Serie A blog: How Conte is giving the Old Lady a makeover

Published 10:30 09/08/11

For the new season, MirrorFootball is teaming up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day.

Today it's our new Serie A blogger, footballitaliano.co.uk 's Mina Rzouki, with her take on the week's big issues in Italy.

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For the last few years, and especially since the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, Juventus have been caught in a perpetual state of reinvention. Yet these consistent changes both on the pitch and at management level have only seen the team regress in terms of results.

Nonetheless, expectations were high at the start of the summer. With €70m made available to purchase new players, promises were made regarding the arrival of top names and the likes of Sergio Aguero and Giuseppe Rossi were soon linked with a move to the Turin outfit. However, predicted bumps in the road have since seen the stars navigate away from Juventus, while underwhelming signings such as Mirko Vucinic were being made.

Scepticism reared its ugly head, worsened by the arrival of players such as Andrea Pirlo whose set of skills appeared to directly oppose coach Antonio Conte’s preferred tactics. The fans were worried and it looked like The Old Lady were going to suffer yet again.

However, Juventus’ pre-season paints a different picture and recent successes have proved that Conte’s speech in July on rediscovering the Juve mentality covered more that just on-pitch behaviour.

Deploying a 4-2-4 formation for most of the games despite the fact the team boasted talent better equipped for a 4-3-3 formation, Conte has meticulously improved each area, working day and night to translate his ideas onto the pitch and improve the synergy within the team.

Focusing on short passes and persistent ball movements, Conte wants to see his side perfect possession football and work in unison to initiate attacks from the back-line. Encouraging his players to keep the ball on the ground, he wants to introduce poise to a side that relied on brutish strength and emergency clearances last season.

Inviting opponents to attack them, Juve are looking to create space at the top for their attacking players to exploit. By asking the defenders to calmly pass the ball out of danger, Conte is encouraging his team to build-up play, engaging in quick one-two passes in midfield that are meant to seek out the wingers blessed with pace and trickery, who have enough time to take advantage of the space at the top.

Looking at the manner in which Juventus have played so far, it has become evident that management and Conte have built a balanced squad with the necessary skills to make these tactics work. In Leonardo Bonucci, the Bianconeri have a ball-playing defender who loves nothing more than to dangerously pass the ball at the back despite the pressure of opponents. In Pirlo they have a man capable of maintaining his position just in front of the defence to receive the ball and spread it around intelligently. While in Milos Krasic, they possess the speed and trickery needed to penetrate the flanks and set up the mobile Alessandro Matri up top.

Vucinic has already proved in the last two friendlies that he has the hunger, versatility and intelligence to strike up exquisite partnerships with the players within the squad whilst Claudio Marchisio has excelled at his role in central midfield, taking advantage of his dynamic approach to apply pressure and win back possession.

The winning mentality seems to have returned. Whilst the games played have only been friendlies, there is evidence of a cohesive unit and an eagerness to improve. Meanwhile the Juve philosophy of developing megastars as opposed to purchasing them seems to have made a welcome return – who needs Aguero?

However, is it enough to compete for honours alongside the Milanese giants?

That infamous winning mentality appeared to have escaped Milan when they took on Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana match held in Beijing on Saturday.

Fearful and bereft of ideas, Milan fell prey to an Inter side who dominated the first half by overcrowding their midfield to destroy Milan’s compact style of play. Dependent on individual moments of brilliance, it took a stern talking-to from Coach Massimiliano Allegri before the real Milan emerged at half time.

The second half saw a more an aggressive Rossoneri team who inflicted their own game and worked in tandem to produce a deserved win achieved by playing as a team. Meanwhile Inter looked disorganised and outrun as coach Gian Piero Gasperini decided to change from a 3-4-2-1 formation to a cautious 4-4-1-1 at halftime, blaming the team’s fatigue for his change in tactics.

The tactical shift meant Inter struggled in midfield and as a result, suffered defensively whilst Gasperini's decision to take off the sublime Ricky Alvarez proved a be a poor one as he was one of the few who threatened Milan with his creativity and languid demeanour.

Confused and exhausted by the end of the match, one has to wonder whether Inter have enough time and the exemplary fitness levels necessary to perfect Gasperini’s desired style of play.

From the pre-season action so far, it looks like Juventus might just be able to compete with the big boys this season. But can anyone really pose a serious threat to Milan who have perfected the art of teamwork?

Follow Mina Rzouki on Twitter @Minarzouki and at footballitaliano.co.uk and read last week's blog here: Can Roma's Spanish revolution succeed in Italy?