Serie A Betting: Juve in trouble after Beckham's Milan win

Italian Football / Ben Lyttleton / 11 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

"Whatever the decision on Ferrara's future, Juventus are in trouble at the moment. They are out of the Champions League and only in third place on goal difference... "

After the clash of the rookie coaches ended in a resounding victory for Becks and co, the pressure is well and truly on Juventus' boss. Can he turn it around? Ben Lyttleton reports.

It's always dangerous to read too much into the first round of results after a winter break, as players, especially those who have travelled home to South America over the holiday period, often need time to rediscover their rhythm. That might be why the reaction to David Beckham's impressive AC Milan (second) debut was a bit muted after their 5-2 win over Genoa last Wednesday. Just wait, said the doubters, until Milan plays at Juventus on Sunday.

They needn't have worried. Milan's troubles from earlier in the season, when they won one of six leagues games, including a 4-0 loss to Inter, and were beaten at home to FC Zurich in the Champions League, are well and truly behind them now. They won 3-0, with Beckham once again starting wide right in a 4-3-3, and now Juventus's Ciro Ferrara is the coach with all the pressure on him. And his club are looking over their shoulders to see a chasing pack closing in on their third place.

It was billed as the clash of the rookie coaches, with Leonardo and Ferrara both in their first seasons. Neither has quite shown the ability of a Pep Guardiola or Laurent Blanc yet, and it seems that for Ferrara at least, time may be running out. In his defence, Juventus were missing a lot of players through injury for this game - including Vincenzo Iaquinta, Mauro Camoranesi, Gigi Buffon and David Trezeguet (with Momo Sissoko in Africa and Martin Caceres suspended) - while Milan only had five efforts on goal, of which four were on target, and three resulted in goals.

Ferrara had already upset the fans by leaving club icon Alex Del Piero on the bench, and changing his system once again to accommodate Diego in an unfamiliar position as second striker behind Amauri. When Del Piero did come on, with half an hour left, the formation switched to the more usual 4-2-3-1, but his only efforts were from two free-kicks, while the reborn Ronaldinho scored twice at the other end to seal the win. Those goals provoked chants from the home fans for Ferrara to quit.

"I'm not the type of guy to jump ship and I will try and turn this around," said Ferrara after the game, but the recent boardroom shake-up in Turin cannot have left him comfortable. After managing director Jean-Claude Blanc re-appointed former player Roberto Bettega as vice-director general of the club last month, he was forced to deny reports that Bettega had offered Guus Hiddink an €8m-per-year deal to take over. This weekend there were also reports that Flavio Briatore was being lined up for a shock place on the board.

Whatever the decision on Ferrara's future, Juventus are in trouble at the moment. They are out of the Champions League and only in third place on goal difference, after Napoli, unbeaten in 12, continued their fantastic run with a 1-0 over Sampdoria. Claudio Ranieri's Roma, unbeaten in nine, are only one point behind them after beating Chievo 1-0. Both sides represent a real threat to Juventus' place in the Champions League shake-up - and with their top-scorer David Trezeguet out for over a month with an ankle injury, it might not get better anytime soon.

Napoli are [4.9] to finish the season in third, with Roma [3.85] and Juventus still a short [1.47]. Fiorentina, only three points back, are [5.4].

Leonardo has publicly supported Ferrara, as well he might. "We were in a similar place to Juventus in October," he said, "and sometimes it just needs one little piece of luck to get things back on track." For the Brazilian, the win is a sure sign that his 4-3-3 system is working and his players are confident and comfortable with his attacking philosophy.

Milan are still eight points behind leaders Inter, which explains their [4.7] price for the title. But they face their rivals in a fortnight, with revenge for the 4-0 drubbing on their mind. Another win in that game and suddenly interest in Serie A will not just focus on the race for Champions League qualification.