Juventus: Massimiliano Allegri is hit everywhere

“Fino alla fine”, until the end, the Juventus motto has resonated for decades in Turin and Massimiliano Allegri was one of its best representatives. Sometimes and often minimalist in his game, the Italian coach won five Serie A between 2015 and 2019 with Vecchia Signora participating in his team’s control of the transalpine championship. Fired in 2019 and returned two years later after poor results from his predecessors, he has not been able to improve the Piedmontese team for the moment with a fourth place in 2022 and a seventh position in 2023 (with a penalty of 10 points) . Expected at the turning point this year in an exercise without European competition for his flock, the former AC Milan had a lot to prove.

Arriving one year from the end of his contract, the native of Livorno launched the season perfectly, even finding himself 1 point behind the leader, Inter Milan on January 21. Still in the race for the semi-final of the Italian Cup, Massimiliano Allegri was able to find a dynamic which had made his team competitive for almost six months, but the situation has become complicated in recent weeks. Beaten in the title match by the Nerazzurri (1-0), the Turin club has had a string of poor results and has only 5 points collected out of the 18 possible. Worrying figures, especially since Inter Milan, who play this evening against Genoa, can take a 15-point lead over their runner-up. Having to look behind, Juventus sees AC Milan (3rd) and Bologna (4th) come back to 1 and 6 points. AS Roma (5th) is 10 lengths further away.

Juventus’ game still at the heart of the debates

If the main objective which remains a return to the Champions League is on track, the dynamic is quite critical for the Piedmontese who are in the process of falling. And Massimiliano Allegri is one of the first in the dock. “The team is not doing badly, but the episodes decide. Not very lucid in managing changes, perhaps he should have dared to use the offensive trident first. (Juventus started in 3-5-2) explains the Gazzetta dello Sport who gave it a rating of 5.5. Former Arsenal and Inter Milan goalkeeper, Emiliano Viviano recently explained in TV Play that the Italian coach’s style of play was reaching its limits: “to say that he is a finished coach would be disrespectful, he is a winner and he has a lot of qualities. But the facts are clear, in today’s football something different is needed. It is not an opinion, but an objective reality, that this type of football has not been profitable for years.

Renowned Italian journalist in the transalpine lands, Paolo De Paola made similar comments recently in TMW Radio : “I don’t see a team in Serie A that plays worse than Juventus. Let’s leave Bologna alone, let’s look at teams like Udinese, Verona and Frosinone in the relegation zone who are having better matches. I don’t see any cohesion between the sectors of play, the defeat against Inter represents an unconditional surrender to the game.” Strong words which reflect a strong return of criticism towards the Italian coach. The latter did not fail to bang his fist on the table at the microphone of DAZN : “it’s simple, in life things are simple. What are you asking me? I am the coach of Juventus and I am happy. Every year in this period, whether it goes well or badly, we talk about it, then we are in the Champions League zone. I don’t know what’s going to happen. The Allegri problem does not exist now, there is a season to achieve goals that have not yet been achieved.” If the climate becomes very difficult at Juventus and its future beyond this season is very uncertain, Massimiliano Allegri will be able to console himself. Despite the 2-1 defeat against Napoli, he nevertheless won the Ceprano Prize thanks to his mare Sun Never Sets.