No Suspended bianconeri For The Last Championship Match

For Juventus-Lazio, the last match of the 2008/09 championship, Ciro Ferrara will not have to deal with suspended players. There are in fact no Juventus players in the list complied by the sport authorities. De Ceglie and Zanetti, the only players shown a yellow card against Siena, are only in their second yellow card and have not yet reached the yellow cards limit as opposed to Tiago, Amauri, Grygera and Poulsen.

On the other hand Pandev is suspended and therefore his season is already over.

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Technical Work In Vinovo

The second training session of the week took place this morning under the keen eyes of sports director Alessio Secco, of the head scout Renzo Castagnini and of a particularly welcome guest, Lilian Thuram, who met many former team-mates in Vinovo.

The bianconeri, who were already on the field at 10:30hra worked especially on technique: after the warm-up they first took part in a classic “torello” and after in exercises intended to improve precision in passes on the move and ball circulation.

The team was divided into two groups: the defenders worked with Ferrara and Maddaloni while Sormani directed the midfielders and the attackers in an attacking and shooting exercise. Finally the intense session came to an end with the usual mini-match.

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Thuram Re-Embraces Former Team-Mates: "The Return Of Cannavaro Is Good"

A pleasant surprise brightened the morning work for the bianconeri at the Juventus Center: Lilian Thuram visited his former team-mates. Many embraces, taps on the shoulders and an interview on Juventus Channel:

"I am happy to be her. It is a pleasure to meet Alessio Secco, Gianluca Pessotto and so many friends again". Some of these friends are still running like crazy, see Pavel Nedved for instance: "It is true – continued Lilian – I told him to stop but I used to tell him when we still played together and yet...At the end of the day he’s right because it is always nice to see him on the field".

Soon the same field will see the return of Thuram’s defence partner, that Cannavaro who together with him and Buffon first defended the Parma goal and that of Juventus:

"The persons who criticize the return of Fabio perhaps do not understand what it means to be a footballer. A player always wants to play at high levels and three years ago this was not possible. Apart from this, it was good for Juventus to transfer Fabio because the club earned a lot of money".

"It would have been stupid not to sell him and stupid on Cannavaro’s part if he did not go to Real. Now that Juve have called him back it means that the club knows he is a person they can trust and who always does his work well".

Returning to say hello to one’s friends is always a pleasure but Thuram does not miss football since he still follows Juventus:

"The team is doing well and I must say it is incredible that after a year in the Serie B the team managed to return to the Serie A, staying at the top".

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Marchisio: "We Are Stronger With Diego"

"With Sunday’s victory we saved the season, after a negative period during which we nearly ruined our championship. We recovered and now we must continue like this". The victory against Siena saw a compact Juventus once again, capable of taking advantage of its champions and the freshness of its youngsters.

Marchisio was one of the protagonists in a 3-0 victory obtained in Tuscany with a goal and a pass. Interviewed on Juventus Channel he asked his team mates for another effort:

We managed to win direct qualification to the Champions League but now we are obliged to beat Lazio to end as runners-up. We tried fighting for the scudetto, having the second place practically assured but then there was the negative period and risked losing it. Now we must win on Sunday to win it back, and I think we deserve this".

The topic of the day is the signing of Diego which came in addition to the one announced a few days ago, Fabio Cannavaro:

"The club’s policy is clear. The club wants to strengthen the team. This year we did well in the Champions League after the Serie B and last year in which we qualified for European football but to do even better we need experienced champions like Cannavaro and players of a very high level like Diego. The next coach? For now we must work well with Mr. Ferrara and win the second place, then after the Summer break the club will take the best decision".

Attention shifted to the imminent Champions League final and Claudio did not high his preference as being Manchester:

"I like them a lot because they are in team in which all 11 players defend even Rooney sacrifices himself a lot and then they have a great counter-attack with Ronaldo, Park, Tevez...This can be the secret weapon against Barcellona who base much on ball possession".

In conclusion a though about Maldini’s last match at the San Siro which was ruined by a part of the fans:

"Apparently some of the people who entered the stadium have nothing to do with football and support. Whistling against Maldini who can boast of more then 900 appearances for Milan is unimaginable. Some may say that his answer was overdone but for somebody like him who spent all his life fighting for the jersey and the club, I don’t think it is right to protest against him in his farewell match".

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Diego Is Officially A Juventus Player

The news is now official: Diego Ribas da Cunha is a Juventus player. The talented Brazilian signed a five year contract which will see him at Juventus until the 30th of June 2014.

The midfielder who was in Turin yesterday for the medical tests and the signing of the contract returned to Germany where on Saturday the 30th of May he will be playing for Werder Bremen in the final of the German Cup against Bayer Leverkusen. Before returning to Bremen he stated:

"I am very enthusiastic and proud of signing for Juventus, such a prestigious club which I dreamt of since I was a child. After the experience in Portugal and the Bundesliga I will be able to test myself in a championship of very high level and I am sure that with Juventus I will be able to reach great goals. Now, however, I want to concentrate on Saturday’s final: I really want to leave the supporters of Werder in the best of manners because it is also thanks to them that I improved in the last years up to the extent of deserving this new opportunity".

