- El Rey León | Fernando Llorente #14

Batistuta: Osvaldo a bargain


Gabriel Batistuta believes Juventus have picked up a bargain in Dani Osvaldo, as he backs Fiorentina in the League and Europe.

Osvaldo completed a quick return to Serie A after six months in England with Southampton, with a deadline day move to the Old Lady on an initial loan deal.

For one of Serie A’s most distinguished former marksmen, the transfer is one that should serve Juve well.

“Did I expect him back in Serie A so soon? No, but if he has chosen this then it is because he wanted it,” mused Batistuta to TuttoMercatoWeb this week.

“Juve have picked up a bargain and Osvaldo knows Italy, and it is possible to do many things, but in the end, for me, it is the most difficult championship of all.

“I do not say the most beautiful, but the hardest, yes, believe me.

“Is it really the toughest? You cannot please everyone, abroad they tend to follow more the Premier League and La Liga, but the level of difficulty in Italy is a test of authority.

“Tactics have the upper hand, the teams in the field are more organised, their lines are stuck together and move so as to stop you from scoring.”

Batistuta cast his eye over Serie A and Juve’s current domination.

“There are so many games, but the impact of the Bianconeri on the League has been devastating.

“There is no doubt that they have the strongest team and they have not missed the chance to demonstrate this.

“And second and third are tied up? No, albeit with some distance to make up, everything seems to be in the balance.

“My Fiorentina have missed the chance to take advantage of Napoli’s slip-up, but the Viola are, however, having a great season.

“They have the chance of aiming for third place, the Coppa Italia and the Europa League.

“They need to avoid many more missteps like that against Cagliari. Those challenges matter, in some respects, more so than direct clashes.

“The Europa League? Napoli and Juventus have the means to get to the final, but watch for Fiorentina.

“This Cup is of great importance to La Viola, they will make every effort in the knockout stage and, if Fiorentina and Juventus both eliminate their Round of 32 opponents, they will do battle.”

Study: Llorente worth €37m


According to a Spanish study, Juventus free transfer Fernando Llorente is now worth €37m.

The striker arrived in July as a free agent after his contract with Athletic Bilbao had expired.

Despite a difficult start to life in Serie A, he has now flourished with nine goals in 19 Serie A games and two in five Champions League appearances.

Now Spanish site Futbol Finanzas has performed an evaluation of the player’s transfer value, putting a tag of €37m on the 28-year-old.

That would give a huge boost to Juve’s financial records when listing their assets.

Spanish players cannot do well in Serie A they said

10 goals in the league.12 goals in all Comps.

I predicted he would score 20 goals for us in all competitions,i say,i'm on track to get that right.

S wrote:10 goals in the league.12 goals in all Comps.

I predicted he would score 20 goals for us in all competitions,i say,i'm on track to get that right.

i would low ball that to 18 in all comps....

Lolo is a beast in EL got bilbao to the finals 2 years ago

elm_baraja_shaman wrote:

S wrote:10 goals in the league.12 goals in all Comps.

I predicted he would score 20 goals for us in all competitions,i say,i'm on track to get that right.

i would low ball that to 18 in all comps....

If we take EL seriously,i can see him go farther than 20 tbh.

There is a reason why we were rotating today, so I hope we would thrash trabz 5 or 7-0 in juve stadium...
Its frustrating to see us drawing against small teams in europe. Look at madtid, they won gala home and away with big scores too...

thinking Conte would take a game vs trabs seriously is a fantasy, watch him mix 3 starters with mehluso, mehdoin, giubinco and mehrari (mehgbonna (sometimes meh) and mehnucci)

Pretty sure he'll start with Tevez and Llorente in the midweek EL game.
I think Barzagli will be back and we'll probably see more of Ogbonna since Chiellini is recovering i suppose ?
I think Pogba will start too.I'd go with a Marchisio-Vidal-Pogba trident and give Pirlo a rest.

Hahahahaha then we will be mehventus
I hope he would play mehluso, padoin... vs torino rather than trabz

anyone wanna pick a bet, we'll be seeing about 5 of the Juve mehs in the lineup on Thursday vs Trabs?

I think its better we play a full-strength team in midweek,kill the tie off in the first leg and play scrubs in the return leg like he did with Celtic.That would be a wise move.
Hopefully he does this.

