Allegri’s Juventus: Revolution? evolution

As I leafed through the newspapers a week ago, it seemed so Juventus were already Italian champions. Udine’s victory was no accident. On the other hand. According to some, Allegri had given up most of his summer holidays and wandered like a hermit among the most remote and inaccessible monasteries in Europe in order to learn the secret of modern football. He had returned to Continassa emaciated, proud and motivated, ready to pitch on every single Italian soccer field. like a blinding flasheverything he learned.

He brought it with him a new student, MagnanelliPersonality halfway between a thaumaturgist deus ex machina and an Eminence grise who can offer saving advice. In less than a month juventus she got finally European: beautiful, intense and daring. Not only that, she had become an NFL-style role model. Everyone on the staff had a predetermined role: one coach on offense, one on defense. One for tactics and one for stats. For Magnanelli, symbol of the turning point, the arduous task of the offensive coordinator. And Allegri, relegated to a marginal role as an extra, was left with no choice but to keep on the lips of the former Sassuolo captain who is now recognized by all as the true Juventus coach.

The summer friendlies and the Udine First Fraction were considered enough evidence to call for revolution. It goes without saying that in August it was still football and that Juve had already fallen back dramatically in the second half against Friuli. Titolite had meanwhile spread endemic, reaping famous victims and giving no impetus to possible more moderate opinions. And so, in the blink of an eye, young Andrea Cambiaso (58 Serie A appearances before Udinese – Juventus) became the man who couldn’t be given up, Timothy Weah became the new (and why not better) Cuadrado, Federico Chiesa the phenomenon of the past and Dusan Vlahovic the ruthless striker of the Fiorentina era. Massimiliano Allegri had thought to calm the dangerous winds of excitement at the end of the first day of the championship:

“We have to make the best use of the players’ characteristics. Let’s keep our feet on the ground, we don’t think we solved everything at once. I am against these things being said. We gave up after going 2-0 down, then you have to stay organized in order to get certain things done.”

And in fact, a good bologna, which certainly doesn’t make the world tremble, was enough to quickly bring everything down. Flipping through the newspapers it seems that Juventus are exactly the same as last year. Worse still, he doesn’t even manage to make the top 4. Everything has changed, everything has to be thrown away again. As usual, Allegri is defensively oriented, Chiesa experiences a constant tactical conflict and Magnanelli, who has a solution ready for everything, is not listened to enough.

The truth, as so often, probably lies somewhere in between. There’s no denying that Juve are trying to do other things, which they are only able to do intermittently these days. That he tries to press higher and thus bring more men into the opposing penalty area. However, it is equally undeniable that this team continues to have major problems rancid and sluggish attack maneuver, who dances but does not advance. Juve often have difficulties with closed teams: it is excessively difficult to create clear chances to score.

The offensive potential is underused and confusion reigns all too often. In conclusion, there’s no denying that Juventus haven’t solved their staffing issues: It’s the only big name that hasn’t gone from strength to strength. The others bought, the Old Lady let go of some of her best men (notably Di Maria and Cuadrado) without adequately replacing them. The difficulties in midfield have been there for years and in defense the constant presence of Alex Sandro (a player who has clearly been in trouble for at least three seasons) bears witness to the glaring and worrying deficiencies. Maybe, as someone is suggesting, Juve just need time.

“We have to start over from the second half. We only scored one goal and didn’t win but it was great to see the aggressive attitude from behind. We have to believe that we can do this. […] Change takes time. We work hard, but we are aware of it On the routes, time is of the essence and must be respected. With the moral qualities in the dressing room, we will soon be able to assert ourselves.”

Mattia Perin, to Juventus-Bologna

If it’s true that Allegri’s team blazed a new and different trail, then it’s necessary to stop and do something archaic, which is definitely out of style these days: suspend judgement. So forgive us if at least we do not indulge in the extremisms and final judgments that flee today and do not stop for an hour. We will wait, evaluate each and every word we say and think about it. We’ll watch from above, like a sailor gazing at the horizon and then shouting “Land!” He makes sure he sees at least a fraction of it in the distance. We will be stationary, but certainly not sluggish.