Shipped from abroad, Italy: When Juve-derived confusion buries third-place’s lead

The last time Juventus made out like world beaters, I sang their praises, noting a four-goal win over Roma was the type of performance we’d been waiting for – the type of performance that would overshadow all the misgivings that’d formed during a very vincible season of being Invincibles.

Then came their mid-week win over Cesena – where the Old Lady needed a late goal from Marco Boriello to claim all three points from a relegation-embattled side – and I completely regressed, indulging in all the hyperbole you’d expect from somebody violently flopping from one side of the fence to the other.

With that pattern you’d expect another pendulum-esque swing following Juventus’s 4-0 Sunday thrashing of Novara, but no. I guess I’m finally starting to learn. After Boriello and Arturo Vidal complemented a Mirko Vucinic double, I’ve finally stopped trying to describe Juventus as anything but undefeated and on course to claim Serie A.

Before, when they were clawing their way to draws and 1-0s, I wanted Juventus to be a paper tiger. Juventus is more resourceful than good, I could write. I know that story.

When they posted dominant victories, I could write about how Juventus was growing into the title. Now, as we enter the season’s final match days, the Old Lady is playing the part their record dictates. They were a sleeping giant all along, that story goes.

It’s all so lazy. Instead of watching Juventus and writing what I saw, I took in the performances and asked “which archetype does this fit?”

Which of the X number of team-types in my mind does Juventus conform to? I decide which one, write some variation on that theme, and hope the next week I seem prescient.

This year, that way of going about things has failed me time and time again. This year’s Juve isn’t a type to be categorized with all the teams that’ve come before. They’re a team to be taken in and appreciated on their own merits. They are their own side.

Whereas I’d previously (if implicitly) bemoaned the squad’s inconsistency, now I see them as capable of both greatness and resourcefulness. If I’d previously wondered if they truly were Italy’s best, now I absorb Juve’s performances independent of anything Milan’s done.

After Sunday’s win, Juventus has finally carved out their own, distinct place in my mind. I’m not comparing them to any pre-constructed types. I’m not wondering if they meet whatever standard I’d created for a league champion or undefeated team.

Juve just are, and and with three matches left in the season, they’re still undefeated, still three points clear of the rest of the league.

Elsewhere in Italy

Stuff that stuck out:

• All of a sudden, Serie A’s gotten amazing. There’s a four-way tie for the last Champions League spot.
• The first tiebreaker is points amongst tied teams. Napoli has 11 points from games among the four teams, three better than Udinese.
• The run-ins for each team:
  • Napoli: Palermo, at Bologna, Siena
  • Udinese: at Cesena, Genoa, Catania
  • Inter Milan: at Parma, Milan, at Lazio
  • Lazio: Siena, at Atalanta, Inter Milan
• Neither of Roma’s clubs have won over the last three match days. Lazio’s four-match winless run as seen them fall from third to sixth. Is the streak a factor in Lazio freezing out the press after their weekend loss, a purported protest over Udinese’s second goal (they claim should have been disallowed after whistles were heard on the pitch)?
• With two goals on Sunday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is up to 26 for the year, four ahead of Edinson Cavani for Serie A’s capocannonieri. However, he is also on pace to finish on a non-first place team for the first time since his 2002-03 season with Ajax.
• But the real story from Milan’s match: The full return of Antonio Cassano. The Milan forward posted a goal and two assists.

Up next: Mid-week action sees two Tuesday matches (including Napoli’s hosting of Palermo) ahead of both title contenders taking the field on Wednesday. If Milan loses and Juve wins, the title goes to Turin.