Our good friend saber has provided me with the perfect preview – enjoy!
“People are flooding us with praise right now, but that sends shivers through me. Why? Because I have fear, I have fear that someone here will start to relax. There is applause and a consensus, but what is the reality? The reality is the pitch, the reality is sweat, the reality is sacrifice. That is what has led us to this point of the championship and we still haven`t done anything yet. Let`s look at who we have in front of us now because we are mature enough to fight until the very end. As I said before, they [Milan] will have to spit blood until the last game.
Antonio Conte
38 matches unbeaten. Second highest goals in the Italian league. The very first invincibles team in Italian football. A team full of Italian legends. Tactical genius in the style of play. A coach who is known to be one of the best motivators in the world. The old lady of football is back again. And she is coming to the Bridge, home of the European Champions. Who is this new kid she asks. For when she ruled Chelsea was not what it is now. So as the lion cub grew into the lion of England, the old lady worked behind the shroud of Turin to regain her former powers. It’s the clash of times. The old versus the new. And she’s coming to get you. Believe me you when I see tapes of how Juve now plays we have every reason to be afraid. Very afraid.
Juventus and Liverpool shared a lot until last season. Lot of history but nothing else as they finished 7th in the previous two seasons. All that changed when they appointed, Antonio Conte. It was a huge risk but it worked out brilliantly for them. Conte established revolutionary tactics. Changed the system, brought in new players and gave them the belief. The rest is history. Their star Andrea Pirlo was, believe it or not, acquired on a free as Milan decided to let him go. A decision I’m sure they must be kicking themselves for. Barzagli turned out to be one of the most reliable defenders and along with Bonucci formed an impressive partnership at the back with the mighty Chiellini. Arturo Vidal a player Juve and Bayern had a tug of war over has the highest successful tackles in the Serie A last year. He was one player I really wanted at the Bridge. He pairs up with Marchisio in midfield and it is this duo that provide Pirlo the support to weave his magic from the heart of the pitch. Up front Vucinic was brought in to pair Giovinco. A smart signing.
Not to mention the man guarding the gates is Gigi Buffon who I think is the best goalkeeper in the game right now ahead of Casillas, Neuer, and our very own Cech. There are other players like Krasic for example who are really good. But injuries apart I’m assuming that the Biaconeri will come at us with their strongest line up which should look like this.
Formation – the Italian 3-5-2.
Goalkeeper – Buffon.
Back three – Barzagli(rcb), Bonucci(cb), Chiellini(lcb).
Wingers – Lichsteiner(rwb), Asamoah (lwb).
Midfield trio – Vidal, Marchisio, Pirlo.
Forwards -Vvucinic, Giovinco,
How does a 3-5-2 operate?
Before the fantasy footballers spout venom in the comments thread as to how we should attack with flair and skill and how Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Torres, Moses, Danny and Marin should all be there. It’s important to understand how our opponents are set up and how this interesting tactics works for them
The basic principle of the 3-5-2 is to win the midfield battle, by having an extra man. While most teams go man up in mid field by taking out a striker (eg 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1), this formation does not compromise on the attack. Weaker defense you ask? Not so because the wingers are converted to wing-backs with a duty to defend and attack simultaneously. This is the reason why Krasic an out and out winger with very little defensive skill is no longer a part of the first team.
The back 3 have to be extremely disciplined and work together as a close knit unit. One of them plays the role of the sweeper and in this case it’s usually Chiellini where as the other two stand back as the last wall protecting Buffon. The wing backs when on the defensive become full backs. Therefore they have 5 defenders (5-3-2) achieving numerical superiority over the oppositions 2 or 3 attackers.
On the attack the wing backs become wingers making the formation 3-5-2. The 5 midfielders achieve numerical superiority over the 3 or 4 opposite mids. So as you see they win both the number games. The midfield trio must consist of a destroyer (Vidal), a passing centre mid with defensive ability (Marchisio) and a deep lying play maker (Pirlo). The two attackers up front take turns to drift wide or drop deep and we’re lucky it’s not Tevez and Aguero in these roles! But don`t underestimate Gio and Vucinic.
The scariest thing about the 3-5-2 is that it can beat the crap out of the 4-2-3-1 nine times out of ten. So if Roberto plays his usual formation, our chances of winning will be something like ten percent. Take the Germany and Italy euro semi-final as an example. On paper it said Italy would play 4 at the back. But the played a 3-5-2 and humbled the nationalmannschaft! That’s just one example!
