Juventus began their post-Ronaldo era with a shocking 1-0 defeat against Empoli, but somehow the Portuguese’s exit seems to be the least of the Bianconeri’s problems, writes Lorenzo Bettoni.
More than 17.000 fans returned to the Allianz Stadium for the Old Lady’s first game after Cristiano Ronaldo departed from Turin. Not many of them were wearing shirts of the Portuguese star. Some still did it, but with some major adjustments to mark the distance from their former hero.
Ronaldo had scored 101 goals in 134 appearances with the Old Lady, but the feeling is that even a lethal finisher like the Portuguese could not do much had he still played for Juventus last night. The Bianconeri had an excellent start and Federico Chiesa looked absolutely on fire, with the Old Lady’s fans who provided their loud support to the squad. However, that lasted until Leonardo Mancuso netted the opener, and the eventual winner, after 21 minutes.
At that point, Juventus looked weak, unable to react and way too confused. Their fans become a double-edged sword as their moans turned into boos both at halftime and after the final whistle. The crowd was furious with Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur when the two midfielders were subbed off in the second half. Neither Paulo Dybala nor Dailo could calm the fans down when they ran under the Curva Sud to apologise at the end of the match.
Many thought Ronaldo was a burden for Juventus. Financially, it may have been true, but the Portuguese star hid all the problems the Bianconeri have on the pitch. And they have many.
They don’t have a deep-lying playmaker and neither the signing of Manuel Locatelli could solve this problem as Max Allegri seems convinced to play him as a ‘mezzala’ in a 4-3-3- formation. The coach started Danilo in front of the defence on Saturday, but the Brazilian’s performance was underwhelming, to say the least, although that wasn’t entirely his fault. No coincidence the Tuscan boss wants to reunite with Miralem Pjanic in Turin, but in order to do so, another midfielder has to leave. But who?
Aaron Ramsey is constantly injured and his €7m-a-year salary makes it difficult, if not impossible, to sell him. Weston McKennie seems to have attracted interest from a few Premier League sides and although Allegri claimed the midfielder ‘should not leave’, the American looked like a fish out of water against Empoli. He played as an attacking midfielder behind Chiesa and Paulo Dybala, but his game only lasted 45 minutes.
The midfield has been Juventus’ biggest problem for a few years now. They don’t have the same quality that elite European clubs possess in the middle of the park and neither Pjanic nor Axel Witsel, who has also been linked with a move to Turin, will solve this problem. They can be an upgrade, but not enough to make the difference.
Moving up front, Dybala played everywhere but didn’t seem to cover a clear position on the pitch and he also became too irritable after Empoli’s goal. Federico Chiesa was the only one able to bring the ball forward, creating trouble for the Tuscans, but way too often, he was left alone up there and the Italian starlet could not find a point of reference inside the box.
Once again, this is not something entirely new for Juventus. The Bianconeri experienced the same during Cristiano Ronaldo’s time in Turin as the Portuguese never wanted to play as a centre forward but preferred to start on the left flank, cutting inside to shoot.
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Things don’t seem smooth on the back as well, although, on paper, Juventus’ defence is the best department of the team. Leonardo Bonucci seems en route to finding his best form after an outstanding UEFA Euro 2020 campaign. The same isn’t true of Matthijs de Ligt, but they represent an affordable defensive partnership, provided that midfield and full-backs help them tracking back.
Juventus’ problem at the back is depth with Daniele Rugani, Mattia De Sciglio and Luca Pellegrini who haven’t been part of the club’s plans for the last couple of years but seem destined to stay in Turin this season, more for economic than for tactical reasons.
All in all, Juventus seemed an unbalanced team, in Giorgio Chiellini’s eyes, the Bianconeri still aren’t even a team yet. Ronaldo scored 29 goals in 33 Serie A games last term. Despite that, the Old Lady managed a narrow top-four finish on the final day of the season, when CR7 was left on the bench.
Juventus didn’t lose against Empoli because of Ronaldo’s absence, although his goals had hidden the Old Lady’s problems during the last two campaigns. Now that he is gone, everybody can see them. The Portuguese had to go, sooner or later, the issue for Juventus is that they are now in a worse situation than when CR7 arrived three years ago and that the team must be rebuilt completely in a Serie A that is now much more balanced than in the last decade.
@lorebetto