Pavel Nedvěd

Nedvěd pens Juve contract

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:35:43 GMT

Another contract saga has ended at Juventus with official news Pavel Nedved has signed on until 2009.

“My decision was based on the seven extraordinary years here and my desire to again experience a European campaign with a team I am deeply tied to,” said the 2003 Ballon d’Or winner.

There were fears the Czech legend would be leaving Turin at the end of this season after renegotiations hit several stumbling blocks.

He would have been a free agent in the summer with interest from Japan or even possible retirement, but he put pen to paper on a new contract tying him to Juve until June 20, 2009.

However, this evening general manager Jean Claude Blanc made the announcement at the end of the training session.

“This is the best way to begin our plan to strengthen the squad next season,” said Blanc.

News from Channel 4 - similar articles are also at Pavel's Official Site and Juventus.com, which means that this is actually A FACT!!!

I am happier than words could ever express!

News from Channel 4

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:38:21 GMT

NEDVED GETS NEW DEAL

Juventus veteran Pavel Nedved is close to signing a new deal with the Turin giants according to reports in Italy.

The midfielder's agent Mino Raiola has reportedly met with the Bianconeri directors at Corso Galileo Ferraris to iron out a one-year extension to his current deal.

The new arrangement would keep the Czech legend at Juventus until June 2009, earning £2.8m for his services next season.

Nedved, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or in 2003, had been expected to retire after a couple of frustrating seasons in Italy.

The former Lazio star has been with La Vecchia Signora since 2001, making 208 appearances and winning, amongst other things, two Scudetti and the Serie B crown.

Juventus have been eager to tie down their veteran stars in recent months, also lengthening the contracts of both Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.

The Bianconeri have also been boosted by the return from injury of Momo Sissoko, Giorgio Chiellini and Jonathan Zebina ahead of this week's match with Nedved's former employers Lazio.

Copied from Channel 4

Picture of the day #11

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:00:53 GMT

This is one of my favorite Pavel pictures ever. I mean - how cute is he here?

Picspam

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:33:58 GMT

I've been a hopeless mod lately, and haven't updated this community for ages and ages. I'm very sorry about the lack of updates. I'll try to fix that now, though, and try to update at least sort of regularly from now on.

So, I guess we are in need of a little picspam? Therefore, I decided to repost something I did at my journal recently. So, those of you who are on my flist will have seen this before, but I hope there will be new stuff in here for everyone else.

Enjoy!

One of the cutest Pavel pics I've ever seen. Irresistible, really.
♥

Nicked from Milan Baroš' official site. This pic at least takes away attention from Milan himself.

The Hug - a little "intimate" moment with Ale...

Looking focused, and wearing a shirt that still has our Scudetto on it.

His expression is just so lovely...

Young Pavel, with short hair. It's almost impossible to recognize him here. But if you look closely, there should be something familiar about the cheekbones and the beautiful blue eyes.

Different variation of my favorite pic of him. I mean - he is already too beautiful for words...
...and then there are pics of him shirtless.

Sorry Pavel, but you just shouldn't hide your pretty hair under that hat. I adore the scarf, though...and his innocent expression.

Nicked from juve1897, by the way.

I miss seeing him in the National Team...

Looking cute with Camo. Hey, Camo - what's wrong with you? If Pavel had given me that look, I would have melted right away. You, on the other hand, don't seem to react at all.

Now, this is a more sensible reaction!

Stolen from pinaki_07 in m_camoranesi.

From the summer training in 2007. Of course, for the watch-collector, the wrist watch has to agree with the shirt.

OMG! EYES! AND SUIT! AND THE TOTAL HOTNESS!

Picture of the Day #10

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:48:00 GMT

More pics at juve1897. Please join!

Picture of the Day #9

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:41:32 GMT

My first post. *knock knock*
Just look at that pretty locks.;)

Pavel's birthday

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:11:43 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAVEL!!!

