Juventus is currently still playing in the Champions League and is very likely to reach the last 16. But next year, the GAU threatens. Coach Massimiliano Allegri also warns.
Juve’s glory days have been completely stripped away for the moment. The fact that the Old Lady won the Scudetto in Italy nine times between 2012 and 2019 and reached the Champions League final twice during that time, thanks in part to Massimiliano Allegri, has faded away.
Because the current team, also coached by Allegri who returned this summer, is a shadow of its former self. Certainly, the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) shortly before the end of the transfer period hurt, which the coach also recently criticised (“You simply can’t react then and replace such a player in a few days”). Nevertheless, players like defender Leonardo Bonucci, oldie Giorgio Chiellini, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala still know the times when things were going well. They are joined in the current squad by men like Federico Chiesa, Manuel Locatelli or the recalled Moise Kean.
With these professionals, more must be achieved than what is currently on the books: After eleven matchdays, the Bianconeri have already lost four times, most recently twice in a row (1:2 against Sassuolo after a late neckbreak, 1:2 at Hellas Verona after a weak first half) This means that Juventus are currently mired in Serie A mediocrity with a meagre 15 points and are already an incredible 16 points off the top of the table (Napoli and Milan). The temporary high is also over, and the Old Lady has long since been plunged back into deep darkness.
“We are all disappointed “
But what to do now? First, work through what has been established, if Allegri has his way. The coach had clear words ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League home clash with Zenit St Petersburg, where the Turin side are a commanding nine-point leaders of Group H ahead of reigning title holders Chelsea and have been more successful in the competition than in the domestic league so far.
“We are all disappointed because we wasted a complete month of good work in five days,” said Allegri, who of course also sees that it could be tight to even qualify for the upcoming CL season. And indeed: After the intermediate high with the two most recent defeats, his team has driven the good things that were on the way hard against the wall. Offensively, there is a lack of ideas, of reliable scorers, of goals in general – and defensively, there is a lack of the stability to which they are accustomed.
“We have to question ourselves,” says Allegri. “Because, with all due respect, we conceded 11 of the 15 goals we conceded against teams that are in the second half of the table.” In other words, where Juve almost belong at the moment.
Will this negative trend also put his job at risk? Allegri’s answer: “I clearly want to stay at Juventus. And I want us to do better in all parts. But first and foremost, we have to play a good game tomorrow against Zenit and then focus on Florence ”