S wrote:I think its better we play a full-strength team in midweek,kill the tie off in the first leg and play scrubs in the return leg like he did with Celtic.That would be a wise move.
Hopefully he does this.

no way Conte would play his first team with an away Serie A game coming on the weekend....

elm_baraja_shaman wrote:

S wrote:I think its better we play a full-strength team in midweek,kill the tie off in the first leg and play scrubs in the return leg like he did with Celtic.That would be a wise move.
Hopefully he does this.

no way Conte would play his first team with an away Serie A game coming on the weekend....

We play Torino at home brah.

taht meh crap is getting boring

S wrote:

elm_baraja_shaman wrote:

S wrote:I think its better we play a full-strength team in midweek,kill the tie off in the first leg and play scrubs in the return leg like he did with Celtic.That would be a wise move.
Hopefully he does this.

no way Conte would play his first team with an away Serie A game coming on the weekend....

We play Torino at home brah.

sigh my bad....  

anyone know the time for the trabs game in US EST

@ elm... lol idk but I guess maybe 2-3pm lol

LOLrente may have been sloppy versus Chievo yet he still scored a goal and assist, rather typical of him to contribute even when he is Mehrente. Still being played like how Joan Cappaross plays him and it's rather shameful.

I don't know whether it is Conte's training regime (it is) but LOLRrentboy is looking quite gaunt as I hope he isn't being overworked-man of his stature cannot be played too much.

LolRentBoy ffs

Fernando Llorente praises Antonio Conte and Juventus, prepares for the Derby della Mole and forgives Tuttosport.

The Turin derby is on Sunday at the unusual time of 17.30 GMT, click here for a match preview.

He spoke to Tuttosport and forgave them for an early headline doubting his credentials for the club.

“I remember that huge headline in September: ‘Is Llorente only handsome and nothing else?’ I didn’t take it badly, as I immediately understood the spirit of the question.

“I wasn’t playing and people were wondering where I’d got too. Conte knew I needed a lot of physical work to reach the right form. He did an incredible job with me, able to wait for the perfect moment to let me play.”
Llorente is expected to start tomorrow’s big game and doesn’t fear the atmosphere.

“Believe me, I’ve already experienced some fiery derbies. I know how they work. With nine years at Athletic Bilbao I had many extraordinary clashes with Real Sociedad in the Basque Derby. There are also big social and political implications around the sporting rivalry too.

“I’d love to score in the derby, because I just love these passionate, long-awaited and different fixtures. They are special, so every goal in them is also special. I know how much the fans care.

“In a way, the ‘bull’ is in my destiny, as I always loved the bull-fights and would dress up as a matador when I was a kid.”

The tall Spaniard has formed an impressive partnership with Carlos Tevez, though explains their differences are what make them work.

“We are very different and perhaps that is also why we make such a good pair. He is more aggressive, moves more, is shorter and you can sense his hunger to score goals. We don’t hang out off the field, but between training and games I spend more time with Tevez than my own girlfriend!”

Juventus face Torino tomorrow, then visit Trabzonspor for the second leg of the Europa League Round of 32 on Thursday.

“We are using up a lot of energy at the moment, but it’ll be useful for the sprint finish in the long run. We mustn’t do something really stupid to throw away everything we’ve built so far,” continued Llorente.

“Fortunately I was prepared for Conte’s methods, as Marcelo Bielsa also worked his players very hard. Juve is an incredible opportunity for me, so I must prove who I am and what I’m worth. I want to prove I’m up to this task.

“Conte is such a great Coach. He brings with him the experience of a player, so he sees things before they happen in the game. He warns you in advance, so you’re on your toes. He lives football and passes on this gigantic energy and desire to win.

“I am curious to see what he was like as a player. I’ll have to look up clips on YouTube. Occasionally he’ll tell us an anecdote about when he was a player to help us understand the situation.

“In the locker room we’re like a single block of concrete, which is another key to our success. It’s pretty unusual in football to find such a united dressing room atmosphere. I share a room with Paul Pogba before games and he always makes me laugh, helping to overcome tension. He knows the potential he’s got and can win the Ballon d’Or one day.”

Check out my new Llorente vid:

Nice words from fernando, such a nice guy, really...

Spanish players can't do well in serie A.