By Anna Italia

I could not believe it.  Totally unbelievable.  Juventus losing on penalties to Valletta after the match ended 1-1.  What's going on with La Vecchia Signora???  Maybe eating too much Panettone and drinking lots of wine for Christmas and New Year?
                                
Although it was a friendly match, Juventus should have won this match. Valletta did not miss their shootouts while for Juventus Nocerino and Nicola Legrottaglie missed.  It is not that VALLETTA is a big team but they executed their penalties to perfection 4 out of 4.  Imagine Juventus will play against Catania this Sunday and it will be a MAJOR UPSET if they lose.  Though not everything is negative about this defeat. Hey, at least Juventus Coach Claudio Ranieri tested all his men.  The only one missing for injuries were Andrade, Mauro Camoranesi, and Zebina. 

Had Juventus Goalkeeper Saint Gigi Buffon been in the second half, Juventus might have won the match. Ranieri substituted Buffon in the second half for goalkeeper Belardi.

Juventus line-up

First Half:  Buffon; Birindelli, Grygera, Chiellini, Molinaro; Marchionni, Almiron, Zanetti, Nedved; Del Piero, Olivera.
Second Half: Belardi, Boumsong, Legrottaglie, Salihamidzic, Nocerino, Tiago, Palladino, Trezeguet, Iaquinta