Not Another One

Ah, Signor Secco. For those of you who don't know/remember, my dislike of Juventus' Sporting Director Alessio Secco is well-chronicled. It would appear that he's now at his old ignorant ways again. Apparently dissatisfied with his previous brilliant purchases (see: Tiago, Boumsong, Sergio Almirón), Mr. Secco has decided to delve into the transfer market again for the January transfer window.

Goal.com reported earlier that Juventus plans to swoop for Bosnian/(possibly) German/Serbian/American central defender Neven Subotic from Dortmund and French striker Frederic Nimani of Monaco in the upcoming transfer window. The question that rings painfully in my mind is "Why Nimani?"

I wholeheartedly agree with the pursuit of Subotic, a strong, skilled young defender who seems set to have a very bright future. Subotic addresses the gap at centre back, he would slot well into the first team without much fuss, and he addresses the gap at centre back. The repetition of that phrase wasn't a mistake, I just feel the need to emphasize that Subotic's prospective purchase is out of necessity and is one that would benefit the side.

However, in my opinion, the interest in Frederic Nimani is unneeded, given the talent already at the disposal of the Bianconeri. Earlier in the summer, Juventus' purchase of Amauri was met with some opposition, given the presence of target strikers David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta already in the team. In addition to the presence of forward Alessandro Del Piero and the return of Sebastian Giovinco as well as the younger prospects such as David Lanzafame coming back into the squad in the future, Amauri was seen as a surplus. However, Amauri has slotted well into the team, and acquitted himself brilliantly thus far. With Trezeguet's recent injury leaving him out for around 4 months, Juve currently has 4 healthy strikers on their books.

In my mind, Trezeguet's injury could be a blessing in disguise for Juventus. Giovinco has long begged for a chance to showcase his talents in the first team, and the absence of Trezeguet gives he and Amauri more of a chance to play. However, if Nimani is brought in, I believe it will not only hinder Giovinco's development, but may block Lanzafame's and/or other youngsters' re-entry into the team. Secco already has driven out Michele Paolucci and Antonio Nocerino, young players who were seen to have a bright future, and I fear this could be only the beginning.

Start Tinkering

Juventus' managerial figurehead, the silver-crowned Claudio Ranieri, is known as "The Tinkerman" in the footballing world. This moniker was bestowed upon him because of his overwhelming propensity for changing lineups, formations and tactics on a regular basis in the many teams of which he has been caretaker.

In my opinion, constant change in a squad makes it very difficult for the team to gel and form a cohesive unit on the pitch. For the most part, I do believe Ranieri has done a good job with his rotation policy at Juventus, especially with the resources at his disposal. However, there is one glaring omission from the Juve rotation. My favorite miniscule maestro: Sebastian Giovinco.

After recalling Giovinco from loan at Empoli, my hopes (like most other Juve fans) were sky-high that Giovinco would be given a run in the first team in order to aid his development and showcase his talents to the world for the Juventus cause. Instead, Bianconeri supporters have been left wondering why our pocket dynamo rots on the bench, even as 36-year-old Pavel Nedved struggles through 3 games in 7 days.

As games pass and Giovinco remains on the bench, speculation increases about his frustrations and ongoing contract negotiations. The ever-present threat of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal poaching our brightest talent seems more realistic by the day. Something must be done, and the tiny talent must be given a chance in the Juve first team.

Let him play!!

We're Not That Good...

In the run-up to Sunday's Olympic confrontation between the Netherlands and the United States men's national teams, Netherlands manager Foppe De Haan appeared to insult the United States with his assertion that "they don't have anybody extremely good." In my opinion, this brings up a very valid point concerning the States: we really don't have an extraordinary player.

Many would argue fiercely for the talent the U.S. has at its disposal in the Olympic team. Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Sasha Kljestan and Brad Guzan are some of the luminaries, but none of them are genuine superstars in the international vein. While I believe Freddy and Jozy are pearls for the future, they really haven't proven themselves enough to be called "extremely good" internationally. Although they've done very well in the MLS, that's hardly enough for them to compare to such stars as Ryan Babel, Sebastian Giovinco, Alexandre Pato, Leo Messi, Sergio Agüero, etc. who have proven themselves in Europe's top leagues, despite their relative youth. Freddy languished on the subs bench for Benfica (although he did manage a respectable haul of 5 goals) when he went abroad, and was subsequently loaned out to A.S. Monaco in the French Ligue 1 for this year. Jozy has yet to see a Spanish pitch in real competition for his new club Villarreal, and it will be interesting to see whether he accepts being loaned out (after initially rejecting the idea) in order to get some valuable minutes to aid his development.

Even Bryan McBride, the U.S.A.'s "best" player, is not a real world star. He was a good, solid striker and captain for Fulham in the EPL, but he hardly lit up the league with brilliant, game-changing performances day in, day out.

Foppe De Haan's statement speaks directly to one of the problems with the U.S. soccer team now. Although the team is as always very solid and well-organized, it's lacking in the individual creative brilliance that so many of the nations we strive to compete with seem to produce in excess. With every new generation of players issuing from the Netherlands, their fans see the possiblities of the "new Van Basten", the Italians hail their "new Roberto Baggio" and the French can look forward to the prospect of their "new Zidane". However, the U.S. struggles to produce exceptional individual talent because of several inherent flaws in the U.S. soccer system itself.

In summary, I feel that instead of taking offense to De Haan's words, we should instead examine the problem that prevents the U.S. from developing the talent we have at our disposal into genuine stars. In addition, what can we do to prevent the talent we've developed from escaping our clutches (a lá Giuseppe Rossi)?

I couldn't stay away

I'm back... yes, already. I just read a goal.com article on Italy's 3-0 demolishing of Honduras, and who should be at the forefront of this mashing but my favorite 5'5" Italian? Sebastian Giovinco is a giant of a man (or midget?) for whom, in order to protest his sale, hundreds of Juventus supporters demonstrated outside of the Delle Alpi only a few weeks ago. In him lies the hopes of a nation of Juve supporters who, like myself, have followed his progress from the Juventini to his exploits at Empoli and back to the full Bianconeri side. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth when it seemed the Juventus brass (including the stunningly idiotic Alessio Secco who I will get into later) would sell our tiny gem. Thankfully, that saga seems to be over, and judging by his performances lately, the demonstrations were warranted. In my opinion, the fun-sized fantasista has the talent to be the new Roberto Baggio (please, please, please) without the ponytail. As reported by goal.com, the miniscule magician ran a footballing masterclass against Honduras, and for a die-hard Bianconero like myself, it makes me as happy as if I had seen the text "Juventus: 4 - Inter Milan: -2342309823"