After a brief fling against Udinese with his mistress 3-5-2, Juventus manager Antonio Conte returned to his faithful 4-3-3 formation today against Siena. The formation and player selection was almost identical to the usual starting XI that Conte uses, with one exception.

Giorgio Chiellini, situational left-back, was shifted back to central defense. Paolo De Ceglie came in at left-back, while my beloved Leonardo Bonucci was sent to the bench. Bonucci has suffered a dip in form of late, as I have discussed, and while I may have supported his benching, it appears now that it may have had a calamitous effect on Juve’s fortunes.

It’s well known that one of Leo Bonucci’s best skill on the pitch is his ball-handling ability. He’s known as a defender who can carry the ball and help start movements from a team’s own half. He played this role at Bari, and he has played this role at Juventus under Antonio Conte. Of course, today he was on the bench.

While he was on the bench, Juve’s attack languished. They had only seven shots on target, and of those only two were truly dangerous attempts on goal. Conte seemed to think this was the fault of the forwards, as he subbed off all three of his starting forwards. Granted, Simone Pepe came off due to injury, and not for tactical reasons.

Of the other two, Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic, only one deserved to be taken off. Vucinic had a lousy game from the start. He couldn’t find a rhythm, and he was frequently turning the ball over or being dispossessed. He later came off for Marco Borriello.

On the other hand, Ale Matri did pretty well with what he was given. Matri is a poacher, and lately (before the Udinese match) his problems had been in finishing. Today, he was not given very many chances to finish anything.

Matri only had one shot on target, though there was one impressive play where he spun around a defender to service Mirko Vucinic with a cross. The cross was received by Mirko, but he sent it straight over goal.

Indeed, chances like that made up most of Juve’s scoring opportunities today. This is because Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio turned into black holes today.

The entire midfield area truly was a black hole. That is, of course, not including Andrea Pirlo, who had a magnificent game despite the team’s general struggle.

Pirlo took up the lion’s share of those missing Bonucci long balls. Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini also increased their output of long balls, but neither was as successful in either quantitative or quantifiable terms as Pirlo was.

Pirlo went 21-of-23 in long-ball attempts, and his passing accuracy rate was 90 percent today. Chiellini and Barzagli were both in double digits for both long balls attempted and completed, but they both lacked Bonucci’s effectiveness.

Thankfully, Barzagli and Chiellini were much more effective in defense than they were while attacking.

Barzagli started off a bit slow, with a pair of noticeable errors, his first of the season. The first one came when Alessandro Gazzi had the ball in Juve’s half. Barzagli went at Gazzi with a lousy challenge and ended up fouling Gazzi. Like I said, it was Barzagli’s first noticeable error of the season, or at least it seemed that way.

The next mistake came when Mattia Destro received a pass in Juve’s half. Barzagli’s challenge attempt totally failed, and Destro continued on.

The rest of his game was up to the usual Barzagli standard, but if that had been Bonucci, the haters would be screaming for blood.

The one Juventus player who was truly great today was Andrea Pirlo. His long balls were the only thing that kept the Juve attack alive, and it seemed that the most dangerous scoring opportunities always had something to do with Pirlo.

Thirty-three minutes into the game, Pirlo sent forward a beautiful pass to Stephan Lichtsteiner, who was alone in front of goal. The pass was dead-on accurate, and Lichsteiner leaped up to kick it in. His kick sent the ball over the cross bar, but it didn’t take away from Pirlo’s skill and vision.

The substitutes, Marco Borriello, Fabio Quagliarella and Emanuele Giaccherrini, didn’t do much to spur scoring, either.

Giaccherini was lively, as he tends to be, but it wasn’t enough to tip the scales. Quags was only on for a little bit, but his influence was extremely small. Perhaps Conte should have instead put Alessandro Del Piero in, especially as Del Piero has a strong scoring record against Siena.

Borriello was on for a good amount of time, and he showed great passion. Unfortunately, that passion came out in the form of arguments with Siena players and the referee, who gave Borriello a yellow card for arguing.

