Day after day, it becomes less and less interesting, and therefore more and more complicated, to analyze what is wrong with Juventus. Kind of like shooting the Red Cross. The start of the championship touched the bottom represented by the 2015/2016 vintage, with the big difference that in that case the gap from the first in the standings was much lower, practically half of the points. The show offered in Verona was tragicomic, and the fact that in the final the Bianconeri woke up from their torpor only aggravates the general picture, because it certifies that we are talking about a team that is not as poor as its results would say. Although, to be honest, the average quality of the squad available to Massimiliano Allegri has some limits at this point rather evident.
The troubles of Juventus have much deeper roots than the choices and approach of the Tuscan coach, who also has his inevitable responsibilities in such a disastrous context. The original sin, at this point has become so obvious that it needs no further emphasis, was committed in torpedoing Marotta. Even before being a professional in itself – and in any case we are talking about a champion – for the figure he represented at the company level and who from then on remained substantially empty until Arrivabene was called, who needs time to make certain mechanisms his own of football, in Ferrari he did better than he was recognized but did not win anyway, in any case he does not have a magic wand in his hands.
Juve burned their wings, like Icaro. A few days ago, Andrea Agnelli talked about many things. Let’s leave aside the Superlega issue, a quagmire from which none of those involved knows exactly how it will come out. In Turin, just before archiving Marotta’s years, it was decided to take the longest step of the leg. From all points of view: economic, image, corporate. The expansion dreamed of by the president had its feet of clay, moreover swept away by the river in full pandemic. Juve have spent too much and above all they have spent badly, with the belief that they have become too big to fail, too big to fail. Yet recent history is full of cases in which this definition has not really done very well.
On the sidelines of a generic discourse, there is the technical one. About who has sat on the bench in recent seasons and who is there now. Sarri was sent away as the worst of Italy’s coaches. He had a Scudetto in his pocket, stuff that seemed obvious and turns out to be incredible given what is happening even two years later. Let’s be clear: calling Sarri was a risky move, the 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 major limits, especially in midfield: only Locatelli would have any chance of playing a starter in one of the top five in the standings, and this will mean something. But also between defense (there are no alternatives on the flanks, Bonucci and Chiellini are not eternal, Romero and Demiral have been sold out) and attack (really it was thought not to have to replace a player with 30 goals a season?). Then, Allegri puts the burden on us: the impression is that in these two years he has remained stationary while football went on. The result counts most of all, on this assumption the writer also agrees, but the result must be understood how to get there, and we move on to performance. Also on a communicative level, the strategy “everything will be fine” leaves the time it finds: in the locker room it will certainly make fire and flames, but this Juve will not be enough to put his head under and load, also because he would not be able to keep up with the rhythm of a continuous battle. Among the many, it is one of the things that she misses the most.
Fortunately for the bianconeri, there is the Champions League. The Old Lady dives into it, in front there is the Zenit, in the viewfinder the passage of the turn. It is as if, in Italy and in Europe, Dybala & Co were wearing two different clothes. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that, given the aforementioned limitations, in their formation like Juve they remain an extremely competitive team. The European refuge, however, has an expiration date: is it really credible that a team that does so badly in the league can continue to win for a long time in the Champions League?
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