Chapter 436: Juventus against Udinese

Saturday, September 13, 2014.

Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.

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Once again, the Juventus starting eleven showcased another brilliant performance on the field of play as they faced off against Udinese Calcio in their second fixture of the 2014/14 Italian Serie A season. They controlled the game from the first minute by relying on consistent instances of individual brilliance plus the fluid passing abilities of their three midfielders. They soon built up enough momentum to tear apart Udinese's defensive shape and create their first clear chance on goal.

Stephan Lichtsteiner, the highly-agile wing-back, initiated the attack with a sudden and spirited acceleration on the right flank during the 11th minute. His speed was incredible, even going by the apex standards in modern football. He broke past Giovanni Pasquale, Udinese's left-winger, like a bullet train on the rails and continued racing along the touchline, heading towards the other half. A short while later, he cut into the pitch and started bearing down on Udinese's box like a raging Tsunami. He skipped past another opponent with another almost-instantaneous burst of speed before sending a curling cross towards the mouth of the goal.

Whoosh!

Stephan's cross was like a divine work of art in motion as it soared above the field of play. No opponent could intercept the ball as it curled and descended towards the box, on a teasing course that was barely beyond the reach of both the Udinese defenders and keeper. It soon plunged downwards, almost abruptly, and zoomed towards the sprinting path of Carlos Tévez.

"Carlos! Tévez! Carlos..."

The enthusiastic Juventus fans, seated in the stands behind Udinese's goal, began chanting Carlos Tévez's name as he sprinted into the box to connect with the cross. The Argentine's remarkably swift pace allowed him to inch past the center-backs, and he stretched his leg out to tap the ball into the back of the net. Without halting, he raced towards the sidelines to celebrate his fourth goal in just two matches of the recently-commenced Serie A season.

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Juventus FC 1: Udinese Calcio 0

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Paolo Favero, a staunch fan of Juventus, had been sitting comfortably within the stands of the Juventus stadium, watching the game with his two sons. When Tévez scored Juventus' first goal for the night, he immediately rose up from his seat and started hopping around like an excited little girl. For the next few dozen seconds, he was like an eager madman, yelling at the top of his voice to let out his happiness.

But he wasn't alone in his state of crazed excitement. His two teenage sons were dancing while singing a famous Juventus chant spiritedly. Their voices blended together with those of the other supporters within the stands to institute a booming chorus that almost shook the entire Juventus Stadium to its very core. All the Juventus supporters were obviously having a blast as they witnessed their team's exceptional performance on the field of play.

"There you have it," the commentator's mellifluous voice reverberated around the stadium when the cheering started subsiding. "Carlos Tévez is on target yet again this season. He connected with that sweet cross from Stephan Lichtsteiner to score an impressive first goal for Juventus during the 11th minute of the game. For sure, he's a man on fire."

"Indeed, Carlos Tévez is on form," Federico Mancini, the co-commentator and in-game pundit, chimed in. "The Argentine bagged a hattrick against Chievo two weeks ago. Just now, he scored another goal against Udinese to take his season tally to four goals in two matches. He's looking more and more like Juventus' true number-10, even after losing his shirt to Zachary."

Davide Labate, the principal commentator, chuckled. "Why are you bringing up the shirt number issue again? Carlos stated in his interview hosted by Sky Italia that he was okay with giving the number-10 shirt to Zachary. Moreover, I think that his new number 32 suits him better. Maybe, that's why he's playing better than the version of himself last season."

"If you say so," Federico Mancini, the co-commentator, said with a chuckle. "But shirt number aside, Carlos is by far the best player for Juventus in this new Serie A season. I wonder how Zachary will compare to him when he finally steps onto the pitch."

"I think Zachary will do fine if he gets a chance to step on the pitch tonight," Davide Labate said as the cameras focused on Zachary, who was watching the game from the technical area. "Look at how his eyes are glittering with expectation. He's like a fierce warrior ready to head out to war. He seems like he can't wait to step onto the pitch."

