Juve’s response to the Ronaldo rape allegations was to call him ‘a great champion’ but the important thing is to judge on factsAs the Uefa Nations League weekender rolls on from Friday into Tuesday it is hard not to luxuriate a little in the glow of international football, to feel fuzzy and loved-up still from that sun-bleached World Cup. The Nations League has been criticised for its fiddly nature but whatever the background noise there is an undying grandeur to these games. Netherlands v Germany remains one of the great European retro-hate matches, and on Monday night Spain, still stung from the summer, still effortlessly talented, will host England in Andalusia.There is one significant absence from this spectacle. Cristiano Ronaldo...
The Ronaldo case is bringing out the worst aspects of football’s tribalism, with reactions driven by club loyalties over any consideration of the human beings involved Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal on Saturday. Not one that is likely to be remembered, among the almost 700 he has scored in his career, though the technique was exemplary. Running on to a Mario Mandzukic pass that was moving across his body 12 yards from goal, the Portuguese took the shot on first-time – drilling it into the bottom corner with his notionally weaker left foot.That strike sealed a 2-0 win over Udinese, and marked another dominant performance from a player who looks ever more comfortable in a Juventus shirt. Ronaldo dovetailed superbly...
The record signing rediscovered some old wing wizardry as the champions won 3-1 amid their best start to a season since 1930For a man who launched an app devoted to football tactics, Massimiliano Allegri does not always sound terribly fond of them. “We can talk for hours about schemes and organisation,” he told La Repubblica in 2014. “But games are won by players. If you have [Leo] Messi you almost start 2-0 up. It’s the same with [Cristiano] Ronaldo.”Little did he know the Portuguese would join him at Juventus. A lot can change in four years, but the victory they shared over Napoli on Saturday suggested Allegri’s assessment might be as valid as ever. Related: The farcical case of Virtus...
Inter began this season billed as the team most likely to deny Juve another Scudetto, but things already look gloomyCristiano Ronaldo’s first Serie A goal arrived right on schedule. Granted, it might not have felt that way to the Juventus supporters who had been waiting impatiently for this moment since July. But by opening his account in their fourth league game, with his 28th shot of the season, he was emulating precisely the start he made with Real Madrid in 2017-18.Nobody can truly have believed his ‘drought’ would go on forever, yet the relief at its ending was evident even in Ronaldo’s performance. His first goal was a tap-in: described by Tuttosport as “pushed into an empty net from 30cm...
Juventus had a tough baptism in Europe’s elite competition this week but with more interest than ever in women’s football, Uefa must seize the initiative to ensure it continues to growWednesday was a historic occasion for Juventus Women. Everyone knows the men’s team have been synonymous with success in Europe over the years and that’s certainly what the women are trying to build as well after we began our Champions League campaign with a 2-2 draw against the Danish champions, Brondby.This is the first time Juventus have been in this competition and we are not seeded, so that meant we could have been drawn against anyone including the reigning champions, Lyon, or Wolfsburg, . At this stage you want to...