2012/13 season review

This year for the Bianconeri was not as brilliant and record breaking as the previous however we showed just how strong a side we are. Finishing 9 points ahead of Napoli showed just how much we dominated the league however there was also set backs and disappointments throughout the season.

Juve went into the season not very confident and feeling as if they wouldn't be able to carry on the success of the previous season due to the controversy around the 6 month suspension of coach Antonio Conte as he failed to answer question on match fixing while at Siena. The 6 month suspension led to Conte having to sit on the sideline having no say on what happened in the squad. This was thought to give Juve a huge set back in the season but well it wasn't. The months Conte was away Juve only lost twice at home to Inter Milan and Away to AC milan. 

After the 22 games away Antonio Conte took charge of the Serie A winners as if he had never left. In February they allowed Napoli to close the gap between the two teams considerably however after beating Napoli in February the rest of the season went rather smoothly and by March time the Bianconeri had got the Scudetto in  the bag. 

Although the league was a rather easy win there was a few disappointments throughout the season. First of all the Coppa Italia. The season before this was the only available trophy that Juventus didn't win and well they didn't win it again this year. They crashed out in an amazing second leg tie at Lazio. Juve had drawn the first leg 1-1 at home. In the second leg they went 1-0 down and they looked out after a very poor performance by the B side. But in added time Arturo Vidal scored an equaliser and it looked like Juve had somehow turned the game around but this was not to be and in the 4th minute of the 5 added on Sergio Floccari scored to make the score 2-1. But the late drama was not over yet as Claudio Marchisio missed a seemingly impossible to miss chance in the last touch of the game which would have put Juventus through due to the away goal rule.

However the biggest disappointment of the season was Juve's exit in the Champions League. After breezing through the group stages and smashing Celtic in a controversial tie Juventus then stumbled across the eventual winners Bayern Munich. After a poor performance for Gigi Buffon led to a 2-0 home defeat in the first tie Juve had to be at their very best to get themselves back in the tie. But this was not to be and the team just didn't turn up and loosed again 2-0 at the Allianz Arena. This just proved that although the Juventus Project has succeeded in Serie A there is still improvement to be made in Europe.

Player of the season

This for me is a no brainer at it has to be Arturo Vidal. The aggressive and determined Chilean this season typified the football of Juventus. Not only did he impress in his defensive roles this season but also showed that he can play further up the field as shown as he was Juventus' leading goalscorer and their best assist man.

Most disappointing player of the season

This again for me is a no brainer and it has to be our signing Mauricio Isla from Udinese. The player had been brilliant for Udinese and when he joined he disappointed with terrible crossing and chance creating he soon found himself being replaced and by the end of the season was a bench warmer rather than an expected starting xi player.

Highlight of the season

This once again was obvious for me due to living in England and it was the 3-0 win against former Champions of Europe Chelsea. Juve surprised a few after smashing Chelsea 3-0 in a one sided affair on the back of a very tight 2-2 draw between the two clubs just a few weeks before. 

Season Rating 

I feel that this season was a season that showed not only the class of the team in the Serie A but also the improvements needed to become a World Class team. I also felt that this season was not as good as the season before but still a pretty good season so therefore I rate the performance of Juventus in the 2012/13 season an 8/10.

Comment me your thoughts on this season !!!