Juventus are trying to move on from Catenaccio but they’re doing it mindlessly
‘In the middle of the madness, you don’t have time to identify which player is on your team. If you don’t instantly get it through his movements, you may not know. So, before anything, you get a panorama of a match; the spaces from where you are, and what players are around you.' - Thiago Alcantara.
It’s a snippet from a wonderful interview, the Spaniard dished out to the Independent before a majestic performance against Chelsea where it seemed that there was no stopping him. And there really wasn’t because on that night in London, Thiago Alcantara was the best player on the field and more importantly, he was so very very fun to watch. Everything he did was uber cool, every pass he played was utterly brilliant and every move he made ran Bayern Munich. Did he assist or score any of the three goals? He did not. But were any of them possible without him? They would not have been.
But in so many ways, it’s exactly what Maurizio Sarri is trying to do not just at Juventus but with Miralem Pjanic, and even Rodrigo Bentancur despite the fact that neither experiment has worked. It’s why when Sarri signed for Chelsea, he insisted, and some even say demanded, that Jorginho sign with him. Because in so many ways, the Italian/Brazilian is Sarri’s Thiago. And more importantly, in so many ways, it’s why Sarri’s version of a beautiful Juventus hasn’t worked despite a good start. Things started well but Pjanic for all his brilliance was never going to be the man running the team.
The Bosnian is many things but a regista he is not and that, amongst many other issues, is why Sarri’s Juventus has fallen to pieces. The story is like many before and many after it. A new boss walks into the team, he’s a stark difference to the more pragmatic and steely presence that the old one had, his training methods are different, his playing style is different and then comes the manager bounce. Because the new manager is nothing like the old one, the team does well. But eventually, things go back to normal and it’s caused issues here in Turin.
Losing for Juventus has always been a sin. So much so that they’ve only done it 27 times since the start of the 2011/12 season, which is an average of three times a season. This season with twelve games to go, in the league alone, and Juventus already have three. It includes stunning losses to Hellas Verona, title challengers Lazio and a-then-in-chaos Napoli. That has had a knock-on effect which has seen fans scream for Sarri to be given the boot and Massimiliano Allegri to be brought back. And that is where the problem lies for Juventus and it’s why they need to stop that train however they can.
Unless it takes murdering Allegri to stop the avalanche into the Juventus Stadium, the Old Lady needs to do whatever possible to put an end to any rumours surrounding Sarri. Not just because of the fact that they’ve only appointed him six months ago but because of what he represents. For them, he’s the gruff, grumpy, chain-smoking, track-suit wearing man who's leading them into a brand new and rather attractive future they imagine themselves having someday. He’s the man who leads an all-conquering Italian giant not to glory but rather to footballing immortality and stadiums full of money. It’s why they’ve slowly over the years transformed themselves from a mere football club and have started pandering to the world and have become a brand.
Feel like the Maurizio Sarri experiment at Juventus was always doomed to fail.
— Andrew Cesare (@AndrewCesare) February 27, 2020
They wanted him to come in and implement a system which takes years to perfect immediately, with players who don't suit it, but also keep things the same. And win every trophy
It’s why they changed their club badge to a logo, how Cristiano Ronaldo found himself in Turin and more importantly, why they changed from the good ol classic kits to this modern interpretation of Juventus. Because Juve want to mean more in the commercial market. More than their tenth place finish in Deloitte's Money League with Tottenham and Chelsea finishing above them. They know that there is only so much money that their owners, the league, prize-money and even the Serie A’s broadcasting deal can pour into Turin. How one day, that won’t be enough to give them that ultimate dream of winning Champions Leagues but turning themselves into a marketing giant does. They’ve seen the way Manchester United have and still are coasting on the glory of the past with greedy little dollar signs in their eyes.
And the figures back that up. Deloitte's report has shown us that the Red Devils earned €317.2 million in commercial revenue alone with only four other sides outdoing them. Juventus, by comparison, earned just €185.6 million with Tottenham, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and many others earning more. To put that in perspective, Europa League playing Arsenal and Inter Milan earned only seventy million less with Juventus beating Arsenal to the top ten by just fourteen million. It's what has prompted this change in the Old Lady but a large part of them doing that is based on the football they play which is why Maurizio Sarri is here. He’s experienced, came the closest to ending their dominance over Italy and more importantly, the man did it in exquisite style. It’s why they appointed him in the first place.
Because they know, 100 years into the future and the world will remember Juventus but they’ll remember Sarri’s Napoli so much more fondly. The same way the world remembers Arrigo Sacchi and his AC Milan despite the fact that Sacchi’s Milan won just the lone title under his tenure. The same way the world remembers Jimmy Hogan, Osvaldo Ardiles and so many others. With fondness and happiness simply because they played attractive football. It’s the decision Juventus have come to after years and years of meetings with it more intertwined with the Old Lady’s marketing aspects rather than their footballing one. That does make a difference but it’s why Juventus need to either stick with Sarri or bring about change via another way.
The Pep Guardiola way so to speak and that move is absolutely possible. Especially now with Manchester City in crisis, now with Manchester City banned from the very competition that Guardiola came to City to win. It’s like a dream come true. Like the prophetic words of the poet Marshall Mathers, they’ve got one chance, one opportunity to seize everything they ever wanted. Now, will they capture it or will they let it slip through their fingers because as wonderful as Sarrismo is, Juventus want instant results and that is never going to happen with Maurizio Sarri. The old man’s football takes time, some money and more time to implement as Napoli realized over the years.
His first season with the Partenopei saw them move two steps backwards with a quarter-final exit in the Coppa Italia and comprehensive defeats to Inter Milan, Udinese and Sassuolo. That’s what is behind the curtain that most football fans never saw and yet, a season later saw the world in awe with the men in Naples. Pep has never ever ever had that issue in his career. The Premier League is a different beast altogether and yet, he will walk away as an absolute success and a record-breaker. Yet Juventus have their best chance of bringing him to Turin because of Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s the biggest asset they have at the moment and it hands Pep Guardiola the chance to make his greatest dream come true, winning the Champions League without Lionel Messi. Just imagine, the Ronaldo and Guardiola combination comes up against Barcelona, Lionel Messi, and Quique Setien or Xavi as their manager in the 2021 Champions League final. It’s the story that dreams are made up of. The final decision, however, lies solely in Juventus’ palm and while they will make the right moves with their kit, the bench cannot go back in the past. They have to move forward, one way or another or else they’ll be risking not just billions of pounds/dollars/rupees but their place in football’s history books.