I would have liked Borriello to turn his aggression into goals and not dust-ups, but he does what he wants.

Borriello’s foil, the referee, had as bad a game as the Juventus attack. His most egregious error came when he ignored a Siena handball in the box. Chiellini fired the ball into the box, and it was met with a Siena defender’s forearm. The ref made no call, and Juve were not given the penalty kick they deserved.

That said, Siena played well.

Their defense, one of the top in the league, obviously had a part in shutting Juve down. Their offense wasn’t too dangerous, but they can still be proud of a tough 0-0 draw away to Juventus. Siena has struggled on the road, and Juve has been excellent at home.

Today marked the first-ever home shutout against Juve. They had scored in all the games in the new Juventus Stadium before today. They are still undefeated in the stadium and the league.

Juve now has three days until their big Coppa Italia semifinal leg against A.C. Milan on Wednesday. Milan also drew today, against Napoli, and their star striker (and money-loving mercenary) Zlatan Ibrahimovic was given a red card for slapping another player. It was an unsurprising, if eventful, day for Zlatan.

The red card means that he will probably be suspended for three Serie A games, meaning he will miss the league match against Juventus. He will also miss a match against Udinese. The suspension should not affect his eligibility for the Coppa match on Wednesday.

Juve’s disappointing result today is brightened by big losses by Inter (4-0 to Roma) and Udinese (3-2 to Fiorentina. The Milan draw, plus the losses by Inter and Udinese, mean that Juve’s status at the top of the table is unchanged and even strengthened a little bit.

Juventus need to put this performance behind them, as a big game against Milan starts off a period jam-packed with games. In a 10-day span, they have the Milan game, a match against Bologna, the makeup game against Parma, and one final game against Catania.

The week after that Catania game, they face A.C. Milan in a Serie A match. It seems that they will not have to worry about Ibra, but after today I think Juventus needs to worry more about their own offense.

Praise Conte, and Forza Juve.

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Cristiano Ronaldo could make a sensational return to Manchester United, after telling friends his dream Real Madrid move has become “tarnished.”

Reports say the 27-year-old has told family and friends he misses the Red Devils and, in particular, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who Ronaldo once said was his “father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career.”

Whilst seemingly far-fetched on the surface, Cristiano Ronaldo back to Manchester United is a fairly logical transfer.

It’s the same as the growing rumours of Jose Mourinho returning to Chelsea, with both player and coach at Real Madrid finding themselves in the same situation.

Mourinho has faced heavy criticism from the media and board members at his own club, especially after matches against FC Barcelona. 

He’s also been booed by his own fans, most recently in the 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. 

And yet, he’s lead his team to an unprecedented seven point gap over Barca in La Liga so far this campaign.

It’s no wonder he’s starting to become disillusioned with life at Real Madrid and why a return to the Premier League, especially with Chelsea, is growing ever more appealing.

After all, he’s regarded as a legend at Chelsea, was simply lauded in his glory days at the club and is universally loved in England.

The same applies to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portugal star has receives constant derision every time he fails to perform against Barcelona, or any other team for that matter, and is often dismissed as a flat-track bully.

Tempers were flared further in a 5-1 win over Granada last month, when sick of receiving jeers from his own team’s fans, Ronaldo did not celebrate after scoring the fifth goal. 

Instead he gesticulated his disdain to the crowd and put his head down as he walked back to the centre circle.

That move went down as well as a Catalan flag with the Madrid fans and pro-Madrid media, as well as with club legend and honorary president Alfredo di Stefano, who said:

The whistles against Cristiano Ronaldo? The people in the crowd are the ones who pay, and they are always right. 

If the spectators demand from the players that they do their utmost and score goals, the players shouldn’t question this. 

And this is all despite the player having adapted extremely well following his world record £80 million transfer.

He started scoring almost instantly and is the second-most prolific marksman in the world behind only Lionel Messi, having scored 31 goals this season from 32 games, as well as a staggering 117 in just 121 matches for the club overall.

It seems as if, despite all he’s done for Real Madrid, the fans and the club itself don’t truly care about their star player.

