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8th December:

The draw for the European Football Championship Group Stage has been drawn, and are as follows:

Group A:
Scotland
Holland
Serbia
Switzerland

Group B:
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Ukraine

Group C:
Belguim
France
Italy
Romania

Group D:
Wales
England
Germany
Slovakia

A very tough group for us with Spain and Portugal counted as one of the favourites for the tournament, plus we have a local derby of sorts with Russia. It might be a struggle to get through to the next round, but I will be happy if my team gives a good account of themselves

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11th December: Juventus v AC.Milan

Another tough game on paper see's us surprisingly dominate Milan. It did however take us till the 21st minute to get our first shot in but Walcott's effort just missed the post. Two minutes later Walcott was at it again as he again just missed the upright. On the 36th minute Palladino found the killer touch as he volleyed home from a Walcott cross to give us the lead. It got even better as on the stroke of half time we doubled our lead as Nilmar fired in from 18 yards.
The second half was much the same as we kept Milan's defence very busy. On the 65th minute though we lost striker Defoe after reciving a high tackle to the chest. I was furious that referee didn't even book the player for the tackle. The arse.
Milan did however manage to score as they fired in on the 88th minute but it was too little too late and we got the three points

Juventus 2 - 1 AC.Milan (Palladino 36, Nilmar 45)

Defoe's injury will see him out of action for between 1 and 2 months after fracturing a couple of ribs

16th December: I welcomed back Zebina after his leave of absence, I told him that he wouldn't be automatic choice to get back into the tema and that he will be spending some time in the reserves to get back match fitness. He told me that he fully understood and that he wanted to earn his shirt back

Other news see's the draw for the Champions League 1st Knockout Round, and it is as follows:

Lazio v Barcelona
FC.Schalke v Celtic
Club Brugge v Marseille
PSV v Benfica
Roma v Seville
Bayern Munich v Lyon
Nantes v Arsenal
Rosenborg v Juventus

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18th December: Udinese v Juventus

Another good start saw us go into the lead after only 11 minutes as Sturridge fired in from 20 yards, but despite the good start my players seemed to relax after the goal.
The second half was very very boring and there was nothing really to report

Udinese 0 - 1 Juventus (Sturridge 11)

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21st December: Juventus v Crotone

We were very quiet in the first half as we struggled with Crotones defensive game. It wasn't till the 18th minute that we came close to scoring as Nilmar broke clear of the defence but his effort was poor and Crotone escaped. On the 43rd minute we lost midfielder Adu to a knee injury.
The second half was more lively as we decided to push forward even more and on the 61st minute we came close as Nilmar again broke clear to see his effort rattle the crossbar. On the 76th minute we finally scored as Georges headed in from 6 yards. We killed the game in the last minute as Georges again showed our strikers how to score with a fine chip from 18 yards.

Juventus 2 - 0 Crotone (Georges 76, 90)

Our next injury see's Adu out for around two months with strained knee ligament. Thats yet another bloody injury plaguing my team

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Results;
4/12; Serie A - A - Torino 1-1 (Georges)
7/12: Champs League Group Stage - A - Partizan 4-2 (Walcott, Georges, Nilmar 2)
11/12: Serie A - A - AC.Milan 2-1 (Palladino, Nilmar)
18/12; Serie A - A - Udinese 1-0 (Sturridge)
21/12: Serie A - H - Crotone 2-0 (Georges 2)

Serie A: 3rd
Italian Cup; Knocked Out in 1st Rd
Italian Super Cup: Winners
Champs League; 1st Rd v Rosenborg

Top Scorers;
Defoe 7
Nilmar 6
Bojan, Walcott, Adu, Georges 5
Maroufi 4
Sturridge 3
OG 2
Ferdinand, Marchionni, Palladino 1


1st January 2012: I got a surprise call today from the Swedish FA asking whether I would like to take over the Swedish national team. I declined the offer and thanked them for there intrest but stated I wanted to take my Ukrainian team to the Euro 2012 finals and see what I could do with them

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8th January: Juventus v Siena

We played well and controlled alot of the game yet it was Siena who had the first effort as they rattled the upright after breaking clear of my defence. On the 18th minute we broke the deadlock as Palladino fired in from a tight angle with a shot that surprised the Siena keeper. At half time I had to replace Sturridge who was struggling with a dead leg,
The second half was a tighter affair as Siena closed ranks but on the 73rd minute we managed to double our lead as half time substitute Bojan slotted home from 6 yards to give us a good start to the new year

Juventus 2 - 0 Siena (Palladino 18, Bojan 73)

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15th January: Chievo v Juventus

We got off to the perfect start as after only a minute Sturridge had put us into the lead, it got even better as on the 13th minute we doubled our lead as Palladino headed in from short range. Chievo looked shell hocked as we continued to pile on the pressure and on the 27th minute we fired ourselves further in front as Sturridge added his second of the game. At half time I told my players to keep up the good work and to basically destroy Chievo and send a message of intenet to the rest of the league.
The seocnd half was just as good as we dominated all aspects of play and four minutes into the half Sturridge completed his hat trick. Just after the hour Chievo pulled a goal back but it was nothing more than a seconds blimp in concentration by my defence. On the 85th minute I brought off Sturridge and he got a standing ovation for his hat trick and the way he played throughout the match

Chievo 1 - 4 Juventus (Sturridge 1, 27, 49, Palladino 13)

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18th January; Juventus v Parma

We again controlled a quite poor Parma team, But despite our domination it took us till the 31st minute to get a shot off as Sturridge rattled the crossbar when it was easier to score.
The second half was only seven minutes old when Defoe fired us into the lead with a great volley from Georges cross. However Parma very enarly equalised straight away after a poor pass by Boumsong was intercepted, luckily for us Foster was awake enough to tip it round the post. On the 73rd minute we doubled our lead as Defoe fired in his second of the game

Juventus 2 - 0 Parma (Defoe 52, 73)

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22nd January: Sampdoria v Juventus

A very quiet game for us as we created very little in the way of forward play. Luckily for us Sampdoria were having an off day aswell. On the 16th minute we had to replace Defoe who had fallen badly and damaged his wrist. Also at half time we had to repace Foster who was suffering from a dead leg.
The second half was just as boring and the fans left dissappointed with such a poor game

Sampdoria 0 - 0 Juventus

Defoe's injury will see him out for around two months after x-rays showed a fracture. Luckily Foster's injury will see him miss training for only a couple of days

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27th January: The draw for the qualifying groups for the World Cup 2014 have taken place and my Ukranian team are in a tough group where we will face the current World Cup holders England, Poland, Bosnia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.