Massimiliano Allegri has grown into a much-maligned figure at Juventus, being blamed by large portions of the fanbase for the team’s difficulties this season, but is it really all his fault?
There’s no way to hide from the fact that this campaign has not been a positive one for the Old Lady, even ignoring their serious off-pitch issues. Despite being temporarily given back the 15 points that they were deducted, the Bianconeri still sit far behind league leaders Napoli and are in the thick of a top four race, leaving things tense for the final stages of this season.
The first half of the season was particularly difficult for Juventus and this is where a lot of frustrations with Allegri emerged. After nine Serie A outings, the team found themselves a painful 8th in the league table, already 10 points behind the league leaders, and things were not better in Europe.
The Old Lady were dire in the Champions League and deservedly crashed out in the group stages, losing to Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain and Maccabi Haifa, an embarrassing early exit for a team who reached the finals twice in the last decade.
In this context, it’s hard not to blame Allegri, whose tactics only seemed to produce depressing football, with limited chances up front, a confused midfield and a weak defence. On the other hand, the Bianconeri were dealing with a number of serious injuries in the first half of the season, unable to rely on players like Federico Chiesa, Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria.
By the time the World Cup in Qatar rolled around in November, a different situation was wreaking havoc in Turin, and it wasn’t Allegri’s tactics or style with Juventus. The Prisma investigation and resulting collapse of Andrea Agnelli’s time in charge of the club dangerously shook the boat in Turin, creating chaos and casting a dark shadow over the Piedmont capital.
Things were exacerbated by the 15-point deduction handed to them by the FIGC court in January, something that did little to help Allegri, or his squad, turn things around on the pitch. They plummeted down the Serie A table.
Impressively, Juventus maintained the form they’d discovered in the final stages of the first half of the season, only slipping up against Napoli and Monza as they started to claw back up the league table. Whilst it may not have been pretty, Allegri did well to grind out results despite the off-pitch concerns, and this was also seen in the Europa League.
The Bianconeri are still undefeated in the second tier of European club competition, progressing to the semi-finals after wins over Nantes, Freiburg and Sporting. They will battle it out with Europa League experts Sevilla for a spot in the final.
Considering the vortex of instability surrounding Juventus, some credit must be given to Allegri for his ability to maintain a relatively consistent level on the pitch, giving the team a strong shot of securing a top four finish and a possible European title.
On the other hand, his team still look relatively toothless and unconvincing, relying on individual moments of magic to win matches.
Star striker Dusan Vlahovic looks a shadow of the player he was in Florence, the midfield still looks lost regularly and a certain bite is missing, something that needs to be rediscovered if the Old Lady want to return to the top in Italy once again.