We all understand that injuries are a major part of football and there may not be a team in the world that can match up to our injuries. Most recently the season ending knee injury to Fabio Quagliarella. Watching the game at 6:30 am I can honestly tell you that when Fabio covered his face and reached up at the sky I knew this was not good. It reminded me so much of Pippo Inzaghi's injury and well ask Milan how they addressed that...Antonio Cassano ( FOR FREE).
Now the sad thing is that if we showed more faith in our prospects such as: Giovinco or Palladino to name a few then we would not be discussing the 4-1 thrashing that we suffered against Parma. Although end of the day Felipe Melo's impersonation of a Jet-Li kick to the face was impressive, but completely ignorant. It was at this point that Amauri replaced Quagliarella and my first thought was "It is like playing a man down", sure enough five minutes later Melo loses his mind and puts boot to face. So now we are not only a man down, but two men down (we don't count Amauri ever). It didn't take long for Gigi Del Neri to realize Del Piero is someone who needs possession to succeed and this wasn't happening down a man against an aggressive team like Parma. So Alex suffered the ill-fate of the bench and in his place comes Simone Pepe (we are now three men down). This is the point where you just have to hope let's not get embarrassed.
Now I want to address our January Transfer Campaign to-date.
1) We were reached out to by Dzeko and he gave us an opportunity to get to him before the Oil Citizens of Eastlands. We didn't do it and missed out on another striker. Maybe one of the best strikers at Under-25. One positive here is that if Edin flops in England it can just once again prove the weakness of the Bundesliga versus Serie A.
2) We decided to bring in Luca Toni for free as we opted to pick up his contract. Now though many are frustrated and confused by this signature because now we have three big doofs (Toni, Amauri, Iaquinta) this could actually be a good move. He has a connection with most of our players whereas in Genoa he has never been on a field with any of the footballers. He has great aerial technical ability and still plays every game with incredible passion. Unlike Amauri, Luca Toni isn't always found with his ass to the floor begging for a call. So we will see Sunday how this is gonna pay its due.
3) We need a fullback and a center-back. Who can we obtain? Well why not give Ajax a call and see what can be done for Greg Van der Wiel? He is rated at 12 Million Euro and I am confident a payment plan can be arranged to bring him in for January. He is EU eligible and so there is nothing restricting us. This would be my target by summer, but if we need a cheaper alternative then it is possible we can ask for Diego Contento from Bayern Munchen on a loan-deal that will include a buyout clause. He is a German-born Italian which fits our approach for the upcoming 6+5 rule.
4) Things in Ajax should not stop with Greg Van der Wiel. There are the rumors that we are prepared to offer 15 Million Euro from Atletico Madrid, but I say why not bid 15 Million Euro on his World Cup partner of the 2010 World Cup- Luis Suarez. Luis Suarez has seen his stock drop big time as he has been struggling just a bit of late and the World Cup fever has subdued. He is also six years younger than Forlan as well as not dealing with injuries like Diego.
We understand that we don't have the funds to compete in a head-to-head bout with some heavyweights in January. Let's put things into perspective Beppe Marotta! You want us in the Champions League next year? So do we the fans and most certainly the players. How can we compete with teams like Milan, Lazio, Palermo, Napoli, and Inter? Each of these clubs has already lined up players to fill the holes and some clubs like Milan and Palermo have already executed transfers to strengthen the depth of the squad.
Luca Toni himself is not going to be the answer. Bonucci and Chiellini need more efficient coverage if they are going to be allowed a game off or be stung with an injury. Vincenzo Cammilleri is a promising youngster and I'd rather see him fill in for one of our star center-backs than seeing Nicola Leggrotaglie. Fred Sorrensen has been magnificent at right-back, but he is out of position so this is why I believe Van der Wiel is the perfect signing for now because it will allow for deeper coverage for our two star center-backs.
Things need to be done or we are missing another year of Champions League. We are opening a new stadium come June and I'd think that we'd aim to be playing in Europe's Premiere competition.
P.S. Giuseppe Rossi has issued a come and get me plea directly to Juventus when he learned of Fabio Quagliarella's season-ending injury, but that doesn't seem to be giving us the urgency to both address current needs while building for the future.
End of the day we must maintain the faith because quite frankly... Siamo Sempre Juventini!!!
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