Day by day, the analysis of what is wrong with Juventus becomes less interesting, and therefore more and more complex. Like shooting the Red Cross. The start of the championship touched the bottom represented by the 2015/2016 vintage, with a significant difference in this case the difference from the first in the standings was much less, practically half the points. The presentation in Verona was tragic, and the fact that the Bianconeri woke up in the final only worsens the general picture, because it confirms that we are talking about a team that is not as bad as its results say. Although, to be honest, the average team quality available to Massimiliano Allegri has clear limits at this point.
Juventus’ problems have much deeper roots than the choices and approach of the Tuscan coach, who also bears his inevitable responsibilities in such a disastrous context. The original sin, at this point, had become so obvious that it needed no further confirmation, and had been committed to blow Marotta. Even before he became a professional in his own right – and in any case we’re talking about a hero – for the person he represents at the company level who has since been largely empty until Arrivabene was called, who needs time to make his own certain football mechanics At Ferrari he did better than was admitted but he never won, anyway he doesn’t have a magic wand in his hands.
Juve burned their wings, like Ikaru. A few days ago Andrea Agnelli talked about many things. Let’s leave aside the issue of the Superlega, the quagmire from which no one involved knows exactly how it will come out. In Turin, just before the Marotta years archive, it was decided to take the longest leg step. In all respects: economic, image, corporate. The expansion that the chief dreamed of was his feet of mud, moreover the river swept them away in a complete plague. Juventus have spent a lot, and above all they have spent poorly, with the belief that they have become too big to fail, too big to fail. However, recent history is replete with cases where this definition has not worked well.
On the fringes of public discourse, there is technical discourse. About who sat on the bench in recent seasons and who is there now. Sarri was dismissed as Italy’s worst coach. He had a scudetto in his pocket, things that seemed obvious and turned out to be incredible considering what happens even two years later. Let’s be clear: recalling Sarri was a risky move, and a rejection crisis was just around the corner and it happened. But if you look at the coach to find Juve’s problems, you are looking for a very partial solution. This team, on the other hand, has great limits, especially in the midfield: only Locatelli will have any chance of playing in one of the top five in the standings, and that will mean something. But also between defense (there are no substitutes on the wings, Bonucci and Chiellini are not eternal, Romero and Demiral were sold) and attack (really he thought that a player should not be substituted with 30 goals per season?). Then, Allegri puts the burden on us: the impression is that in these two years he has remained constant while football has continued. The result is the most important, on this assumption the writer also agrees, but the result must be understood how we get there, and proceed to the performance. Even on a communicative level, the strategy of “everything will be fine” leaves time to find: in the locker room you will certainly catch fire and flames, but this Juventus will not be enough to put their head under the load, also because they will not be able to keep up with the pace of the battle ongoing. Among many things, this is one of the things you miss the most.
Fortunately for the Bianconeri, there is the Champions League. The old lady dives into it, in front of Zenit, in the viewfinder there is the passage of the bend. It’s as if Dybala & Co in Italy and Europe wore different outfits. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that, given the limitations mentioned above, in their formation like Juventus, they remain a very competitive team. However, the European refuge has an expiration date: Is it really plausible that a team that performs so poorly in the league can go on to win for so long in the Champions League?
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