Well - not that he'll ever read this, but in my fangirl-mind, it doesn't matter. The important thing is just that we should have a birthday post for him here. And of course, it doesn't hurt that the picture above is one of the cutest ones of him ever. Honestly - that pic made me squee like mad...

How cute can he get?!

Oh, and if you want to send him your greetings, too, you can do so here, just so you know.

By the way, there is a special with him on Juventus Channel today, so if any of you have access to it, it would be very nice if you could record it and share it with us here...but it's probably just one of my insane dreams that anyone here would have access to Juve Channel?

Picture of the day #8

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:02:22 GMT

I just came across this picture in my Pavel pictures folder, and I thought it might be interesting for you, too. I always think it feels kind of strange to look at "old" pictures of him, because he looked so different back then. I would say he is one of those people who actually looks a thousand times better now than he did ten years ago...

Pavel's interview

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:19:11 GMT

So, there is a new interview at Pavel's website. If anyone here can actually read Czech, it might be better and more interesting for you to read the interview there. But for everyone else - this is my attempt at a translation. A warning first, though - my Czech is not that great, so I may not have everything down totally right. I hope I have at least the main point of things, though.

Also, I hope you'll enjoy!

Pavel, how valuable was the Serie B title, when compared to winning the scudetto?
I think it was very valuable. Of course, we don't have such a strong team as we had last year, but we showed good character.

How did you celebrate the goodbye with Serie B?
I can say that we almost didn't celebrate at all. Promotion was just compulsory for us.

Which positive and negative moments or experiences do you remember from this season?
The positive was the decent level of the teams in Serie B. The negative was that bad stadiums and bad quality of some fields.

The squad of the Old Lady changed very much before this season. Many stars left the club, and were replaced by less famous (less sharp?) players. How did the cooperation between the younger and the more experienced players work?
Perfectly. This is actually the main reason for our success.

Everyone who saw you play in the Serie B knows that you played with the same ferocity as always. You did not have any problems with the motivation while playing in the second league?
Football is still always football. Without motivation one cannot play, and I especially don't like losing. (??? I think this is what he says, but I'm not 100% sure).

Did Juventus change much compared to last year?
It's an entirely different team than it was last year. We were one of the best teams in Europe, but unfortunately, we're not anymore.

There are a lot of speculation about the new signings for the next season. Could you name someone you would have liked to see playing in the Juve shirt?
I don't want to say any names. Everything depends on the financial capacity of Juventus. We'll see who they can get, according to that (??? something like this, at least)

How do you adapt to playing at the highest level again?
Actually, it won't be easy. Serie A is a quality league. We'll see how we'll be able to cope with it.

What are your ambitions for the next season? As in, how fast and how much will Juventus be able to compete?
I don't know. That is something that will have to wait, and we'll see. At the present time, we'd be at the middle of the table.

(After this, there is one question I don't understand. I'm sorry.)

How do you plan to spend your holidays?
Like always...At home for some time, and then at the sea.

Okay - I just love him.
Do you agree with me?

Picture of the day #7

Wed, 30 May 2007 16:25:49 GMT

So, I've been bad at updating the picture of the "day" for a while now, so I should try to fix that. But more importantly, I can tell you that Juve has now secured the Serie B title, even with two games left to play. Of course, this also means we'll see them in Serie A again next year, so it's great news!

If only Pavel decides to play on for one more year, we might get to see him play more often than we did this year!

That's the important news, in very few sentences :)

As for the picture of today, it's apparently from the presentation of some sportswear last year. Enjoy!

Sat, 12 May 2007 18:39:12 GMT

Hello everyone, I'm new to this community and this is my first post.
It's a little tribute to two of my favorite players and the way they seem to flirt so much :P

zimena
this is for you :)

More under the cut!

This is adorable :D

what are you doing exactly boys?

with Tacchi... good times...

the boys in action together

any idea of where the boys were?

Some hugs between our boys :

Give them some privacy Zambro...

