Back to back Serie A champions Juventus got their season off to the best possible start, taking the three points against a spirited and positive Sampdoria at the Marassi in Genova on Saturday night. The only goal of the game came just before the hour, with Carlos Tevez finishing a textbook ‘coaches goal’ with the ball moving fluidly down the left and to the top of the box before a well timed through ball from Vidal put Pogba into a devastating position. His unselfish cut back beat Da Costa and allowed Tevez to tap in. Otherwise the match was controlled by Juventus after an enterprising start by the Doriani had provided a lot for the home crowd to get excited about. Delio Rossi gave a Serie A debut to Mirko Eramo in the Sampdoria mid-field and also a rare start was handed to Gaetano Berardi on the left flank who impressed in his battle with Lichtsteiner. Otherwise the Samp line-up was as expected with Da Costa in goal and last years back three of Gastaldello, Palombo and Costa being assisted by Lorenzo Silvestri who had his hands full in defense on the right containing the enterprising play of Pogba. Young talents Pedro Obiang and Nenad Krsticic joined Eramo in the engine room of the mid-field and Obiang in particular was the star for Samp on the night. He looked composed, even dangerous at times and seems set to build on his strong perfomances from last year. Up front the partnership of Eder and new signing Gabbiadini looked promising, but in fairness they were unable to really crack open the well organised Juventus defense. Chiellini in particular seemed to be assigned the task of muscling Gabbiadini into submission, while consistent professional fouls meant that Samp were unable to ever hit Juve on the break. Da Costa was called upon to produce a series of good saves in the first half and it will encourage the Doriani that their goal is secure, should the Brazilian be given the chance to keep his starting role. He looked every bit the Serie A keeper, and his booming re-starts were infact the genisis of some of Sampdoria’s best attacks with his long goal kicks regularly touching down just outside of the Juve penalty area! Samp created a few good chances throughout the second half and even got the ball past Buffon and into the net, but the play was ruled offside as Costa had snatched too much of a jump on the Juve defenders from a free kick struck by Eder. In reality, Buffon was not troubled in any manner throughout the match and the Blucerchiati seemed to be missing an attacking element in between mid-field and attack, a point made all the more sore by Andrea Poli scoring on debut for Milan in the earlier match. This match went as expected and Delio Rossi had left ample room in his comments before the match to accomodate the likely result. With Juventus having destroyed Lazio 0-4 in the SuperCoppa it was an encouraging defensive display from Samp and Obiang, Berardi, Eder, Palombo and Da Costa all deserved the applause of the fans for a honest days work. However, Castellini who came on as the final substitute and was then sent off after just 7 minutes, removed any chance of a late Doria goal. On the strength of Berardi’s perfomance and pre-season form of Regini on the left wing, he may have made his last appearance for the club. Samp now face a tough assignment next week away to Bologna. And Fans may be keeping an eye on the market as although Samp claim to have finished their acquisitions for the summer, Rossi did mumble something about perhaps another player arriving. He was at pains to point out it would not be a marquee signing, but a stronger, more experienced mid-fielder seems to be a logical choice. Or perhaps it’s time for Angelo Palombo to take up his preferred position in the centre of the park? Despite his successful conversion to a central-defender it does seem a highly negative attitude to keep him in defence, particularly as Krsticic has shown potential as an attacking mid-fielder with his searching passes and long range shooting ability. As always it’s impossible to predict how the season will turn out on the basis of one match, but for what it’s worth it would appear that the Blucechiati certainly have the ability and class to maintain their presence in Serie A. Weather they can compete for a spot on the ‘left hand side’ of the table, as has been the often stated objective of the clubs management for many years is another matter altogether. Sampdoria: Da Costa; Gastaldello (Mustafi 72), Palombo, Costa; De Silvestri, Eramo (Soriano 72), Krsticic, Obiang, Berardi (Castellini 82); Eder, Gabbiadini Red Card: Castellini (90) Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez (Giovinco 89), Vucinic (Llorente 89) Goal: Tevez (58) Written by Doc – Twitter: @bacchusofbass
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