Pressure is mounting on Max Allegri after a poor start to the season, but Lorenzo Bettoni explains why Juventus should stick to their coach.
Juventus have only won two games across all competitions this season, losing three and drawing four.
They lost both their opening Champions League games for the first time in history and are six points behind leaders Napoli and Atalanta in Serie A.
So, why shouldn’t the Bianconeri sack him?
1. Financial issues
Juventus will announce a €250m loss for 2021-22 and sacking him now would bring a substantial financial burden to the club. Allegri signed a four-year deal worth €7m plus add-ons in 2021, so he has slightly less than three years left in his contract. Juventus director Maurizio Arrivabene caused outrage last week when he jokingly asked a fan whether he’d pay for his successor, suggesting that the Old Lady doesn’t have the financial resources to hire another top-level tactician.
2. Injuries
During his ‘informal chat’ with Il Corriere della Sera on Saturday (which had not been authorized by the club), Allegri claimed that his Juventus side is a ‘virtual team’ as many of their best players are dealing with injuries. Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa will only return to action in January (the best case scenario is the end of October for the Italy international), while Angel Di Maria has been playing inconsistently due to physical issues.
Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot and Alex Sandro have also missed the last few games and will return to action after the international break. Under the current circumstances, it would be tough for any coach to build a solid squad with a clear identity. As of today, the team is weaker than last season because the best new signings haven’t been able to take to the pitch consistently.
3. Project
Arrivabene spoke to DAZN again yesterday, prior to Juventus’ 1-0 loss against Monza. He insisted that sacking Allegri would be nonsense because the Bianconeri hired him for a long-term project.
“Changing technical guidance would be absolute madness. Today the problems must be seen in 360 degrees,” he said.
“We have come out of difficult years that have taken their toll, not only in football. Making summary trials does not help a club like Juventus to work on discipline.”
Allegri is one of the most winning Italian coaches of all time and although his style is not among the most spectacular out there, he’s proven that he can fulfil the club’s targets when he has a competitive squad in his hands. Sacking him now would bring even more confusion to the club and may not fix Juventus’ issues long-term.
Of course, the scenario would change at the end of the season if the Bianconeri complete another trophyless campaign, bearing in mind that his predecessors Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo were sacked after bringing at least one trophy at home during their one-year spell at the Allianz Stadium.
Another potential turning point in Allegri’s Juventus future is the qualification to the Champions League Round of 16, a crucial target for the club, also from a financial perspective. If Allegri fails to accomplish the club’s minimum target in Europe, there may not be alternatives to changing the guard in Turin.
Disagree with this? Check out why Juventus SHOULD SACK Allegri as soon as possible.
The 7/9 cannot afford to sack him. He is a business genius. PhD Plonker was unemployed for over 2 years and he got the deal of a lifetime. In return all he had to do was serve up rotten ball and he has exceeded expectations. They are not that upset with him. Deep down they must be loving the 0-1, 1-1 and 0-0 performances.