Cough... again... and even you Mauro!

Is something the matter Fra?

Someone seems very jealous with all this manhandle

Smile for the camera boys...

Celebrating after a goal against Milan

And finally... this photo is absolutely gorgeous

Picture of the day #6

Thu, 03 May 2007 15:22:07 GMT

Do you even recognize him here?

I must admit that I don't...not if I didn't know it was him. There's something about that smile, though. But I still think he is about a million times more gorgeous now.

Picture of the day #5

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 09:16:07 GMT

As you may have heard already, Juve won 3:1 against Genoa yesterday! That's great, right? Even more great is the fact that Pavel scored the first goal! I also found a videoclip of the goal at Youtube, in case you're interested in that!

But, this was supposed to be a "Picture of the day" post, so of course I have to give you a picture from yesterday's game. Hope you'll like it!

Picture of the day #4

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 14:32:57 GMT

I've had a little break with posting pictures of the day. Sorry about that. I guess I should do something about that now, though.

In fact, I don't know much about this picture at all. I just found it somewhere on the net. I suppose it's not quite new, because Pavel doesn't look exactly like this anymore. But I think it's still a lovely picture.

easter time.

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 00:52:10 GMT

Hi :* I wanna wish everyone Happy Easter! ^-^ Special wishes for our dearest mod, zimena *hugs*.
Oh, and I have for you special picspam. Easter is a time of joy, happiness and spending time with family...

Pavlik&Pavel

Ivanka&Pavel

Ivana&Pavel

the Nedvěds

Bonus:
Ivanka&Pavlik

Man in Black

Close-ups

Hope you'll like it^^.

Picture of the day #3

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:00:03 GMT

Just another picture. To be honest, I wanted to post this one already yesterday, because I found that and the one from yesterday almost at the same time, and I couldn't make up my mind about which one to post first. But I guess it's nice to post the sweet and innocent one first.

This one is not quite that innocent - even if he is supposed to be modeling for Steilmann clothes. Well, perhaps that's just me and my dirty mind, but I think the way he is posing here makes him look everything BUT innocent. And I love that very much.

Picture of the day #2

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:36:03 GMT

Just another, beautiful picture. This is apparently from some Chinese magazine, but I don't know much about the picture other than that. Either way, Pavel looks very cute - sweet, innocent and lovely.

Don't you agree? I hope so!

Icons

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:56:53 GMT

I just made some icons. So, hope you'll enjoy, even though it's not many.

There is some Czech/Italian text on some of them, so I'll give you the translations, just for fun.

"Princ mých snů" - "Prince of my dreams"
"Vždy s úsměvem" - "Always with a smile"
"Juve nel cuore" - "Juve in the heart" (I think this should be correct?)

So - the icons are:

[4] Pavel Nedvěd
[1] Juventus

001

002

003

004

005

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Feel free to take them if you like them, but please credit to zimena. Okay?

Picture of the day #1

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:07:11 GMT

If you look at the topic of this post, you might already have realized that I wanted to try something new. Even though I cannot promise to update the community with a new Pavel-pic every day, I'll try to do it at least quite often. Also, if you have pictures to share, that would be great, too!

Just to make it easier to find these posts, I'm creating a separate tag called "potd" (yes, an acronym for "picture of the day", because the phrase itself is too long to be convenient as a tag name). That way, you can always find the latest post of this kind. If you want to post a picture of the day, it's nice if you number the post, too - like I did in the topic of this one. That way, we'll always know how many POTD-posts we have.

So - have fun, and please don't hesitate to post pictures if you have some!

Good-looking, isn't he?!

Pavel's press conference

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 13:43:47 GMT

It seems I have been quite bad at updating this community with news lately. I'm sorry about that, but I hope you have been keeping up with the latest Juve and Pavel news anyway? If not, I can tell you that the Serie B table is still a pleasant read for us, because Juve are still on top, after winning their last game 1:0 against Treviso last tuesday. The next game will be against Triestina tomorrow, on March 19th at 9pm Italian time.