He scored at a much lower rate at United, having scored more than 20 Premier League goals in only one of his six seasons at Old Trafford, yet was still heralded as a legend by the Red Devils and is still loved by virtually all at the club.

So like Mourinho, it’s clear that a move back to England is starting to seem ever more appealing for Ronaldo.

And no doubt the player would also take encouragement from the return of Paul Scholes, with the joy over his United comeback there for all to see.

The same applies for Thierry Henry at Arsenal, with the whole of world football pleased to see him back at the Emirates.

It’s even clear to see how the return of Steven Pienaar and Landon Donovan to Everton has excited not just those on the blue half of Merseyside, but the Premier League as a whole.

The prospect of a Manchester United return, compared to his current dilemma at Los Merengues, surely must seem enticing.

After all, this is a player who does make trips back to England quite frequently and did so again just before Christmas, where he attended the ATP World Tour final between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga in London, along with former teammate and international colleague Nani, as well as Chris Smalling from United and former Premier League rivals Gareth Bale and Andrei Arshavin.

Earlier that day in England’s capital, Ronaldo raised questions over a United return when he was seen at Les Ambassadeurs, an exclusive club near Hyde Park.

He was spotted with agent Jorge Mendes, and Manchester United CEO David Gill, a man who he has developed a strong relationship with over the years.

In 2012, a year that’s turning out to be the one of returning legends, could Ronaldo provide the world with its most sensational comeback yet?

The only sticking point would be a fee, but should United give back the £80 million they received for their talisman, a deal could be on the cards.

A phenomenal player entering his prime, Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t given the love or respect he deserves at Real Madrid.

At Manchester United however, three seasons after his departure and that love and respect hasn’t faded, despite the fact he’s doing better in Spain than he ever did in England.

So surely Cristiano, to get the appreciation you truly deserve, why not return home to Manchester?

It’s got to be better than being booed for scoring goals.

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Arsenal might look to prolong club legend Thierry Henry’s loan deal from the New York Red Bulls which expires in just two weeks time, according to The Associated Press.

Under the loan deal, Henry only has two matches—a league battle with Sunderland and a Champions League tie against AC Milan—before he will leave the club again and go back to America.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has not completely ruled out Henry staying at the Emirates beyond his current loan deal.

Wenger said the Gunners had not discussed any extension with the Red Bulls but acknowledged it was possible.

“I haven’t looked at it,” Wenger said Saturday. “Maybe the maximum possibility we have is two more weeks.”

Henry has scored twice for the Gunners since making his triumphant return, and has shown the ability to be effective in the Premier League despite being 34 years old.

Arsenal did not find a striker in the January transfer window to help Dutch star Robin van Persie carry the goal-scoring burden for the club, and even though Henry is not the world-class player he used to be, on the Gunners’ current roster he is one of the better attacking players.

The emergence of young forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been huge for Arsenal over the past few weeks, and if Henry stays at the Emirates beyond his loan deal, the Frenchman could really mentor Oxlade-Chamberlain and help him develop as a top fight player.

Even if Henry leaves after the Champions League match against Milan, the energy he infused into the club with his return will have been well worth it.

“How much, you can never give a percentage, but he was very positive and everyone takes his advice on board because he has delivered here and they want to deliver too,” Wenger said. “He is respected and he was very positive.”

“He is not going away yet, normally he stays until after the Milan game,” he added. “So we go to Sunderland now and then we go to Milan. That is two massive games.”

Arsenal are in a real battle to finish ahead of Chelsea for the fourth and final Champions League spot for next season, and Henry will be able to help the club reach this goal if he remains in England beyond his current loan deal.

Follow @NicholasGoss35

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This is the BEST part of MY HUMPS the very end of the song on the cd. i cropped the song but it didnt turn out very good.still a tight song though

Things are once again looking up for Manchester United. After treading their way through a difficult midseason slate with an infirmary full of injured players, the Red Devils finally found themselves back on the mend.

