No victory yet, the worst start in 60 years and the coach under fire: At the beginning of the post-Ronaldo era, Juventus Turin was on fire.
A relegation zone, the worst start to the season in 60 years and the coach already under pressure: Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Italy’s record champions Juventus Turin stumbled through Serie A without a win. as he likes it.
“The orphans of Ronaldo are fighting for their identity”, wrote the “Gazzetta dello Sport”: “Ronaldo went with his load of goals that are difficult to compensate.” Indeed, the record reads devastating: No success from four league games, two points and rank 18 in the table. Juve last started comparatively poorly in the 1961/1962 season.
Harsh verdict on Allegri
On Wednesday (6:30 p.m. / DAZN) at Spezia Calcio, you should win better. Because coach Massimiliano Allegri, who returned from Andrea Pirlo in the summer after a one-year interlude, is already under pressure. “Allegri, who should have been a savior in an emergency, has so far given Juve neither a soul nor an identity,” said the “Corriere della Sera”.
But why has it not been going well since Allegris’ comeback, which brought five Scudetti in a row from 2015 to 2019? After all, he had come to correct what had gone wrong under Pirlo. After nine championships in a row, the former world-class director was only fourth in the past season. But the drama just continues.
Ronaldo is certainly a factor. After all, Juve lost 29 goals from the previous season when he moved to England, where he had already celebrated three times in two league games.
But it’s not just the hits. The team was focused on Ronaldo, he was the finisher with first access to every ball.
“Juve is a team without solidity and without stars”
Allegri will therefore need time to restructure the team. 1982 world champion Marco Tardelli got to the point. “Juve are a team without solidity and without stars, but in time they will find their way.” Because Alvaro Morata (two goals) and Paulo Dybala (one goal, two assists) have already proven that they can take the offensive.
So it’s not the quality in the storm. Rather, through outrageous blunders, too often in the person of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, Juve is depriving itself of the wages of the work. Most of the time, Turin starts strong and then collapses, and the Allegri team did not score a goal in the second half in any of the four league games. The most recent 1-1 draw against AC Milan last Sunday is an example of this.
Juve almost lost there too, although Turin had largely determined the game. The gazettes reported Allegri’s anger in front of his players.
“And you want to be a Juve player!”, The coach is said to have scolded. In front of the press, Allegri preferred to admit his own mistakes, he should have used “more defenders”. Because with such performances, so the Allegri further, “we will not win a championship”.
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