As for something more interesting - yesterday, there was a press conference with Pavel! A few hours after the press conference, an article appeared on juventus.com, and I'm just going to repost the article here, since it's so full of lovely quotes and everything.

Nedved: "a great job done"

A particular week that ends in a particular way. After the midweek success against Treviso, and the Board of Directors decision, this is a weekend of working, to prepare for the match with Triestina on Monday evening. After the morning training, Pavel Nedved was in the spotlight. He has been the protagonist of the press conference at Juventus Center. A long talk to define the season's situation, starting just from the capital increase.

He said: "it has been an essential sign, made by persons who demonstrated they care about Juventus. We were happy about the announcement, and at the end there was a nice and spontaneous run of applause. The aim doesn't change for us, the players; we must keep working with the heads down, to be back straightaway in Serie A. What happen later, we'll see at the end of the season. About my mates? Everyone thinks with his own brain, but I think that it's not right to require them to speak. They should think about being concentrated on the pitch, and I also think they're tired of discussing news about the market the all time".

Pavel speaks for his own. As always. He knows what he wants: "every year, I take stock after the championship, and I look for the pros and cons. Untill now the positive things have been the prevalent, the wish to play and the motivation to do better. I still have one year of contract, and I want to do everything and try to comply with it. It's a pleasure to hear that I am considered as an example, even more if who says so is a trainer. I'm the oldest in the group, and I feel bound to help the younger and show them the right way to reach their aims. On the pitch, I try to have fun, but this is not always possible. I like to play in a more central position, but it's not easy to find spaces against the closed defences , and for this reason the coach asks me to keep out".

This is an always fervent Nedved. Above all, this is a Nedved with a clear mind about Juventus and the championship. "Until now we' ve done a great job; without the penalization, Serie B would already been ended. We still haven't conquered anything, and there's still a lot to do. We have to think about improving our performances, win and have fun. I was critical after the 4-0 with Piacenza, but I thought positive because we can always improve. In Serie B, it is more difficult to show off; we did it in some matches, but it was impossible in others, even because against us, the other teams do their best. And then, it's not possible to be always at the top, it's normal to have a weakening moment during such a long tournament. We just have to think that every challenge is crucial".

Also - this picture is very adorable - or at least I think so. Do you agree ;-)

Czech Footballer of the year - Results

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:26:03 GMT

So, I posted a list of candidates for the Czech Footballer of the year award a little while ago. Now, we also know the results. Let's see:

1. Tomáš Rosický (Arsenal) 1282 points
2. Petr Čech (Chelsea) 1204 points
3. PAVEL NEDVĚD (Juventus) 902 points
4. Tomáš Ujfaluši (Fiorentina) 666 points
5. Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan) 485 points
6. Jan Koller (Monaco) 345 points
7. Jan Polák (Nürnberg) 245 points
8. David Rozehnal (Paris St. Germain) 188 points
9. Zdeněk Grygera (Ajax Amsterdam) 177 points
10. Marek Kulič (FK Mladá Boleslav) 116 points

So - Pavel was third, just like in 2005. I also believe it's the third time that Tomáš Rosický wins this award. As far as I understand, players and coaches vote for who should receive this award. There may be others who vote, too, though - I'm not entirely sure how the procedure works. However, I found out how Pavel voted from his Official website, so you can check if you agree with him:

This is how Pavel voted:

1. Petr Čech
2. Marek Jankulovski
3. Tomáš Rosický
4. Tomáš Ujfaluši
5. Jan Koller
6. Jaroslav Plašil
7. David Rozehnal
8. Zdeněk Grygera
9. Karel Poborský
10. Radoslav Kováč

Also, another little, interesting fact is that as far as I understand, a total of seven people had Pavel in first place on their list. Among them were at least Marek Jankulovski, Tomáš Ujfaluši and Vladimír Šmicer, and also some coach named Zdeněk Ščasný - I don't know who he is, unfortunately.