Just in time for a monumental English Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Sir Alex Ferguson will welcome back a quadrant of stars—Wayne Rooney, Nani, Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley—as United look to keep pace with Manchester City in the race for the Premiership title. The “noisy neighbors” demolished Fulham on Saturday, 3-0, to move three points clear of Fergie’s squad atop the table.

Rooney and Nani missed United’s previous two matches, an FA Cup loss to Liverpool and an EPL victory over Stoke City, with foot injuries but are expected to feature in Fergie’s starting XI. Young, who joined United on a transfer from Aston Villa over the summer, will be available for the first time since December after recovering from a foot knock of his own.

Perhaps most important, though, is the long-awaited return of Cleverley. The 22-year-old hasn’t seen the pitch since October on account of a variety of leg injuries. While Cleverley isn’t likely to start after such a long layoff, he will provide some much-needed depth to a United midfield that has been so depleted by injury this season as to necessitate luring Paul Scholes out of retirement.

Luckily for the Red Devils, they won’t likely need too much of Cleverley‘s clever play to earn three points against Chelsea. The Blues have scored just three goals in their last four fixtures, two of which resulted in draws against EPL newcomers Norwich City and Swansea City.

That’s not to say that Chelsea won’t give United plenty of trouble, but rather that having a more complete deck shifts the odds firmly in Fergie’s favor from here on out.

Follow @J0shMart1n

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Gareth Bale, the star of Tottenham Hotspur, needs a move to FC Barcelona if he’s to take his game to the next level.

Reports say Barca have opened talks with Spurs about Bale, with phone calls, visits to London and meetings with Tottenham representatives all said to have taken place recently.

It has also been reported that the Camp Nou outfit have sent scouts to watch the winger seven times during his career at White Hart Lane, while an opening bid of £40 million could set the ball rolling and tempt chairman Daniel Levy to consider selling his best asset.

The 22-year-old has been in sensational form this season, with nine goals and seven assists so far in the Premier League.

He ended January winning the Premier League Player of the Month award, having scored three times and made two assists.

Bale has been Harry Redknapp’s most important player this campaign, with the Welshman winning five man of the match awards, and on average, creating around three goal-scoring chances per game for teammates, more than any other Spurs player—including Luka Modric, widely considered Spurs’ best playmaker.

On top of that, Bale also drives play forward better than any of Tottenham’s first-team players, completing 38 dribbles this season—four more than the next best player, Modric.

He also sends in more accurate crosses per game, 1.6, than any Spurs player and is more accurate in the cross than Antonio Valencia, David Silva, Craig Bellamy, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and other of the league’s most celebrated wingers.

Not only do Bale’s statistics prove just how vital he is to Tottenham’s success, they also show a player who could actually make FC Barcelona, current La Liga and UEFA Champions League champions, better.

The young wing wizard does two things different than any Barca player at the moment: create chances for teammates and send accurate balls into the penalty area.

Bale has made 2.8 key passes per game this season in the Premier League, with Barca’s best in La Liga being Xavi Hernandez with 2.6, followed by Lionel Messi with 2.3 chances created each match.

He also whacks in more accurate crosses, 1.6 per game, than any Barca player, with La Blaugrana’s best being Dani Alves with 1.3 every match.

And besides that, Bale is also a dab hand at the other stuff too. He has a goal and assist combination, i.e. 16 direct goalscoring contributions, which is better than all Barcelona stars barring of course Lionel Messi.

He’s scored the same number of league goals as Cesc Fabregas but outranks him in all other attacking departments apart from accurate long passes hit and accurate through balls made.

So it’s clear Bale is by all means good enough to make a big impact at the Camp Nou.

And it’s an impact, and of course transfer, he should make if he wants to realise his potential and take his career up a level.

The Southampton academy graduate is tearing up the Premier League at the moment and has also performed well in the Champions League before.

However, he’ll soon start to reach a performance plateau at Spurs, long before the athletic peak of his career.

To be playing as well as Bale has at such a young stage in his career, the potential for the Wales international is huge.

