Seven days of hard work in Germany, to get Motta’s ideas to take root in the players’ heads and put fuel in their legs. The 3-0 against Nuremberg left some critics and fans perplexed, even if the dynamics of the summer are different. The progress of the preparation, different between Klose’s Germans and Juventus, the hard summer work, the transfer market that will change the face of the team, the return from vacation of key starters. It is difficult to evaluate the progress of the work from the numbers on the scoreboard at the Max Morlock Stadion: after the retreat in Herzogenaurach it would be a mistake to stop at the result, it applies to everyone in all categories. If August football is full of illusions, July football is even more so: in 2014 Allegri’s first Juve lost 2-3 to the Lucento amateurs and in June found themselves in Berlin playing the Champions League final. Getting excited or depressed today would be a mistake.
Juventus late, Nuremberg wins 3-0
Dominic Marchese
Physical preparation and game concepts
How much have Motta’s workloads and new playing ideas had an impact? Undoubtedly a lot, physically and mentally. “We are in the midst of a change,” summed up Perin, who in Herzogenaurach confirmed that he is one of the pillars of the locker room, in a good mood but also after the first defeat, appearing in front of the microphones. Without making a fuss, because the work entrusted to Colinet was tough: he spared no one, laying the foundations for a season that promises to be very long, from mid-August to next July between the league, Coppa Italia, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup: it is impossible to think of starting off strong right away. Summer work that will be the basis for Motta’s ideas, based on technique and a lot of ball: to do that, however, speed and intensity are needed.
Thiago Motta’s Football
Have we already seen some buds in Germany? Surely, starting with the final 3-0. It may seem like a provocation, but to be proactive you need to take risks and with Nuremberg, even though weighed down, Juventus did it by falling apart at the end. This will be one of the big differences with the past. In the first half, the movements without the ball of Thuram and Locatelli emerged, the midfield network that tried to make up for the shortcomings in the ball management phase. In the second half, raising the quality, we saw the counter-attack, the choice to widen the game by exploiting the whole pitch and focusing on the wingers, the only ones to create danger for Nuremberg, the density in the middle. Also the lack of fixed roles: Cambiaso started as a left winger and also found himself operating as a right midfielder, the central defenders, with a very high line, had freedom: when the legs coordinate with the head, they will also be an added value up front, as happened with Calafiori in Bologna.
The absentees and the market
How much will Juventus change with the expected additions? It will be a completely different team. Starting on Monday, when Bremer, Danilo and Yildiz return and Douglas Luiz arrives, the technical level will grow exponentially. Djalo worked hard at Herzo, but showed the rust accumulated from a year away from the pitch, while Cabal was brought in to play on the wing, although he does not disdain the role of centre-back. With Bremer, and with the imminent arrival of Todibo, there will be a huge leap in quality. Danilo will be able to exploit his reading skills, Douglas Luiz will be placed in midfield alongside Thuram. But the real added value will be the possible arrival of Koopmeiners and the return of Yildiz, given that something was missing right in the finishing phase: the assault on the Dutchman will begin next week, Giuntoli is counting on breaking down Atalanta’s resistance with the funds recovered from Huijsen and Soulé as well as from the sales of Rugani, McKennie, Szczesny and De Sciglio. To then start the assault on the wingers, one on loan (Conceicao?), one permanently, with Adeyemi preferred to the excellent Galeno. A new team, in short.
Aspects to improve
So, is everything going well? In theory, yes, but the difficulty of the project should not be underestimated. It is a real revolution, to be completed in a very short time. The championship will start on August 19, the Champions League group stage on the 29th: the delayed arrivals and the market still in progress (“They will arrive when those we need arrive, there is no doubt that we will build a competitive team”, explained Motta) do not make the task easier for the Juventus coach. It will take time to see the Paulista coach’s creation, to see Vlahovic inserted into the system in which playing for his teammates is as important as scoring, to be able to have density in midfield and dynamism in recovering the ball. The defense will have to limit lapses, they will go from a three-man line to a four-man line, the full-backs will no longer be wingers but full-backs. A Copernican revolution that, like all epochal changes, requires patience, availability, which was not lacking in the German retreat, and also a bit of luck. The group appeared solid in the effort, it must be so also in the difficulties: without getting discouraged, nor exalted. Just like in the judgments after a single friendly.
#Juventus #legs #heavy #Nuremberg #shortage #positive #aspects
– 2024-08-01 02:12:25