Czech Footballer of the Year

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:44:57 GMT

On February 5th, 2007, the winner of the Czech Footballer of the Year award will be announced. Just for your information, the 10 candidates for the award are:

Petr Čech (Chelsea)
Zdeněk Grygera (Ajax)
Marek Jankulovski (AC Milán)
Jan Koller (Monako)
Marek Kulič (Ml. Boleslav)
PAVEL NEDVĚD (Juventus)
Jan Polák (Norimberk)
Tomáš Rosický (Arsenal)
David Rozehnal (Paris SG)
Tomáš Ujfaluši (Fiorentina)

(Names in alphabetical order by last name).

Pavel already won this award 5 times, last time in 2004.

Spezia - Juventus 1:1

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:21:24 GMT

So - yesterday's Juve game ended in a draw. There were apparently no livestreams of the game, so I had no chance to watch it. But I can tell you that I was mighty nervous for most of it - at least after Spezia took the lead 1:0. According to the live match report at juventus.com, Juve were playing well, but they just didn't score. There were many chances, but no goals...I suppose I had even given up a bit when Pavel scored in the 93rd minute. Needless to say, that goal totally made my day.

There is also a nice, little article about it from juventus.com.

Nedved the saviour

Down to ten men and with a matter of seconds left on the clock, Pavel Nedved became the hero for the second week running, snatching a point out of the jaws of defeat with a well-taken goal in injury time: “It was a great goal, and an important one as well, as it allowed us to go home undefeated. We’re obviously happy with that. They caused us all sorts of problems and perhaps they deserved to get something more out of the game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy on a pitch like this but that’s no excuse. We didn’t play well today but we’ll take the result just the same”.

Also, there is a detailed match report from juventus.com, too.

Spezia - Juventus 1:1

The Bianconeri travelled to La Spezia in search of their third straight championship win and the albeit symbolic crown of ‘winter champions’. Deschamps made just one change to the side which dispatched Bari in the previous round, welcoming back Buffon between the sticks in place of Mirante.

Spezia made an energetic start to the game, chasing down every ball and denying Juventus space in the final third. Zanetti registered the away side’s first effort on goal, blazing an ambitious volley wide of Santoni’s right post in the 4th minute from thirty yards out. The Bianconeri hovered menacingly but it was the Ligurians who threatened first, Guidetti losing his marker in the box on the quarter hour mark and forcing Giannichedda into a last-ditch sliding tackle as he prepared to pull the trigger. Juventus reacted well and began to impose themselves on the game, Birindelli serving up Trezeguet with a swerving cross on 18 minutes; the Frenchman rose highest but couldn’t direct his header either side of Santoni. A Nedved cross in the 29th minute saw Del Piero head inches wide at the far post but Spezia were organised and determined at the back, cheered on by the enthusiastic home crowd. Paro came close in the 37th minute, his powerful effort deflected over the bar by the Spezia defender, but Juventus were unable to carve out any clear cut chances. As the Bianconeri grew frustrated, the home side found their feet, taking the lead on 39 minutes with a textbook goal; Do Prado found the head of Confalone with an inch-perfect cross and the midfielder made no mistake, powering his effort past Buffon from near the penalty spot (0-1). Buffon came out on top of a one-on-one with Guidetti minutes later, keeping the visitors in the game as they prepared for an earful from Deschamps at the break.

