UCL Last 16: Celtic v Juventus Chat

Great Post Alec

 

Came back to win 2-1 92nd minute goal from Matri.

 

3-1 Vucinic 94th min.

 

Hi guys, another Juve fan here respectfully checking in to give my opinion. I must admit that I know very little about Celtic's current squad, so I can't really comment on the tie itself, but I think that many people here are seriously underestimating Italian football. Don't forget that the Italy team that deservedly reached the final of the Euro (beating England and Germany on the way) was pretty much Juve's defence and midfield + Cassano and Balotelli.

I'm convinced that although the 2001 Juve side that last played Celtic had better individual players, this one is a far better team. I would argue that this is probably the best Juve team since 1997.

Buffon is still the best keeper in the world and we have a very tight defence that only conceded 20 goals last season and went 12 months without conceding more than one goal in a single game. Chiellini would be a big loss, but any Juve fan would tell you that our best defender isn't Chiellini - it's Barzagli. I struggle to see a better midfield trio than Marchisio-Vidal-Pirlo outside Barcelona and we have strong backups in Pogba and Giaccherini. As others mentioned, our front line is pretty poor. Vucinic, Giovinco, Quagliarella and Matri are all good, but not great, players. They're very inconsistent and poor finishers, so the bulk of our goals come from midfield.

I fully expect Juve to go through because, as I explained, I rate this Juve side very highly. However, I'm sure that Celtic will put up a very good fight in the first leg and if they come out with a win or a draw anything can happen in the return leg in Turin. I think some sections of the Italian press are underestimating Celtic, but I doubt that Antonio Conte will.

 

Ok with everything you say but buffon is not the best keeper in the world.

 

Has Buffon every been labelled "the great wall"? :smiley-laughing002:

 

Buffon is the great buffter

 

Buendia

Big Fraser Forster is the man none of ur seria A hasbeens, HH the great wall

 

They would think the same v ICT

 

That's * impressive.

I almost feel bad for unleashing Sammy on them now.

 

euro skelper

 

I'm stallin the home leg, bring the * on!

 

And not true either. Unless we are talking about averages.

 

Attributed to Buffon apparently

 

Always liked Buffon :icon_mrgreen:

 

This one is attributed to Isla

 

Did Isla not play at Paradise for Udinese last season?

Edit: He did, came on as a second half sub,

http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000272/match=2007316/index.html

 

To be fair to the Juventus fans who have came on here, saying "I would expect us to go through" isn't being disrespectful, they're a seriously talented side and will no doubt prove a harder task than Spartak Moscow or Benfica (who, I feel, we didn't show enough against).

As they're saying "I know little about this Celtic squad" that's kind of to be expected considering the players we buy often we have no idea about ourselves . I do think though that if we can nick a win at Celtic Park which we can do against anyone then we have a chance, though there can't really be a tougher venue to go to than Juventus at the minute.

I'm optimistic we can do it but it'll take a massive effort from the players and staff and what a * result it would be if we could qualify, bring 'em on

 

We'll go through 3-3 on away goals

1-1 at home and 2-2 away.

 

Agreed and I'm still at a loss for how anyone who watches any footy could come to that conclusion

Total agreement, a big reason why I think they are pushing to land a striker of Drogba's quality because otherwise that's really the only thing they lack...apart from consistency

I think they are a nightmare matchup for Celtic should they land a striker as they will not be easily caught out on the counter - very intelligent defensively (As Italian sides usually are) and not prone to set piece errors...I may rate Barcelona better than Juve but I think due to their ability to transition seamlessly between attack & defense pose a larger threat to Celtic than say our club did who love to primarily attack & maintain possession

The other factor in the tie is that it's sandwiched around Fiorentina, Roma & Napoli in Serie A...Juventus aren't great at stringing together performances like that so they will be prone to form issues

Overlook Pirlo at your own peril

Juve are definitely one of the remaining favorites, for me, as well...Would be a great feat to knock them out but must get a positive result at Celtic Park