Juventus Turin have had a season to forget so far, with mediocrity in the league and a Champions League exit looming. Now there are also personnel worries.
The Italian record champions announced that Angel di Maria suffered a minor hamstring injury in the 2-0 defeat at Maccabi Haifa and will be out for around three weeks. Juventus predicted that he would be out for around 20 days. At least Argentine football fans should be able to breathe a sigh of relief that di Maria will be fit in time for the World Cup in Qatar.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has come under heavy criticism for his poor start to the season, will have to do without the veteran on Saturday in the derby against FC Torino. It remains to be seen whether this will cause Allegri any particular headaches, as the coach has already dispensed with di Maria several times this season. The 34-year-old has only made three appearances in the current Seria A season; he has made just as many in the top flight.
Either way, there is a lot of pressure on the Old Lady. Club president Andrea Agnelli, who was extremely disappointed with Juve’s performance after the embarrassment in Haifa (“I’m ashamed of what happened.”), clearly demands that the Turin team must soon be back “at the top”.
This puts the onus on the team and coach to find solutions to the currently obvious problems such as a lack of defensive stability, a lack of order in the centre and a lack of creativity in attack. The best time to do so is next Saturday in the explosive city derby at FC Turin, who are only two points behind Juve in the standings and could even outdo their big city rivals with a win.