Santoni pulled-off a marvellous reflex save to deny Trezeguet on the volley four minutes into the second half; the Frenchman tried his luck on the rebound but his effort was blocked once more. Spezia retaliated with a clever piece of play, opening up the Juventus defence on 52 minutes and forcing Buffon into a fine double save, first from Confalone, then Guidetti. Do Prado picked up an injury shortly after being booked and was replaced by Baù in the 57th minute, the substitute blazing a wayward shot wide of the goal with his first touch. Nedved looked to inject some energy and invention into the Juve attack but the visitors’ link-up play lacked cohesion in the final third. The game grew in tempo and the Bianconeri’s perseverance began to pay dividends as they ground down the home defence. Piccolo headed just over in the 61st minute, latching onto a deep Birindelli free-kick, and moments later Camoranesi had a golden chance to level the scores; the midfielder shed his marker and raced into the penalty area but couldn’t direct his effort past the unflappable Santoni. Padoin replaced Guidetti as Spezia began to retreat but Juventus kept on coming, Nedved and Balzaretti trying their luck as the game entered its final third. Palladino added some pace in attack, taking the field in place of Paro but the Bianconeri’s next substitution was a forced one, De Ceglie entering the fray in place of the injured Birindelli in the 78th minute. The game took an unexpected turn seconds later with Giannichedda sent-off for a second bookable offence. Ten man Juve did well to keep their momentum but their efforts to find an equaliser left them exposed at the back. It took another great save from Buffon to deny Confalone on 84 minutes, and he repeated the trick as the game entered time added on, denying Baù at the near post. Deschamps made his last throw of the dice right at the death, sending on Marchionni in place of Camoranesi, but Juventus looked doomed to their second defeat of the season. But with seconds left on the clock, Nedved did the unthinkable, equalising in dramatic style with a right-footed piledriver from the edge of the box.
The heroic Santoni dived to his left but it wasn’t enough, ten man Juventus had salvaged a point out of the jaws of defeat (1-1).

GOALS: Confalone 39’, Nedved 90+3’

BOOKED: 32' Confalone, 54' Do Prado, 56' Birindelli, 60' Gorzegno, 69' Paro, 70' and 79' Giannichedda
SENT OFF: 79' Giannichedda

SPEZIA: Santoni; Nicola, Giuliano, Addona, Gorzegno; Saverino, Guidetti (Padoin 71’), Confalone, Frara, Do Prado (Caù 57’); Varricchio
Subs: Rotoli, Grieco, Rossi, Ponzo, Alessi
Coach: Soda

JUVENTUS: Buffon; Birindelli (De Ceglie 78’), Piccolo, Giannichedda, Balzaretti; Camoranesi (Marchionni 90+1’), Zanetti, Paro (Palladino 70’), Nedved; Trezeguet, Del Piero
Subs: Mirante, Legrottaglie, Marchisio, Bojinov
Coach: Deschamps

Referee: Rocchi (Florence)
Assistants: Alvino-Angrisani

Nedved fronts Sant’Anna project

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 17:04:52 GMT

This is a lovely article from juventus.com.

Nedved fronts Sant’Anna project

The “Crescere Insieme al Sant’Anna” project (dedicated to the renovation of the maternity ward at Turin’s Sant’Anna hospital) has a new face and a renewed commitment from Juventus. Pavel Nedved has lent his face to the initiative, launched in 2004 and embraced by the current management, and alongside chairman Cobolli Gigli, he took part in a press conference this morning in which the new objectives were outlined and the first investment – 250 thousand Euros for the creation of five new intensive care installations – was announced. At the meeting were Doctors Maria Sanducci and Marinella D’Innocenzo (chairwoman and vice-chairwoman of the foundation), who explained the importance of the maternity ward to which the project is dedicated, and thanked Juventus for its hard work and support.

“It was only right that Juventus continue supporting a project which is so important to the children and our city – explained chairman Cobolli Gigli – I’m delighted that Nedved is the new face of the campaign, he’s showed he’s not just a champion on the field. It was wonderful to see both him and his wife holding the babies in their arms when they visited the ward and for me it’s the whole Nedved family who are fronting this project”.

“I’m here on behalf of the team – Pavel added – and I’m really pleased to be the new face of the project as I’ve seen just how much these children are cared for and loved. One of the doctors really hit home when she told me, ‘these children are true fighters’”.