Juventus will pay Werder Bremen €24.5 million divided into three installments in bank guarantees: €14 million on the 1st of July 2009, €5.5 million on the 1st of July 2010, €5 million on the 1st of July 2011. The price can rise by a further €2.5 million in case of the fulfillment of established sports objectives in the next five years.

"Due to his technical characteristics – declared Juventus general manager Jean-Claude Blanc – Diego is a fundamental player for the strengthening of the squad. We always said that our objective is to bring together youngsters and champions and Diego falls into both categories: notwithstanding he is only 24 years old, he is a player of great experience with more then 7 years of professional football at high levels".

"I am sure that his contribution will be important to continue helping the improvement of Juventus and to make a further step ahead in view of the next objectives".

"By depositing this contract – added sports director Alessio Secco – we have brought to a definite conclusion an agreement on which we have been working for months. Diego is a unique player and to bring him to Juventus we had to compete with some of the major European teams. His addition to the squad increases the team’s potential and allows the experimentation of new formations".

"His performances in the last seasons and his personality which distinguished him in German and in Europe are a confirmation of his qualities. He will be another weapon with which to face the next Champions League, for which we qualified mathematically last Sunday".

Diego Ribas da Cunha was born in Ribeirão Preto, On the 28th of February 1985.

The attacking midfielder with a compact and fast physique has excellent technique and vision of play. He is a complete player who is good at dribbling, sudden changes of pace and creating numerical superiority. He is very precise with long balls, has a powerful shot and is particularly skilled at taking free-kicks, capabilities which make him a great finisher.

After having made his debut with Santos in 2002 at 16 years of age he was transferred to Porto after two years during which he won 2 championships. At Porto he spent 2 seasons winning the Intercontinental Cup, a championship and a Portuguese Supercup before being transferred to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. In Germany Diego’s career exploded winning a League Cup and being named best player of the championship in 2007.

In the meantime he has been winning himself more and more space in the Brazilian national team with which side he won two Coppa America (in 2004 and 2007) and a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Season 2008-09

Championship : 20 appearances – 12 goals
European Cups: 8 appearances – 6 goals
German Cup : 4 appearances – 2 goals

Press Release

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Guest Blogger, Gareth Freeman: Benzema To Juve, Trezeguet to Lyon?

Reports have surfaced over the last couple of weeks suggesting the Bianconeri could be about to complete a sensational swap deal that would see Karim Benzema move from Lyon to Juve and David Trezeguet move in the opposite direction. Benzema is a great player but ‘Trezegol’ has been a loyal servant to the Juventus cause and it would be hard to watch him play anywhere else.

If I detach myself from my admiration of Trezeguet though I have to concede it is probably a good deal for Juve. Sure the big Frenchman will always been remembered around the Stadio Olimpico for scoring some important goals and sticking around when Juve were in Serie B, but he has looked distinctly average in all honesty this season. Benzema is also 10 years younger than Trezeguet and he would surely be worth more to the club.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is desperate to sign ‘Trezegol’, according to Tuttosport anyway. Trezeguet is tied down at the Stadio Olimpico until 2011 but if Benzema was offered in return I would take that all day long personally. The younger Frenchman is more in the same "trequartista" mould as Alessandro Del Piero rather than a target man like Trezeguet is, but I still think the deal is worth thinking about for the Juve hierarchy.

At 34 Del Piero is no spring chicken and in Benzema the Bianconeri would have a ready-made replacement. He would get to play alongside the Italian maestro and therefore improve even further for at least a season or two (though Il Padrino has said he will play until he is 40 in the past – I would love that!).

The Capture of Benzema would be somewhat of a coup for Juventus as Manchester United and Real Madrid are known admirers of the talented young Frenchman, meaning his value would undoubtedly rise if he was a success in Italy.

If Juve let Trezeguet go they already have Vincenzo Iaquinta who could take over the target man role, in fact imagine how dangerous an attack Juve would have with Iaquinta, Del Piero and Benzema up front? Now that is a mouth-watering prospect! It’s definitely something to think about (and pray for) but an eventual deal is not expected until next season at the earliest according to the reports I’ve read.

Gareth Freeman

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Primavera To Meet Palermo In Quarter-Finals

The start of the final phase of the Primavera championship is just a few days away. Eight teams have qualified: besides Juventus are Chievo Verona, Genoa, Lazio, Palermo, Reggina, Siena and Udinese. These teams will play direct elimination matches beginning from the quarter finals the draws of which were held today. Juventus will be playing against Palermo.

The match will be played on Monday 1st June at 21:00hrs at Pergina Valsugana (Stadio Comunale Costa di Vigalzano). The semi-finals will be played on the 4th and 5th of June while the final will take place on Monday 8th June.

All the matches will be transmitted on Sky Sport and Sky Calcio.

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