The 2018/19 season wasn’t supposed to be like this for Juventus. Two goals behind after the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie with Atletico Madrid, the Bianconeri’s season is close to collapse and even a Scudetto win won’t prevent this season from being considered a failure if they are eliminated by the Spanish side.
It could come across as reactionary to describe a side who lead Serie A by 13 points after just 24 games as having failed, but Juventus don’t follow the normal rules. Scudetti aren’t triumphs for the Old Lady anymore, rather minimum expectations, and they have come up short everywhere else so far this term.
Atalanta sent them packing from the Coppa Italia with a humbling 3-0 win in Bergamo and now Atleti are strongly positioned to throw them out of Europe in the first knockout round.
This wasn’t in the plans. Juventus broke the bank to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo last summer. Joao Cancelo followed and Leonardo Bonucci returned as well. Their ambition was clear – 2018/19 was about conquering Europe and nothing else would suffice.
Having seen off their biggest threat yet in Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli – who accumulated an unprecedented 91 points as runners up – last term, this season was always going to be easier domestically and Allegri’s side had to turn their attention to finally taking that final step in Europe, exercising the demons of two lost finals in the last four years.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t signed for another Scudetto. They don’t need the Portuguese for that, so to have their season at risk of capitulation already is a concern for Allegri.
Nobody is more aware that success this season is defined by the Champions League than Allegri is. The Juve boss acknowledged as much on Thursday morning, tweeting from his personal account saying that all of their attention was now on the return leg in Turin.
“Twenty days,” he wrote. “Twenty days to be ready for a challenge to live and win, all together. Until the end”
It’s not over yet, either. But there are many acting as though Juventus have been expelled from the Champions League and like the second leg isn’t still to be played. Calling for Allegri’s head is premature. He made mistakes, of course, but if he has shown anything during his time at the Bianconeri it’s that to write them off is to do so at one’s own peril.
Just last season, with Cristiano Ronaldo facing them, it took a 97th-minute penalty from the Portuguese to stop them from successfully overturning a 3-0 first leg deficit against then back-to-back European champions Real Madrid, while they have also beaten Barcelona 3-0 under Allegri’s watch.
But Diego Simeone’s side aren’t like many others. They will relish the knowledge that there is no obligation on them to take the initiative. The Rojiblancos will sit, fight and dig in to do whatever they possibly can to nullify Juventus’ attack again and if they can score themselves, then that will be a bonus.
It’s easy to come down with an extreme stance on either side and say that Juventus under Allegri are finished, while at the turn of the year they were unstoppable and flawless. The truth, as it tends to be, is somewhere in between.
Compared to their Italian opposition Juve are streets ahead. Allegri is an excellent coach, but on Wednesday evening he made mistakes.
The season isn’t over just yet, but what happens in Serie A has become irrelevant for Juventus. Scudetti are a minimum requirement, and coming up short again in Europe will have this season remembered as a failure.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com