The sum raised by the project so far is 1.2 million Euros and since the arrival of the new management, 55 thousand Euros have been raised through the sale of gadgets, auctions, raffles and charity dinners, along with the “Meet the legend” initiative at Juventus home games. With a minimum donation of one Euro, three lucky members of the crowd get their chance to meet the players at the end of the match. Juventus’ objective is to help the foundation raise a total of 2 million Euros, and a new series of initiatives are currently in the pipe line.

Juventus - Bari 4:2

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:01:24 GMT

I'm sorry for being a bit late with posting this. I had to leave immediately after the game finished yesterday, and I couldn't get back online until now. Either way, this was a very interesting game for us Pavel-fans, because it was his first league game after the five match ban. And yes - he made such a wonderful return, and scored two of the four Juve goals! I can tell you that I was watching the game almost with happy tears in my eyes at times...it was just so great to see him play again, and even better because he made such a wonderful return.

I also found a Czech article about the game. Unfortunately, my Czech is not good enough to translate the whole article, but the header caught my attention - it said simply "Návrat krále" - which I believe translates to "The return of the King" in English. Such a nice header for an article, don't you think?

So...there are also a couple of interesting things from juventus.com. Just look:

Juventus - Bari 4:2

The injury woes which have characterised the Bianconeri’s season so far looked to have reached a turning point as Deschamps’ men lined-up to face Bari at the Olimpico. The Frenchman welcomed back Giannichedda, Zanetti and Nedved to the starting eleven, while there were places for Legrottaglie and Marchionni on the bench. Giannichedda was paired with Piccolo in an improvised central defensive partnership and Mirante kept his place between the sticks in place of the injured Buffon.

The game opened in extraordinary fashion. There was not yet a minute on the clock when Santoruvo ghosted into the box unmarked and tapped home Di Vicino’s cut-back from the byline. The Juventus defenders looked to the linesman but the Bari striker was on-side (0-1). The response from the home side was an extended period of sustained pressure, with Bari pinned back firmly in their own half. Camoranesi brought the crowd to their feet with a thirty yard run in the 8th minute, scything through the Bari back line and switching defence to attack with murderous efficiency. The pressure was mounting and in the 10th and 11th minutes, Del Piero and Trezeguet forced Gillet into the first of a fine string of saves. Nedved followed suit on the quarter hour mark, fizzing the ball an inch or two wide of the Bari keeper’s left post. Having taken the lead, Bari were determined to deny Juventus any space in the final third but the Bianconeri were in full throttle and just kept on coming. Gillet was playing the game of his life and the only respite he seemed to get was the brief pause which accompanied the substitution of the injured Esposito in the 22nd minute. Camoranesi tested him again with a header from fifteen yards out and Trezeguet was sniffing around the box menacingly, challenging the Bari number one for every rebound. It was only a matter of time and in the 34th minute, Juventus got what they richly deserved: the equaliser. Del Piero collected the ball in a wide position, dribbled inside and found Trezeguet in the middle with a clever cut-back; the Frenchman had been asking questions of the Bari defence all afternoon and in fitting style, he got ahead of his marker and converted with a predatory finish (1-1). Fired-up by the ignominy of conceding so early on, Juventus looked to make it two straight away. Gillet had to stay alert to snatch a Del Piero free-kick out of the air in the 36th minute and the captain was at it again a minute before the break, wriggling free in the box and smashing an effort into the side netting. Clichés aside, the crowd on the far side thought it was in. The pressure paid off a minute later as Nedved gave the Bianconeri the lead on the stroke of half time, taking the ball round two men and slotting past the stranded Gillet (2-1). The goal sealed the end of a remarkable come-back and gave Bari plenty to think about at the break.

