Nightmare in turin?: A ‘way too early’ check-in on serie A’s defending champs

My windows have been boarded up, house armed with garlic and wooden stakes and my neck draped with a rosery as I prepare for droves of Juventini who undoubtedly are going to perceive this piece as an attack to football religion. With all that’s been going on in Turin since the end of last season, some could argue an insight into their current position and performance is long overdue, while others would insist it’s too early to judge Juventus. Regardless, the Old Lady remain the most intriguing and noteworthy story on the Italian Peninsula and with some footballing decisions, seemingly coming back to haunt them, now is the perfect time to do an early revision on the Old Lady.  

 

FIRST ACT – Pirlo the Protagonist

The genesis of this story actually starts on before the season began, with the appointment of the Maestro himself, Andrea Pirlo on August 8^th and continued throughout the transfer window. Sarri had lost the dressing room and his most important players and was sacked days after Juventus’ exit from the Champions League at the hands of French outfit Lyon. Insert the flowing locks and suave of Andrea Pirlo, an Italian great and former Juventus midfielder. This would be Pirlo’s first managerial/coaching appointment, having not even coached a match for the Juventus U23, the team which he had been appointed coach just one week prior. The idea behind the hire was twofold:

1. A cost effective option
2. As a former great and former Juventini, he would be able to garner the respect and  cultivate a relationship with the players that was clearly lacking with Sarri. 

 

Fast forward a month, and Juventus fans and pundits were fawning over the Maestro yet again as his thesis was made public for all to see. Filled with progressive ideologies, modern styles and ambitious positions, Pirlo touched on everything from his influences to how he intends for his team to play. The praise reached its zenith after the first match of the season against Sampdoria where Juventus ran away 3-0 winners and Pirlo looked to incorporate new acquisitions well in the form of Dejan Kulusevski and Weston McKennie to name a few. Pirlo’s ideologies and principles found their ways through to the players so much so that even newly acquired players were performing well in this new Juve. However, things would soon take a turn for the worse.

ACT 2 – Injuries and uninspired play

After 6 games in Serie A, the Turin based club sits third in the table on 12 points, 4 points off first place AC Milan.  For context, you would have to go back 5 seasons to 2015/16 to find the last time Juventus sat that low in the table after 6 games. They sit second behind Barcelona in their Champions League group with 6 points from 3 games after having fallen victim to Messi’s men, but winning against the likes of Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros. On paper all seems to be running smoothly at the Bianconeri if not optimally. Four points to make up in Serie A is more than manageable, while being second in their Champions League group is just fine considering their opponents. A closer look into their season however, reveals there might be some vulnerability lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Three wins and three draws to start the campaign isn’t anything to write home about especially when considering one of their victories (Napoli) was won on a technicality after Napoli forfeited their away match to Juventus due to supposed travel restrictions from Covid-19. Add to that the fact that two of their draws also came against Hellas Verona and newly promoted Crotone, both of which they had to recover from going 1-0 down to draw. To make matters even worse, had it not been for a certain 35 year old Portugese, we could have been talking about another draw to another newly promoted team as the Bianconeri were tied with Spezia 1-1 beyond the half, until Cristiano Ronaldo turned the game on its head upon his entrance in the 56’ minute.

While many may point toward the omission of key players such as Ronaldo, Dybala and De Ligt for substantial games, this could in no way account for the Old Lady’s ineptitude against the likes of Crotone and Verona. After being praised for his creativity and boldness in certain lineup decisions, Pirlo has started to be criticized for the very same, showing how reactionary the world of football could be. After being lauded for incorporating the relatively unknown Gianluca Frabotta in their first game of the season, he was killed when he went back to him during their 1-1 draw against Crotone. The same with McKennie as the US international’s performances continued to dropped after his first game of the season. 

 

The truth is at this point in their development under Pirlo, Juventus are heavily reliant on individual talent to secure points. With Ronaldo a constant threat even at his advanced age, Kulusevksi emerging as one of the most dangerous players in Italy and other immense talents such as De Ligt, Dybala and Chiesa on their roster, Juventus have more top tier talent that most Serie A teams. However, continued disjointed play could very easily see Juventus playing less that the sum of their parts. 

FINAL ACT – The proverbial sharks are circling……….

While its very early to make any concrete statement on the state of affairs at Juventus, what’s evident while watching them is that for the first time in a long time they no longer feel invincible and clubs have noticed. Attribute to that the fact that they have a new, inexperienced coach or such young players who are pivotal to their play, what remains is that they seem touchable. No longer are we surprised by a shock result away to Crotone or dropped points in Rome. The face remains, Juventus seem to be haunted by the questionable decisions of their management, blood is in the water and the proverbial sharks are circling. TO BE CONTINUED…………….