Calcio comment: Del Neri proving his worth at Juve

It's taken a while, but Juve seem finally to be seeing the fruits of Luigi De Neri's work. In many respects it is not surprising that Juve stuttered and spluttered around at the seasons birth. After all, the manor of the total destruction of their campaign last season is not a memory easily washed away. We saw this in week two against Sampdoria, when they conceded three at home in a 3-3 draw with defensive errors. Again, we saw this against the Lech Poznan where the opening 30 minutes provided the viewer with a guide of how not to defend. But, slowly and surely these errors, lapses of concentration have weathered away and Juve have benefited significantly from that. The goals have continued to flow, but for now the direction is only in the back of the oppositions net. Four goals against Cagliari, Udinese, and Lecce in recent weeks have confirmed that Juve know exactly where the back of the net is. Much of that has come down to the brilliance of midfielder Milos Krasic, and there is the slight danger that Juve have become over reliant on the great Serb despite being only seven rounds in.

With that in mind, it comes as a big bonus for the Juve faithful to see Alberto Aquiliani blossoming in central midfield as his strike from distance at the weekend brought back memories of some of his thunderous strikes that he hit when being a key cog in Roma's midfield seasons ago. Sill, caution is required and no doubt etched in the memories of Juve fans especially after last season. Champions League football remains the target, and thats something Del Neri achieved with his 4-4-2 formation at Sampdoria last season. But maybe, just maybe they can do better than that given their impressive form in recent weeks. Salzberg up next for Juve, and one game at a time has to be their mentality.