But at Tottenham he can’t realise that full potential, as the club aren’t one of the most prestigious in Europe, don’t have the very best players or technical staff (although of course the backroom staff at Spurs are damn good) and aren’t currently regulars in the Champions League.

For Gareth Bale to improve, he needs to play, train and learn alongside more of the game’s biggest players than just Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, and take notes from a manager who’s won more than one FA Cup title and a UEFA Intertoto Cup.

After all, he’s still at the stage in career where he can learn a lot and use it to vastly improve his game. At White Hart Lane he won’t learn a great deal more.

At Barca though, watching Lionel Messi in training, playing alongside him in matches, he’d learn the true art of finishing, dribbling, fine movement and how to link up play with others inside the penalty area.

By observing Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez, he’d learn and eventually see how new angles and new options inside the final third suddenly present themselves and how to make passes cutting through an opposition defence that he didn’t even think was possible.

And from the likes of Andres Iniesta, Bale would really learn how to change the pace of a game, get play moving and pull a defence to pieces.

Under Pep Guardiola, Bale would experience a new kind of winning mentality and learn how to become a much better player mentally and tactically.

Plus, he’d be playing with and against a lot of top-level players for the majority of the season and would experience what it takes to win major honours and would learn all about the pressure and responsibility that comes with being a member of the best team in the world.

At the moment, Bale is one of the Premier League’s best players, but he has the potential to be so much better—even as good as Cristiano Ronaldo one day.

To realise that potential, and open up a world of possibilities, he needs to leave Tottenham Hotspur and join a team like FC Barcelona.

As soon as he does, there’s no limit to what he can achieve.

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Arsenal routed Blackburn Rovers on a frigid match day at the Emirates to avenge their 4-3 loss at Ewood Park in September of 2011 in a match that Arsenal scored five goals and yet lost.

Arsenal tore Blackburn apart at the blast of the whistle to score their first goal in 80 seconds. They then proceeded to camp in Blackburn’s half for most of the first half, dominating possession and causing all kinds of trouble for the Blackburn defense.

The old feeling that things might not be alright, after all, surfaced in the 31st minute of the match, when Blackburn equalized through a well-taken free kick by Morten Gamst Pedersen, just outside Arsenal’s 25-yard box.

The feeling, though, did not last, as Arsenal responded very quickly through a well-worked attack, beginning with Wojciech Szczęsny at the back and culminating with another Robin van Persie goal.

By match’s end, Arsenal had routed Blackburn 7-1, with Robin van Persie scoring a hat trick, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a brace and Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry providing the icing on the cake.

The Arsenal faithfuls, who braved the cold weather to support the team were duly rewarded. The feeling of doom that has overtaken Arsenal in the last three days has been dispelled for now. There is thus:

1. Joy to Go Around

Accusations and counter-accusations have flown to and fro these last three days among Arsenal supporters on the question: who is the real Arsenal fan.

Is he the person who wants Arsene Wenger sacked, Ivan Gazidis and Stan Kroenke toppled so an oligarch can funnel the cash needed to buy the stars, or is she or he the person that takes the contrary view?

I say, all that shouldn’t matter right now. Let’s all celebrate together.

2. Walcott Showed Class in Providing Three Assists

Hardly has Theo Walcott’s name been mentioned in the euphoria that has followed this sweet victory. There’s a reason why.

Theo Walcott is an inconsistent player. But like I and others have always maintained, he will yet grow and get better.

He did well today, even though he didn’t score. Understandably, the recognition goes to the goal scorers. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we shouldn’t forget to laud the other players too.

3. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Shone, but Let’s Be Cautious

Here’s what Arsene Wenger says about him:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is developing well, and he can assist and score as well. What is surprising to me is in September he looked junior, not mature enough, but in space of two-to-three months he is ready to be in the team.

AOC is a delight to watch. I’d say it was a five-star performance from him. Watching him must bring a lot of encouragement to Arsenal fans: the future can only be bright.

If I caution anything, it is overpraising him to the skies only to condemn him when the inevitable bad run of form comes.

