Wara li ilbieraħ beda uffiċjalment il-pre-season ta’ Juventus għal dawk il-plejers li ma ħadux sehem fil-Euro jew fil-Copa America, ftit siegħat wara sar ukoll magħruf il-kalendarju tal-logħob tas-Serie A għall-istaġun 2021-22.
Naturalment, kif drajna f’dawn l-aħħar snin, kull staġun donnu sar sinonimu ma’ tibdiliet fir-regoli jew fil-format. Din is-sena kien imiss li l-ewwel u t-tieni rawnd tal-kampjonat ikunu asimetriċi jiġifieri differenti minn xulxin. Dan ifisser li jekk Juventus jilgħabu ma’ Tim A fl-ewwel ġurnata ma jistgħux jilgħabu kontra l-istess tim fl-ewwel ġurnata tat-tieni rawnd. It-tibdil fil-format ifisser ukoll li:
- L-ebda derby ma jista’ jintlagħab matul il-Ġimgħa meta jkun hemm ġurnata ta’ logħob li ma jsirx fi tmiem il-ġimgħa.
- L-ebda logħba bejn Juventus, Inter, Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Lazio u Roma ma jista’ jintlagħab matul il-Ġimgħa meta jkun hemm ġurnata ta’ logħob li ma jsirx fi tmiem il-ġimgħa.
- Iridu ikun hemm minimu ta’ 8 logħbiet bejn logħba u oħra kontra l-istess tim.
- Ma jistgħux jintlagħbu skontri diretti bejn timijiet li se jieħdu sehem fit-tazzi Ewropej wara logħba mill-Ewropa.
Naturalment kull bidla ġġib magħha diversi kontroversji. Personalment naħseb illi dan il-format fih il-vantaġġi u l-isvantaġġi bħal kollox u anki jekk kultant wieħed jissuspetta (u bir-raġun) illi ċertu tibdil isir b’intenzjoni, nemmen ukoll illi Juventus dejjem rebħu kontra kull kurrent u jistgħu jerġgħu jagħmlu dan jekk jemmnu!
Intant il-kalendarju komplut ta’ Juventus huwa dan:
- 22/08 Udinese – Juventus
- 29/08 Juvetus – Empoli
- 12/09 Napoli – Juventus
- 19/09 Juventus – Milan
- 22/09 Spezia – Juventus
- 26/09 Juventus – Sampdoria
- 03/10 Torino – Juventus
- 17/10 Roma – Juventus
- 24/10 Inter – Juventus
- 27/10 Juventus – Sassuolo
- 31/10 H. Verona – Juventus
- 07/11 Juventus – Fiorentina
- 21/11 Lazio – Juventus
- 28/11 Juventus – Atalanta
- 01/12 Salernitana – Juventus
- 05/12 Juventus – Genoa
- 12/12 Venezia – Juventus
- 19/12 Bologna – Juventus
- 22/12 Juventus – Cagliari
- 06/01 Juventus – Napoli
- 09/01 Roma – Juventus
- 16/01 Juventus – Udinese
- 23/01 Milan – Juventus
- 06/02 Juventus – H. Verona
- 13/02 Atalanta – Juventus
- 20/02 Juventus – Torino
- 27/02 Empoli – Juventus
- 06/03 Juventus – Spezia
- 13/03 Sampdoria – Juventus
- 20/03 Juventus – Salernitana
- 03/04 Juventus – Inter
- 10/04 Cagliari – Juventus
- 16/04 Juventus – Bologna
- 24/04 Sassuolo – Juventus
- 01/05 Juventus – Venezia
- 08/05 Genoa – Juventus
- 15/05 Juventus – Lazio
- 22/05 Fioretina – Juventus
Serie A 2021-22…fixtures with a difference
Yesterday was the first day of pre-season for the Juventus players who were not part of the Euro or the Copa America. However, it was also the day of the draws for the Serie A 2021-22 fixtures.
As has been the case in the past few years, every season brings with it a number of changes in the regulations or the format. This year was no different with what has been labelled as an asymmetrical format meaning that the fixtures of the first round will not reflect those of the second round. In simple words, if Juventus play against Team A on the first match day of the first round they will not play against the Team A in the first match day of the second round. The changes in format also state that:
- There will be no derby played in the mid-week match days.
- There will be no matches between Juventus, Inter, Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Lazio and Roma in the mid-week match days.
- There must be a minimum of 8 match days between one match and the other against any particular team.
- There will be no direct encounters between teams participating in European competitions on the match day following a European clash.
Obviously, every change brings with it a number of controversies. Personally, I believe that this new format has both its advantages and its disadvantages and even if one may suspect (and rightly so) that certain changes are made with clear intentions, I also believe that Juventus have always won against all opposing currents and may once again do so if they believe in it!
The fixtures for Juventus can be seen above.
