Reds or Juve? Who’s in a bigger hole?

 

Roar Pro

By subrasub, 27 Dec 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro

Tagged:

 football, Juventus, Liverpool, UEFA Champions League

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Liverpool or Juventus? Which of these European giants are in a bigger hole this season? Rafa Benitez’s Reds are in shocking form, sitting an appalling 8th in the Premier League, knocked out of the Champions League, and languishing in the Europa League and in financial strife.

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, arguably the world’s most dynamic duo (Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba may just pip them, at least on this season’s form) in the world today are injured more often than not, and $20 million former Roma man Alberto Aquillani has been rarely cited since being signed last season, worsening Liverpool’s financial woes.

Having lost recently to bottom team Portsmouth, Rafa faces an imminent sacking, and Liverpool may miss the Champions League all together next season if the form shown by them so far is anything to go by, especially with fringe and makeshift play-makers in place of Steven Gerrard, Albert Riera and Fabio Aurelio such as Skretel, Ngog and even veteran Jamie Carragher not up to scratch this season.

They face tough times now and into the future.

Juventus, led by Cico Ferrara, are also under the pump, and are in nearly an identical situation to Liverpool, with Juve having been knocked out of the Champions League and being forced into the Europa League. They are sitting in 3rd in Serie A, but don’t look like really threatening as they are a mile behind Inter and AC Milan, and are being persued by a logjam of contenders for European places next season in Roma, Palermo, Fiorentina, Parma and Napoli.

Expensive off-season signings Diego and Felipe Melo have failed to make a big impact, coming into the Bianconeri camp with big reputations. Melo has been very static in his play and has failed to gel with fellow midfielders Mauro Cameronesi, Claudio Marchiso, Tiago and Christian Poulsen.

Diego hasn’t had the opportunity to weave his creative magic, genius and execute his ingenious brilliance due to the robotic and one-dimensional forwards in Amauri, Trezeguet and the aging Del Piero, which has affected their attack and made the team look stagnant.

The game where Juve lost 4-1 at home to Bayern Munich, when a place to the Champions League knockout stages awaited the winner, was a classic example of this.

So, who’s facing the biggest problems – the five-time European kings Liverpool or Italy’s most successful team ever Juventus?

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