diverso da ciò che chiedeva Conte. Qualcosa che, al momento, gli riesce male. Altri equivoci sono la centralità di Tevez(che in un 4-3-1-2 potrebbe allargarsi spesso), i pochi cross, le poche apparizioni di Coman e Morata, visto il loro valore. Morata non è giocatore che aiuta la squadra o apre le difese, è giocatore da contropiede e ripartenze. Non tiene palla come Llorente e anche Tevez ha espresso preferenza per Fernando ma Allegri continua a ribadire che deve migliorare tecnicamente. Staremo a vedere. Poi i gol dei centrocampisti. Con le stagioni, Vidal, Pogba, Marchisio erano diventati peggio degli attaccanti, per chi li doveva affrontare. Soprattutto il cileno, che viaggiava con fatturato da centravanti. Anche se i gol non sono tutto. Vidal, Pogba e Marchisio: la scorsa stagione, arrivarono sotto l’albero con 18 gol, ora siamo a 10. Si confida nell’anno nuovo.
Ma torniamo a noi. Siate seri. L‘obiettivo principale è lo Scudetto, sempre. Coppa Italia e Supercoppa sono un contorno, in Ucl disputare i quarti. Serve equilibrio. Sarebbe un peccato non raggiungere i quarti di Champions con questo Borussia in difficoltà, sarebbe un peccato non vincere lo Scudetto contro questa Roma chiacchierona. Vero è che vincere è l’unica cosa che conta e che la Supercoppa vale un trofeo stagionale in gara secca ma proprio per questo perderlo non deve far strappare i capelli. Comunque, anche Bayern e Real Madrid hanno perso Supercoppe in gara secca. Può succedere. Ma hanno poi centrato gli obiettivi principali. Non sto disprezzando perché l‘ho persa. Sono incazzato. Ma non c‘è neanche da tirarsi i capelli, secondo me. C’è amarezza che deve trasformarsi in linfa vitale per il prosieguo della stagione. Chiamare la Supercoppa un "traguardo" è di per sè quasi contraddittorio, è più che altro un trofeo che viene assegnato a chi vince la singola partita secca e, come è sempre successo, questo tipo di partite possono andare bene e possono andare male. Ovvio che non dovrebbero andare male esattamente perchè si decide tutto in una partita, ma può succedere, c'è poco da fare. Tuttavia, di tutti i trofei "perdibili" questo rimane il meno importante, lo è anche meno della Coppa Italia. Fallire la vittoria dello scudetto sarebbe davvero un fallimento, proprio perchè non sarebbe dettato da una partita giocata male ma da un'annata sputtanata alla grande. Piuttosto è giusto soffermarsi sul fatto che abbiamo un evidente, storico, problema di mentalità, come confermato, per un verso, dalle enormi difficoltà a livello europeo con squadre di basso livello, e, per un altro, dall'incapacità, in Italia, di chiudere le partite dopo essere andati in vantaggio con squadre inferiori. La Juventus è forse la squadra che maggiormente, nella storia del calcio mondiale, ha somatizzato e rispecchia (non solo per la lunga gestione) il carattere, la mentalità, il DNA del proprietario: la Juventus è una catena di montaggio, una fabbrica di scudetti frutto di professionalità, abnegazione, caparbietà, austerità. Ma poca brillantezza, pochi momenti “magici”, pochi picchi di “irrazionale” valore nella sua storia. In Europa vince quasi sempre la razza eletta, quella del genio che si accende quando il momento, l’attimo, fanno entrare nella storia. In fabbrica non funziona così, conta (come detto) la prussiana (o sabauda) metodicità, l’applicazione, la concentrazione, la continuità. Dopo 38 partite vince chi primeggia in questo.
Le brutte prestazioni di Sassuolo, Genova in campionato e Madrid, Atene in Champions altro non sono state che lo scotto, il passaggio, la conversione al modulo e alle idee di Allegri. Nuove idee su scelte ereditate. Un effetto positivo dell’arrivo di Allegri è, al momento, il miglioramento tecnico e in termini di personalità di gente sottovalutata (o mal sfruttata) come Ogbonna e Padoin. Persino Chiellini sembra più giocatore di quello di Conte, perchè ognuno fa quello che sa fare. Invece la forza e il limite della Juve di Conte era proprio il fatto che i difensori impostassero nella metà campo avversaria, i centrocampisti attaccassero e gli attaccanti difendessero (considerate le dovute proporzioni). A Conte proprio non andava giù, ma diceva sempre che la sua Juve era una squadra da corsa, quella di Allegri invece è esteticamente elegante e imperiale nell'incedere, nonostante la presenza di autentici manovali. Il lato "un po' sfacciato e un po' fatalista" di Allegri è probabilmente la cosa al momento più diversa rispetto al passato. Fin dall'inizio della stagione, fin dalla sua prima conferenza a Vinovo. Credo che noi, inteso come tifosi ma sopratutto come squadra, avessimo bisogno di consapevolezza. Prima di tutto, prima ancora della difesa a 4. E trovare un allenatore che viene da "fuori" e che ci ha riconosciuto una forza che ci possa permettere di arrivare nelle top 8 è stato sicuramente importante. Ha sempre ripetuto in conferenza che avremmo passato il turno, forse costretto un po’ dal ruolo un po’ dalla storia ma rispetto al passato è un altro cambiamento. Rischiando (perché, in fondo, con l’Atletico è stato biscotto), però intanto abbiamo iniziato con la convinzione di raggiungere l'obiettivo che ci siamo prefissati. Senza pensare che gli altri hanno Di Maria e noi no, ma pensando che noi abbiamo Pogba, Vidal, Tevez, Pirlo e Marchisio e che gli altri dovrebbero preoccuparsi.
Se mi avessero chiesto di scegliere tra Ottavi di Champions e Supercoppa avrei scelto la prima a occhi chiusi. Solo perché i due obiettivi sono stati molto ravvicinati. Ma una Supercoppa estiva per cominciare bene la stagione va vinta senza se e senza ma. Brucia il c***, ma non si può avere tutto. Le partite bisogna vincerle tutte. Con l'Inter bisogna vincere, a Cagliari bisogna vincere... purtroppo capita di perdere. Rabbia e insoddisfazione devono trasformarsi in nuovi stimoli. Bisogna dimostrare di non voler smettere di crescere e di essere ancora in grado, dopo tanti trionfi, di cogliere con umiltà l’aspetto educativo di una sconfitta. E adesso sotto con Inter e 2015. Forza Juve.
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