Can you spot the big names? Del Piero. check. Nedved. check. And then there's the rest. Juventus look like a team on a sunday walkabout in the neighbourhood park. The tiny terraces, the midday games, the casual feel. This is life in Serie B.
Juventus opened their second-tier account with an away draw to Rimini, each side scoring a goal apiece, and they pick up one point to cut their punishment deficit to negative 16 points. They sit at the bottom of Serie B, and will continue to do so until they can pull off at least six straight wins if not something closer to ten. And do that they can.
In spite of the post-world cup diaspora, many of the Juve faithful are still there: Buffon, Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Tudor, Kovac, Zebina. For all intents and purposes, this is a team that can reasonably challenge for european places in Serie A, which follows that a 17 point deduction can and should be overturned enroute to a speedy return to Italy's top flight. If anything is to go by, their preseason victories, with margins like 7-0 against clubs of comparative level to Serie B, suggests that their 1-1 hiccup to Rimini might just be that: a hiccup.
But the pictures say it all, don't they? Just months ago, guys like Buffon, Del Piero and Camoranesi were dancing in Berlin's Olimpiastadion, crowned world cup winners. Now, it's the sunday park, one-terrace stadium with trees within eyeshot. Secawan Bola promise to keep you updated on one of the world's greatest clubs as they claw their way out of second division.
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Juventus update: Welcome to Serie B
Friday, September 15, 2006
Posted by Genusfrog at 12:08 AM
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