The year 2022 has been quite shocking for Juventus, who completed their first trophyless season in 11 years, seeing the Andrea Agnelli era suddenly end in November. But what has the future in store for the Bianconeri?
Juventus fans will be glad to see the end of the year approaching as 2022 has been brutal with them. The start was bitter-sweet with Federico Chiesa’s knee injury and the signing of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.
The Serbia international was the most wanted player in the January transfer window and snubbed a move to Arsenal, favouring the Old Lady, completing one of the most sensational January deals ever. However, although he helped Juventus seal a comfortable top-four finish, Juventus always remained quite far from the top and were knocked out by Villarreal in the Champions League Round of 16.
The Serie A giants reshuffled the team during the last two transfer windows, raising funds for Vlahovic by sending Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski two Tottenham, while Matthijs de Ligt joined Bayern Munich in the summer, when Paulo Dybala, Giorgio Chiellini and Federico Bernardeschi left the club at the end of their contracts.
The departure of the Argentinean striker, one of the fans’ favourites, raised questions although Juventus replaced La Joya with his compatriot Angel Di Maria and his friend Paul Pogba. A brilliant plan on paper, but both stars have been struggling with injuries in the first part of the season. The France midfielder was forced to miss the World Cup with France, won by Di Maria’s Argentina in a Final against Les Blues, also thanks to El Fideo’s third goal in three consecutive international Finals.
Juventus’ fortunes in the New Year are inevitably linked to both players. Pogba has yet to make his ‘second’ debut with the Bianconeri, while supporters expect Di Maria to show the same glimpses of class they witnessed in the World Cup Final last week.
The Bianconeri’s fortunes also depend on Chiesa, who should be fully fit in 2023 after his return to action before the World Cup break. Juventus are currently 10 points behind table leaders Napoli who they face in a key Serie A fixture at the Stadio Maradona on January 13.
They won’t play in the Champions League as they were eliminated in the group phase, another shocking event for the Old Lady in 2022. The last time they had been eliminated so early in the competition was in 2013 with Antonio Conte in charge.
The draw was undoubtedly a positive one for the Serie A champions, who will meet Ligue 1 strugglers Nantes in the Europa League play-offs with the first match played in Turin on February 16.
As we all know, Juventus are also dealing with off-the-pitch matters. Andrea Agnelli and the entire board of directors resigned on November 28. The next shareholders’ meeting on December 27 will be the last one chaired by the ex-Bianconeri President, while the new board of directors will take place on January 18, 2023.
Exor have already named Agnelli’s successor, Gianluca Ferrero, while Maurizio Scanavino, will replace Maurizio Arrivabene as the club’s CEO. The other board members will be named in the coming weeks and although the new group of chiefs is expected to be mainly made of technical figures who can navigate the financial and legal chaos surrounding the club, fans expect to see a sporting figure among them with everyone’s dream being the return of club legend Alessandro Del Piero.
Juventus, as a club, could also face a sporting trial for alleged inflated transfer values – Plusvalenze – while 11 of their previous directors and the club itself have been recommended for a criminal trial for alleged false accounting and false communication to the market, among other things.
Many see a Calciopoli 2.0 here with Juventus potentially relegated to Serie B more than 10 years after the match-fixing scandal that involved the club in 2006. However, it is unlikely that punishments will go this far as, in order to be docked points or get relegated to the second division, the sporting trial must prove that financial irregularities helped the club register for the campaign. Verdicts from the pitch will be known earlier, however, as Allegri’s boys resume the season on January 4, away at Cremonese.
Yeah many of us see a calciopoli 2,0 aka another fake farse trial