So the Bianconeri have given me another nail-biting 1-0 win against a vastly inferior team with ADP on the bench "being rested" the whole time. I cannot say that this weekend's slim victory over Torino was enjoyable. I can say, however, that Gio is well and truly back from his injury of earlier this season, back at full strength, and deserving of his call-up to FC Dirtbunny. Here he is, Giorgio Chiellini, Azzurri starter and Juventus central defender, doing what he is best known for:

Defending the crap out of the other team, even if means fouling someone on his own team to make the play. Oh wait, that's just Molinaro back there. No worries. Foul away!

He can defend against anybody, but he is also good on corner kicks, where he can be depended on to score a few headers every season, like he did on Saturday to give the Old Lady the win:

[trust me--this was a goal off his fuzzy head]

Scoring goals makes Gio very happy, and it sends him into his usual three-step routine:

[One: the roaring and the fist-clenching]

[Two: the prancing, while roaring and fist-clenching]

[hey, look, it's that wanker, Iaquinta, co-prancing uselessly in the background as though he actually had something to do with the big win, which he didn't, I assure you]

[Three: the man-hugging. "Come here, Olof, and get some from Gio. There's lots of room in my giant albatross arms."]

Gigi, as you might suspect, loves Gio, although this photo is from last season.








Gio likes to hug Captain Alex, but, as I mentioned, ADP was "resting" during the game, if by resting, they meant compulsively pretending to go through warm-ups starting at about minute 30, anxiously pacing the sideline, and hanging out next to Coach instead of sitting quietly in the dugout like a good bench warmer. I cannot document any post-goal ADP hugs from the game.


But I am pretty sure they like each other. I think I see some eye-twinkling.

[camoranesi camoranesi camoranesi]

And here they are on a chaste little date during the Euros, wearing their mandatory logo-covered product-placement "street" clothes. Poor guys.

Someone needs to knit them a sweater.