Well if that won't bring PPV back in a hurry, what will? You're a brave man sixmartletsandaseagull.

Welcome though.

Thanks Nil a fhios agam. I look forward to the return of PPV? (who is he/she) I think!!

A brave man indeed. I don't think we've had an admitted Juventino since voorhees threw Moggi under the bus.

PPV (short for Pietro Paolo Virdis) is an old board fixture who has drastically cut back his posting in recent months, but hates Juve even more than he loves Milan (and he loves Milan a lot more than is healthy for anyone).

I live in Milan and have Inter season tickets, but still support Fiorentina. Spangles lives in Rome and bleeds giallorosso.

Anyway, welcome again. Yer man Del Piero seems to have found the fountain of youth.

Juve????

typical southerner.

is it too late to withdraw my earlier, foolishly hasty welcome? ;-)

provincia di Potenza, eh, I have friends from Cerignola (or Cerignò as they will insist on calling it) which must be not too far from you. you're in the basilicata there, though, am I right?

Anyway as Ursus says, only La Maggica for me. I have a season ticket in the Sud and a nascent command of romanaccio.

Thanks ursus arctos

During one visit to see family in Turin in the 70s we went to watch Juve train, and after, I missed out on Bettega's autograph as I was pursuing Virdis, so I hope PPV shows some mercy. I didn't get Virdis's either.

In those days in Italy you could buy small, individual chews which had a footballer's image on the wrapper. I remember being very taken by Virdis's image that summer.

I think his tache must have reminded me of my dad's, as to choose Virdis over Bettega was sheer folly, of course; for anyone let alone a Juventino. I probably should not have said that.

It is quite moving to see Del Piero return as a major force in Serie A this season, though he has had a few anonymous days, too.

SpanglyPrincess:

Far too late to take your warm welcome away.

I spent a couple on months in 1999 in Rome and went to watch Roma on 3 occasions with some Roma friends and I like Roma, too.

Though a very big Juve man I am not too visceral about Italian football, unlike English football, which eats me up by all sorts of bitterness, angst, jealousies and joys, too.

The only teams in Italy I dislike and do not cheer in European games are Inter and Lazio.

Yes, the village/small town as it is becoming, is full of Juve, Milan and Inter fans, and a smattering of Napoli and Roma fans.

The mythical Milino's bar was again rammed with Juve and Milan fans for his great pizza and ice cream, typically average Italian lager and big screen on Saturday night.

There used to be a Club Gaetano Scirea in the village in the 70s and 80s I remember but that went 10 years or so ago.

Of course Turin and Juve owe a great deal to the blood, sweat and tears of southeners

There are too many family, personal and cultural reasons and links to Turin for me not have favoured Juve here since the mid 70s to go into now, but the choice was essentially made for me.

Cerignola is pretty near. We are in the Basilicata halfway down the Potenza to Foggia railway line and Cerignola is in the province of Foggia if I am not mistaken. We are a 1.15 hrs train trip from Foggia.

6marlets, have you seen this morning's Corriere dello Sport?

The headline is about Juve grounding their campaign in next year's Champions League on Amauri and . . .

Harry Kewell.

Ranieri has done wonders with Sissoko, but if he manages to turn Kewell into a world beater he should be working at Lourdes or Fatima instead of the Nuovo Olimpico.

Like any good Viola, I hate Juve with a passion, but genuinely welcome the arrival of someone with your perspective.

Ursus arctos, I haven't seen the papers this morning, though not the CDS for me, I only read that bastion of wisdom and objectivity, Tuttosport!

Sissoko has been an absolute revelation and appears to have gained cult-like status in a very short time. Immense.

Amauri would be very welcome. I know Trezeguet has scored tonnes of goals for Juve, and we should be very very grateful, but he does my head in and I have long awaited his departure. I wanted to keep Kovacevic instead of him back in the day.

The reaction of Trezeguet, and was that his mum!? to his substitution on Saturday made me furious. He does one thing, a missed header from 3 yards out and is annoyed that he is taken off after 70 mins or so! It would make Juve a far more attractive team if he was replaced by Amauri for example.

Kewell, I can only imagine is the Milanese press's idea of wishful thinking. Though Kewell the player saddens me because I thought he was brilliant at Leeds.

I hope his wife's commitment to Emmerdale (I am assuming she is still in it) keeps him away, though Nedved will sadly need resting more out left, soon.

Yes, Fiorentina has it in for us, too, of course, as does everyone. We bear it with good grace, a heavy, sad sigh and the odd rescue act for people like The Great Baggio just to show there are no hard feelings!

I think the CDS is a Roman paper, getting it mixed up with the Corriere della Sera perhaps. A Roman plot it seems then? Not that one sees conspiracies everywhere, of course.

I am risking quite some brickbats here, but although I wouldn't base a Champions League campaign around signing Kewell, I could see him being a reasonable bet in Serie A, depending on how Ranieri intended to use him. The pace in the PL is his real problem now and his days as a flying winger are gone, but his technique would be more suited to the game in Italy.

Even his knackered limbs might respond better to the improved climate of, er, Turin.

His wife left Emmerdale some years ago, I can reveal.

I am sad, she was very good in Emmerdale. I did visit the real "Woolpack" in Escholt many years ago after a Bradford-Brighton game.

I haven't seen Kewell play for a while in truth, on the few occasions I have seen Liverpool this season he hasn't played I don't think. Is he fit? I will have to wait until the CL final to see him again this season no doubt.

After Sissoko, maybe it is a case of "In Claudio we Trust" or "Claudio knows" or something along those lines. Possibly, after the treatment of Deschamps last summer it will be thanks Claudio and hello again Marcello!

The village and those around run an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, so perhaps I could give thanks to Claudio next summer.

I think Juve are just relieved to be "almost" in the CL next season again. I am sure Juve has been missed by all.

Italian clubs are in need of greater physicality to compete at the top table. It's hard to think how a malingering antipodean constructed entirely from porcelain can meet this need.

This week's matches. Score predictions for the two in bold, please.

Parma - Napoli (Sun 15h00)
Atalanta - Juventus (Sun 15h00)
Sampdoria - Udinese (Sun 15h00)
Siena - Genoa (Sun 15h00)
Torino - Inter (Sun 20h30)

Apologies for our tardiness with updating the table. We will put one up over the weekend.

Parma - Napoli X (1-1)
Atalanta - Juventus 2
Sampdoria - Udinese X
Siena - Genoa 2
Torino - Inter 2 (0-2)