Some of you remember that night on the Stadio Sanpaolo when we were up against the devastating 3-4-3 of of Napoli. We played a 4-2-3-1 that night. And if it was not for a minor miracle at the return game at the Bridge and Napoli chickening out when it mattered. We could have kissed the Champions League goodbye. The fact is we discovered the chink in Napoli’s armour. Long balls. Up high. And they struggled!
Further Conte’s team has a few rules –
1. Press in the midfield.
2. Possession based football in their own half.
3. Counter attacking football in the opponents half.
4. Territorial superiority by outnumbering the opponents in all areas of the pitch.
5. Winning at any cost, defeat is not an option.
How do we beat Juventus?
Not playing the 4-2-3-1 for starters would help. Ditch the pivot. In the ideal world we should be mirroring the 3-5-2 of Juventus to beat them but we cant. Why?
Well, we just can`t. We’re an English side. English sides always play with 4 at the back. It’s what they know. It’s how they train season after season. A great manager and a really motivated set of players can pull it off but even they would find it hard to do in 4 days time to prepare. I’m afraid our best option is to play a 5 man midfield with low defensive line. We must not attack them even if it’s our home ground. They will want us to run at them and hit us on the counter.
Atletico Madrid showed it works on us so they know the game is perfectly set up to their style. We must sit back and invite them instead. We must not press up until the half way mark even if it means we concede possession. This was the type of game we need Drogba in and Meireles will be sorely missed. Had they been there the perfect line up would have been – Cech|Iva-Terry/Luiz-Cahill-Cole|Moses-Rami-Mikel-Meireles-Hazard|Drogba.
But they are not there. They are gone and that’s the new reality. In Meireles place last year I would have opted for Lampard but I’d like to see Mata play the role to help launch the perfectly weighed pass for Hazard, Moses or Rami on our counter. I really do think Lamps needs a rest. But I think Robbie will play him anyway.
Firstly we’ll need Hazard to track back on Lichsteiner just as Moses must be on Asamoah’s case (or whoever plays there for Juve). Everything must go through Pirlo for Juve so taking him out of the equation will be vital. Rami must do what Essien did to Gerrard under Hiddink.
Juve will then be forced to transition the ball through Marchisio who is not the same asPpirlo in terms of vision or passing range. Mata must play as our deep lying play maker often interchanging with Hazard. If he goes too far up Vidal will be on him like a dog on bone. Mikel can then screen the counters.
Cole and Iva must play at their highest level whenHhazard and Moses are on attacking duties and the Juve wing-backs break free on a counter. Against 3 centre backs Torres wont stand much of a chance unless they are having an off day or he wears his golden boot. Sturridge will provide a better option with his shoot first then think policy. Plus when you have 3 centre-backs in the box our 3 dribblers, Moses, Hazard and Danny will be able to squeeze out a penalty or two as the refereeing standards in the Champions League are a lot less tolerant than the English league.
I know a lot of you want to see Oscar but I picked Mata because he’s got Champions League experience which is vital against a strong team like this. Similarly Oscar and Mata in the same team will compromise the shape of the team. So Oscar will have to wait. But I’ll be pissed if I don`t find Moses’s name on the right wing.
All in all, this match is going to be a tactical chess game and not a display of skill and flair and tiki-taka. For that you can always feck off and watch the Barca Spartak game and wet you’re pants. But if you want Chelsea to win it’s tactics that matter. If Roberto plays his usual team and wins it’s that one out of ten times kind of win.
By theory we should loose if we play like we normally do especially with our hated pivot combo. Unless we get lucky or the power of the human spirit changes the result. I hope and pray that the Italian in Roberto sees what i can see and approaches the game with some tactical nous.
My expectations – Cech, Iva, Terry, Cahill, Cole… Moses, Rami, Mikel, Mata, Hazard… Danny…
What most people want – Cech, Azpi, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Oscar, Romeu, Mata, Moses, Torres, Hazard.
What we’ll mostly get – Cech, Cole, Terry, Luiz, Iva… Lamps, Mikel. Rami, Mata, Hazard.. Torres.
Man to watch – Hazard will be making his Champions League debut for us. It will be interesting to see how the young boy takes on one of the giants of Europe.
Expected result – I’m going for a hard fought draw. Anything more will be like Christmas come early. A repeat of the lethargic Super Cup performance will see us punished.
Now we can just wait and see what Roberto Di Matteo does.
Editors note – Remember to keep the comments thread clean. No links or abusive language will be tolerated.
Ladies and gentlemen – it’s the big one. Chelsea Football Club versus Juventus!
Share this article
