Club Focus - Juventus - Snow joke for Bianconeri as Europa interest ends

The scenes on Wednesday night in Poland perfectly depicted a winter wonderland. Fresh falling snow, icicles hanging in the stadium, the public covered in layers of thermals and wool, and a white pitch greeting an Italian team who expected Vinovo to be the coldest place they would ever have to train in. The conditions may have been fine for a snowball fight, but not a crucial football match in the Europa League.
With temperatures plunging to minus 12 degrees Celcius, panic ensued and Juventus desperately began to plead with UEFA to postpone their critical clash with Lech Poznan to avoid a probable defeat and a possible new batch of injuries due to the icy pitch.

Upon watching the match in which the entire first half was played with a white ball, leaving TV audiences having to rely on the players’ body language to find the ball on the screen, it was clear to see that it was somewhat unjust to ask a team to play under such circumstances.

The lines of the pitch were covered in snow, the players were unable to keep their balance and the goalkeepers looked like they were withering away. However, UEFA rules dictate that matches can only be called off if temperatures fall below minus 15 degrees – and on the night a mere three degrees separated Juventus from a possible postponement and perhaps a chance to qualify.

The Bianconeri, unaccustomed to these types of conditions, failed to play the kind of football required to yield the necessary result. The home side could have done more to make the playing surface more away team friendly but they chose not to and their plan worked. While the Poles bombed forward at electrifying pace and glided effortlessly around the pitch, the Italians stayed faithful to their usual brand of football. With each elegant pass, they lost possession, and almost every time they were handed an opportunity to score that equaliser, they fluffed it – somehow Poznan survived.

Tactically, Juventus were not prepared. In such stifling circumstances, they desperately needed to elongate their attack and get rid of horizontal play. This was a match that required the skills of Alberto Aquilani, who could have spread play and delivered those long crosses to bypass the midfield and avoid loss of possession. As he was ineligible, it would have been interesting to see Manuel Giandonato on the pitch instead.