Out with the previous, in with the brand new.
This was the mantra that Juventus vigorously promoted final summer time. And but, other than a set of recent faces between the pitch and the dugout, and the dearth of outbursts that contain throwing jackests to the bottom and grabbing journalists by the throat, one would wrestle to identify the distinction between the previous and what has been deemed because the ‘new’.
To start with, judging Thiago Motta at this stage of this season stays blasphemously untimely. In spite of everything, the younger tactician remains to be adjusting to life in Turin, whereas the harm disaster absolutely hasn’t made issues any simpler. Furthermore, the dearth of expertise inside his ranks has been painfully apparent, to say the least.
Ant but, one has to marvel no matter occurred to the younger and impressed supervisor who took Serie A by storm together with his ballsy strategy final season at Bologna, the one who stored urging his males ahead whatever the outcome.
This season, it feels as if the Bianconeri are mechanically set to retreat to their areas each time they take the lead, whatever the timing or the dimensions of the opposition. We even noticed this lacklustre strategy in opposition to bottom-of-the-table Monza and Lecce, regardless that it has backfired as a rule.
Nonetheless, Juventus followers aren’t unfamiliar with this ultra-cautious technique. Actually, this was one of many primary the explanation why the most important a part of the fanbase was demanding Max Allegri’s head by the center of his chaotic second reign.
Nevertheless, the Livorno native may have been excused for passionately defending this strategy. In spite of everything, it had borne nice success throughout his superb first tenure, earlier than proving to be a lot much less efficient when he returned two years later. He merely refused to just accept that nice many issues had modified on the membership throughout his absence, and the well-known BBC he as soon as boasted was not there to soundly shut down matches by defending the smallest of margins.
Furthermore, Allegri had at the very least owned this strategy, taking pleasure in his “Corto Muso” victories.
(Picture by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Pictures)
Then again, Motta merely wasn’t born for this strategy, and but, it appears as if Allegri’s spirit remains to be haunting the partitions of Continassa, luring his successor into unfamiliar territory.
And as soon as once more, the younger tactician has been reminded of the risks of toying with a one-goal lead when he doesn’t have Giorgio Chiellini and his comrades marshalling the backline, as all that it takes is one little slip – extra usually figurative however often literal – to burn extra factors to ashes and go away the membership trailing within the depressing sixth place whereas attempting to masks its sorrows with what needs to be essentially the most hole, unimpressive undefeated run in soccer historical past.
Due to this fact, we are able to solely hope that the newest disappointment in opposition to Fiorentina serves as a wake-up name for Motta who should return to the trail that made him profitable within the first place and stray from an archaic mentality that has precipitated sufficient harm already.