After a shambolic Champions League defeat to Porto, let’s check out the five biggest problems Juventus have had this season.
Juventus are out of the Champions League, their Serie A title defense is almost in pieces, and the Coppa Italia represents their best (and maybe only) chance of silverware for this season.
For a club of this stature, with players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s unacceptable – no excuses.
So what has gone wrong this season? Here we give you the club’s five biggest problems that have occurred.
Rookie coach Pirlo not making the right decisions
The manager almost always gets the finger of blame after a terrible defeat, and Andrea Pirlo was no exception.
Juventus’ decision to promote the Italian, who had never even coached a team at any level, as head coach last summer was always a bold call and, speaking frankly, an enormous gamble.
Unfortunately, Pirlo has done little to prove otherwise. The 41-year-old knows what he wants in terms of style of play, but has struggled to implement his ideas. He also keeps making changes to the team and bad ones at that.
Rookie or not, Pirlo has to take responsibility for the Champions League defeat to Porto.
Where is Ronaldo’s support?
Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Champions League and Ballon d’Or winner, was effectively a spectator and nothing more in the Porto defeat.
Critics called him out for a lack of bravery after the loss, but what about the lack of service from his teammates?
Like it or not, Ronaldo is getting older. It’s unfair to expect a 36-year-old to keep doing what he did four or five years ago every week, no matter how exceptional he may be. Juventus should’ve taken this into account a long time ago.
The Bianconeri need to find a way to build the team around Ronaldo’s strengths and for the future at the same time.
What transition? Juventus have gone backwards, not forward!
With a new manager in Pirlo and the arrival of young talents, such as Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Chiesa, there has been talk of Juventus going through a transition phase this season.
The young players have impressed to be fair, but what good is that if Juventus end up going backwards rather than forward?
Big clubs always go forward no matter the circumstances, and Pirlo must find a way to rectify this for the future.
Injuries haven’t helped
Some things just can’t be helped, especially regarding injuries.
Like Liverpool in the Premier League, although not as severe, Juventus have struggled with injury problems, especially in the defense.
Top players like Paulo Dybala, Merih Demiral, and Rodrigo Bentancur still remain sidelined at the time of writing.
No creativity whatsoever
The Old Lady only converted 9% of their 31 attempts on goal against Porto.
Most of their chances came from crosses, with Juan Cuadrado whipping in 33 crosses during the match. According to WhoScored, 15 of them were accurate. Most of the club’s crosses, however, were cleared by Porto defender Pepe.
Chances of through balls in the game, which would’ve suited Ronaldo better, were almost non-existent. In fact, Cristiano hardly got on the end of any crosses despite heading one ball just past the post.
It’s clear Juventus need more creativity from the middle of the park, but just who could they sign?
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