Max Allegri was furious that Juventus were docked 10 Serie A points just minutes before a 4-1 defeat to Empoli. ‘Every time we pop our heads up for air, they push us back down. It’s a steady drip, drip, drip, just decide once and for all.’
It was a nightmare few days for the Old Lady, who crashed out of the Europa League semi-final to Sevilla in extra time on Thursday, then today just minutes before stepping onto the field at the Stadio Castellani it was confirmed they had been docked 10 Serie A points in the capital gains case.
That inevitably affected their mentality and confidence in a 4-1 hammering by Empoli, with a Francesco Caputo brace, Sebastiano Luperto and Roberto Piccoli on target.
“It’s too reductive to encompass the game and the whole season like this,” Allegri told DAZN.
“We must not find alibis or excuses, as we are Juventus, we are accustomed to winning or at least fighting to win. There are now two more games to play, we’ve got to stick together and Milan are going to visit on Sunday.
“Naturally, it was a strange situation that the sentence came in 10 minutes before we went out there. We conceded at their first scoring opportunity, then conceded another. We had the chances to close the gap, but didn’t take them.
“That does not justify the mental collapse. Right now all we can do is stay quiet and accept the defeat. Before the game, we had earned 69 points and were second in the table, let that be clear.”
With this defeat, Juve are now in seventh place on 59 points, five adrift of Milan in fourth.
“Even after the 10-point penalty, with a win today we’d have had the chance to fight it out with Milan for Champions League qualification. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way.
“I cannot reproach the lads, because I can assure you it was not an easy situation. The next few days won’t be easy either, because we went out of the Europa League, then had this news 10 minutes before kick-off, while for three months we’ve had points taken away and given back.
“It’s not justification, but this is without doubt an anomalous season for us, and despite it all the team earned 69 points.”
Allegri was asked if he believes they could’ve done any more this term?
“You go nowhere with ifs and buts. Tonight we could’ve put ourselves in a position to challenge Milan for a Champions League space. It feels like ever since January we’ve been playing these games. We’ve got Atalanta and Roma in front of us, we must try to get six points and remain effectively second in the table, which we are.
“I can assure you the team did the maximum it possibly could in the circumstances. This has been a surreal situation, the team if anything did better than expected.”
They went out of the Champions League in the group stage, reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League and Coppa Italia, but end empty-handed for the second season in a row.
“The psychological aspect is fundamental in football. Just 15 minutes before the game, we were second in the table and had 69 points. It’s a very different situation to being five points off fifth-placed Milan.
“You step onto the field and have to win yes again, because we have to catch up yet again, because every time we pop our heads up for air, they push us back down. After Thursday as well, it was natural the lads would be running on empty too.”
There has been speculation about Allegri’s future at the club and he was asked if it’s right for him to remain when so much is up in the air?
“We need to talk to the club and see where we are playing. I don’t know if they will even allow us to play in the Europa League, we’ll have to wait and see,” he said referencing the potential UEFA Financial Fair Play penalties.
“Obviously, if you are out of all competition, you have to make one plan. We cannot say that Juventus will immediately get back to winning next season, but the important thing is to all be aligned during difficulties.
“It would be cowardly for me to abandon Juventus at this moment. I am disappointed tonight because it was an opportunity, but I also cannot reproach the team for anything, because it has been a continual chasing down of situations.
“I want to point out one thing: Juventus are second in the table, we earned that on the field. We accept everything, but I really hope this just gets sorted out once and for all. It’s a steady drip, drip, drip, let them just decide where they want Juventus to be, tell us and resolve the problem.
“It is a lack of respect towards people who are working, players and coaches. I am not telling them what to decide, I just ask them to decide once and for all. It’s incredible. Just incredible. Enough is enough.”
The lone positive from the night was seeing Federico Chiesa score his first Serie A goal in over 500 days, but there were also many individual errors.
“Juventus have always got back on our feet, we need to be clear-headed. Now we can only hope that we can begin the next season knowing what the situation is. I don’t know how we reached this point, because I might seem impervious to everything, but it has been just torture. I wish they’d have just told us two months ago what the penalty was and let us know if we were going to be stabbed or poisoned, because at least we’d know.”