It has happened to Andrei Arshavin and Theo Walcott. In fact, even Marouane Chamakh, who began last season on a splendid form.

So let’s praise him, but while we do, we should remember to support him when he needs us most, when the bad form strikes.

4. Robin van Persie Now Has 22 Premier League Goals 

Robin van Persie tops the scorers list with seven goals clear of everyone else.

I can wish for nothing more than he gets the highest scorer award this season.

What a lethal striker.

Let’s forget about injury fears, whether or not he’ll stay in the summer, and for now bask in his incredible talent and enjoy the week.

5. Arsenal Are Not Out of the Woods

The road ahead is tough, but as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The victory takes the team in the right direction.

Let’s hope for more good news in the coming weeks.

Congratulations to all. 

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Manchester City’s football team is getting into the thick of a 2011-’12 season, which will ultimately show them to be legitimate contenders, or top seat of the Premier League pretenders.

We are well beyond the early-season exuberance and euphoric energy feeding frenzy, which was fueled by massively disproportionate final scores, and now are into the character-questioning portion of the trophy crusade. 

That 6-1 drubbing of Manchester United at Old Trafford, in the Derby, seems a loosely knit memory in light of the current hair-of-the-chin differential between the teams atop the current EPL table.

Enter a Fulham team into the snow globe formerly known as the Etihad Stadium—a team that resides on the opposite pole of the current standings, and you have all the encompassing elements for the ultimate result, a 3-0 win for the Blues.

What follows are five takeaways from today’s snow-immersed win over Fulham. 

Begin Slideshow

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After Arsenal’s dominating 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers this morning, fans have reason to be excited. They sit only two points behind their London rivals Chelsea and seem to finally be clicking.

Although they are not where they need to be yet, a victory like this brings back memories of the Arsenal of old. If they continue to play like they did today, there is a very good chance they can claim a top-four finish this season in the English premier League.

Chelsea and Manchester United face off tomorrow in what is a huge game for both sides. For Arsenal fans, even it may seem sickening, cheering for a Red Devils win will greatly benefit their team. If the Gunners continue to play well over the next couple months, their fans will be witnessing Champions League football come next season.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea have challenging games down the stretch, so no real team has the advantage there. The key will be which team can put together a solid stretch of wins. For Arsenal, they must earn three points whenever they play a team in the bottom half of the league table. Stumbling and earning only a draw could prove to be costly in this intense race.

The pressure on both these clubs is enormous. Fans expect both teams to be competing in the Champions League next season; however, it is looking like only one of them will have that privilege.

Here are seven reasons why Arsenal will finish in the top four when the season is complete:

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Cristiano Ronaldo is nearing his thirties…CR7 celebrates his 27th birthday on February 5, after a 1-0 win for Real Madrid over city rivals Getafe.

Ronaldo did not score in the derby on Saturday evening. This means that his last goal as a 26-year-old came against Real Zaragoza in La Liga, on 28 January 2012.

Ronaldo had previously scored against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey in Madrid’s 2-2 draw on January 25.

Earlier on, the Portuguese star had scored his last double in his 26th year, while his clash against Sevilla on December 17 last year contained his very last hat-trick.

Happily for Ronaldo, his last Champions League game this just-ended year saw him score a brace against Lyon, as Real grabbed a 2-0 win.

His last performance for Portugal was also nothing less than sublime, as he netted two goals that helped his national team beat Bosnia 6-2 in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification playoffs.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game after his birthday should normally be against Levante on February 12 in La Liga, whereas a meeting against CSKA Moskva on February 21 is supposed to mark his first Champions League appearance as a 27-year-old.

Ronaldo’s birthday comes on the same day as Carlos Tevez’s own, and exactly two weeks after Raffaella Fico’s own.

Speaking of the Italian model, the father-of-one is said to have dated her in the past—although there were no real confirmation.

Anyways, birthday boy Ronaldo is currently with modelling icon Irina Shayk, and it will be interesting to see how he will handle his affairs on and off-the-pitch in his new age.

More on Worldfootballextra.com or on Twitter @WorldfootballX

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