Bari introduced Sgrigna at the interval and the substitute had an almost immediate impact, shaving Mirante’s left post in the 53rd minute with a piledriver from the right edge of the box. Juventus were lucky as Del Piero had squandered a good chance a minute earlier, holding onto the ball too long when he had players lining up in the middle. The tempo of the game was decidedly slower as the Bianconeri took a more measured approach and Marchionni replaced Camoranesi on the hour mark. A venomous long range effort from Carrus forced Mirante into a fine save on 61 minutes, a brief reminder there was more than one side out there this afternoon, but six minutes later the order was restored. On his 500th appearance for the Bianconeri, it was only right that Alessandro Del Piero find his way onto the score sheet and he did so with all the hall marks of a natural born goal scorer, plucking an unselfish Marchionni pass out of the air and finishing with deadly efficiency (3-1). The Bianconeri were clearly enjoying themselves and they added a fourth in the 73rd minute. Zanetti marked an impressive return with a delightful through ball to Nedved in the box. The Czech veteran finished off the move in style, lifting the ball over Gillet with the classiest of first touches (4-1).
With the clock running down, Deschamps brought on Marchisio and Bojinov in place of Zanetti and Del Piero, the captain receiving a standing ovation as he strode off the field. In the 87th minute the Bulgarian substitute came close to adding his name to the illustrious score sheet, racing onto a zippy pass from Nedved down the line, cutting inside and flashing a powerful effort across goal, but Gillet was on hand to make another great save. The Bianconeri knocked the ball around confidently, shielding their hefty lead but it was Bari who had the last say, Gervasoni drifting free at the back post and heading home a corner in the 89th minute. It was scant consolation though, as the men from Puglia had been thoroughly outplayed. Two wins in a row for the Bianconeri.

GOALS: Santoruvo 1’, Trezeguet 34’, Nedved 45’ 73’, Del Piero 67’, Gervasoni 89’

BOOKED: Camoranesi 17’, Carrus 32’, Rajcic 37’

JUVENTUS: Mirante; Birindelli, Piccolo, Giannichedda, Balzaretti; Camoranesi (Marchionni 59’), Paro, Zanetti (Marchisio 76’), Nedved; Del Piero (Bojinov 81’), Trezeguet
Subs: Belardi, Legrottaglie, De Ceglie, Palladino
Coach: Deschamps

BARI: Gillet; Micolucci, Milani (Gabbiani 71’), Pianu, Esposito (Gervasoni 22’); Scaglia, Bellavista, Rajcic, Di Vicino (Sgrigna 46’), Carrus; Santoruvo
Subs: Aldegani, Gazzi, Ganci, Fusani
Coach: Maran

REFEREE: De Marco (Chiavari)
ASSISTANTS: Milardi, Pascariello
4TH OFFICIAL: D’Alesio

Also, there's a little article where he talked about the game and so on.

Nedved: comeback King
“I’m happy for the team; we wanted to win and when you go a goal down early on, it’s never easy to turn things round. We managed to do just that though with a great performance”. Pavel Nedved had said “I can’t wait to get back out there” before the game with Bari and his desire to play was contagious as along with Del Piero, his magical performance – punctuated by two well-taken goals – helped lead the team to victory: “I’m happy for Alex and his 500 appearances. Only a lucky few are able to reach a milestone like that but he’s shown he deserves it over the years”. Del Piero also set-up Nedved for the fourth goal, the Czech’s second of the afternoon, with a brilliant assist, playing the ball through the legs of the Bari defender: “I made the run and I didn’t expect to get the ball but… Alex played great today, with tow assists and a goal of his own, but I knew that he’s get it right on a day like this”. His last thought was for the league table, which sees the Bianconeri as outright leaders. “The league table makes for great reading”.

I have to agree with what he says about the league table!

Also, I found a few pictures from the game.

And the most beautiful one:

That smile...

Also - I found an interview in Italian. Unfortunately, I have no idea what he is talking about...but I could still watch the clip over and over, because he's gorgeous. Hope you'll like it, too - and if anyone can speak Italian and would like to tell us a bit about what he says, that would be very much appreciated, too!