Federico chuckled. "I'm sure he wishes to prove himself again during tonight's match. But the question is: Will he get some playing time today? Or has Coach Allegri decided to rest the young playmaker so as to use him in the Champions League game against Malmo on Tuesday? We can only wait before getting an answer to that question?"

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The game continued after the goal celebrations. And without any surprises, Juventus continued dominating proceedings by relying on their impressive tactical prowess. The Old Lady players relied on their incredible ball skills and fluid passing abilities to overpower the weaker Udinese side. And it wasn't long before they created another chance to score the second goal.

That time around, it was Claudio Marchisio who executed the magic. The experienced midfielder tore through Udinese's midfield by relying on a series of one-two exchanges with his teammates. His well-timed run through the middle afforded him some yards of space right before the edge of the box, and he pulled the trigger before any of the opposing defenders could close him down.

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Boom!

Claudio Marchisio's boot connected with the ball, and he unleashed a long-range effort towards Udinese's goal from just outside the box. His shooting technique was almost textbook perfect, and he easily beat the keeper with a curling shot into the top right corner. His hard work and quick thinking on the ball allowed him to score Juventus' second goal on the night during the 38th minute.

The game continued, and it soon became clear to all that Claudio's goal wouldn't be the last for the Old Lady that night. Nine minutes into the second half, Fernando Llorente struck again to compound Udinese's misery. He connected with a pinpoint cross from Patrice Evra to head home and score Juventus' third goal in the 54th minute.

He'd extended Juventus' lead to three goals with more than thirty minutes of regular playing time remaining on the clock. As a result, he almost couldn't contain his happiness as he raced off towards the sidelines to celebrate in front of the ever-vocal Juventus fans.

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Juventus FC 3 : Udinese Calcio 0

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Coach Allegri was all smiles as he followed the game from the sidelines. He was almost on cloud nine while witnessing his players wiping the floor with the Udinese side. He was under no pressure since he wasn't worried that his players would fail to hold on to the lead during the remaining thirty or so minutes of regular playing time.

"What is the plan for the final thirty minutes?" Maurizio Trombetta, the assistant coach in charge of the first team, asked from beside him. "Do we bring in a few substitutes and rest some starters like Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tévez? We need them fresh for the Champions League game on Tuesday."

Coach Allegri nodded on hearing his assistant's words. "We should indeed bring on a few substitutes. Tell Kingsley Coman, Simone Padoin, and álvaro Morata to start warming up. I need them on the pitch in ten minutes."

Coach Trombetta raised a brow. "What about Zachary?"

"What about him?" Coach Allegri fired back in response.

Coach Trombetta sighed and said, "He performed well during the previous game. He has also been exceptional during training over the previous two weeks. Shouldn't we reward all his hard work with a few minutes of playing time?"

Coach Trombetta shook his head while his eyes continued following the proceedings on the pitch. "We don't need Zachary in this match," he said with conviction. "The boy is just a nineteen-year-old player who's just starting to find his ground in the Serie A. We can't use him during every game as that will wear him out and make him prone to injuries."

"But..." Coach Trombetta tried to argue.

"No buts." Coach Allegri's tone was firm. "We have a long season ahead of us. We'll play matches in the Serie A, the Champions League, and the Coppa Italia. So, we've got to rest some of our crucial players when we can. For instance, I can't utilize Zachary in this game when we're already leading by three goals. That would be a waste of precious and rare human resources. It's better to keep him rested and start him on Tuesday against Malm?. Understood?"

"Yes, boss," Coach Trombetta said, nodding. "I understand."

"Good." Coach Trombetta nodded with a smile. "Go on and prepare the substitutes. I need them on the pitch in less than ten minutes."

"Understood," Coach Trombetta said before walking away and heading towards the substitute's bench.

Coach Allegri watched his colleague for a moment before sighing and returning his focus to the game. Of course, he had considered introducing Zachary as a substitute against Udinese that evening. But after recalling how the young playmaker was a specialist in European competitions, who even scored hattricks against several top clubs in the Europa League the previous season, Coach Allegri decided not to follow through with his initial intentions. He decided to leave the young Maestro on the bench so that he could be well rested and ready to start Juventus' Champions League game against Malm?.

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