Juventus under high tension / Serie A / J5 / Spezia-Juventus / SOFOOT.com – SO FOOT

The scene is so unusual that it is enough on its own to sum up Juventus’ start to the season. At the final whistle of the match between Juve and Milan, ended 1-1, Max Allegri left his bench furious, and headed for the locker room. On the short path that separates him from the entrance to the tunnel, the coach let his anger explode. Problem: with cell phones permanently plugged in and tifosi on the prowl, his words ended up on social networks a few moments later. “Porca puttana! exclaims Allegri. E questi voglion ‘giocà nella Juve! ” Translation of the dialect: “Holy shit! And these guys want to play Juve? ” These famous “Guy” , those targeted by the coach are those who, according to him, are responsible for letting the victory slip away against Milan. Even if they were not openly mentioned, we obviously think of Moise Kean and Dejan Kulusevski, who came into play against Milan and who missed just about everything that could be missed. After the meeting, a lively exchange would also have taken place between Wojciech Szczęsny and Adrien Rabiot in the locker room. In short, it’s a storm on board, and Allegri will have to quickly take the helm if he does not want his ship to capsize.

Worst start in 60 years

From Milan to Milan, the evils are tough. On May 9, during a decisive match in the Champions League race, Pirlo’s Juventus was hit by a Milan who would end his season with a bang. That day, nothing had worked for the Turinese, and more than ever, the side “end of cycle” was felt. A little over four months later, the service bianconera against the same Milanese was more convincing, especially during the first half. But the fact of not having managed to keep the result proves that the evil is deep. And just look at the numbers to be convinced.

With two points in four days, Juventus is simply making its worst start since the 1961-1962 season. A year that it had punctuated in twelfth place, worse ranking in its history. Other data which confirms the unusual nature of the moment experienced by the Juventini : It is only the fourth time in its history that Juve are still dry of victories after four days. Even more worrying, she has conceded at least one goal in the last 18 Serie A games, when defense had been the cornerstone on which the nine were built. Scudetti, from 2012 to 2020.

Beyond the hesitations of the defensive phase, the entire tactical system is currently in doubt. Where the successive Juventus of Allegri had tactical and technical certainties in reinforced concrete, this Juve does not seem to have found its system yet. Which is normal somewhere. The Bianconeri had to learn, during three years and with three different coaches, to play with, around and for Cristiano Ronaldo, clearly modifying the habits taken under Conte then Allegri. And now, after three years, everything has to be deconstructed and everything started from scratch.

Find the system, find the men

If Allegri has not yet settled on a system, he has not found his men either. In four days of the championship, he has already used three tactical schemes and 19 different starters (only Szczęsny and Bonucci have started four times out of four). Facing Udinese (2-2) and Milan (1-1), Allegri aligned a 4-4-2, both times with the Morata-Dybala duo in tip, fed by the wingers, Cuadrado-Bernardeschi or Cuadrado -Rabiot. Precisely, against Milan, the fact of stretching the block and passing regularly on the wings worked in the first period. But from the moment the Milanese understood, and that they neutralized the sides, Allegri had no plan B. And the coach, if he does not hesitate to shoot red balls on his own players, also knows how to self-criticize on this subject. “We have to learn to quickly understand the moments of the game and understand that every ball can, at some point, become decisive. Against Milan, I myself did not even make the changes that I should have made. ”

In the two defeats, conceded against Empoli (0-1) and Naples (1-2), Allegri had respectively opted for a 4-3-1-2, with McKennie in support of Chiesa and Dybala, and a 4-3 -3, with a Bernardeschi-Morata-Kulusevski trident. But in view of the results, the coach did not insist, and went back to a 4-4-2 which seemed to suit the players better, at least for a good part of the meeting. Nevertheless, even with this system, shortcomings appeared (Locatelli uncomfortable in the role of regista), and Juve have confirmed they fail to maintain focus for 90 minutes. The proof: she has not yet won a single match, while she opened the scoring against Udinese, Napoli and Milan.

From then on, this Wednesday night’s match against Spezia Calcio is already becoming crucial. Juventus must finally get underway, also to free themselves mentally. Above all, she must manage to get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo. Last season, the Portuguese was often the tree that hid the forest. A year ago, during this same match against Spezia, for example, he had offered himself a double which paved the way for the success of the Turinese (1-4). His departure leaves Juve facing themselves. Faced with its strengths, weaknesses, certainties, doubts, fears. And faced with a ranking which already sees it counting ten points behind the Neapolitan leader.

By Éric Maggiori