17 December 2007

At full speed towards the break

So the year 2007 is about to become one for the archives. Next weekend, Serie A teams will play for the last time before the winter break, and the League will restart only in mid-January.

Day 17 will be played, the third-to-last before the end of the first part of the season. Everyone's attention will be focused on the eagerly awaited Milan derby, an even more important game now that AC Milan have won the World Cup for Clubs.

Juventus will play their last game of the year at home at the Olimpico. Siena will be the guests, featuring former Juve player Paolo De Ceglie, one of the youths that have been impressing the most in this tournament. Siena have been getting some positive results after changing managers (Mandorlini was replaced by Beretta, making a comeback), as demonstrated by the home win against Genoa and the draw against Napoli.

This will be an important game for Ranieri's team, as they could end 2007 with a winning run, the best way to start off in 2008: it’s a match that needs to be won, to confirm two favourable traditions. Juventus have always won against the team from Tuscany, in the eight matches played up until now (six in the League and two in the Italian Cup). Moreover, the Bianconeri have not lost the last match before the Christmas break for the last 10 years. The last defeat was in the 1995/96 season (the year Juventus triumphed in the Champions League in Rome), when the men managed by Lippi at the time lost to Roma at the Delle Alpi. From then onwards, out of 11 games they achieved six draws and five wins, one of these coming against Siena themselves. This was during the 2005/06 season, when Juve won 2-0 in Turin with goals by Cannavaro and Trezeguet.