Juve Turnaround Means Title Would be the Best of this Generation
You know what they say in Turin: It ain’t over until the Old Lady sings and contrary to what many believe she isn’t quite ready to break into song just yet. Everyone other than Juventus thinks the title race is over in Serie A. They continue to see it as anything but a formality. Look at Barcelona, warned Juan Cuadrado. Not so long ago they had a nine-point lead in Spain. Now Atletico have caught them and Real Madrid are right on their heels as well.
Max Allegri also told journalists to do their sums. Mathematically it is still possible for Napoli and Roma to win the Scudetto. Juventus don’t have it sewn up just yet and can’t afford to relax. Everything could come undone this week if they underestimate a resurgent Lazio and Fiorentina. One aspires to get into the European places. The other hopes not to drop out of them.
But honestly who are Juventus kidding? They are on the brink of history. A fifth straight Scudetto is within grasp and Juventus will become the first ever club in Italy to have done it twice. The last time the Old Lady achieved it was back in 1935. The double-double is on too and it will perhaps come as a surprise to learn that no one has done that before in Italy either.
The common reaction is that this was in some way inevitable. When the casual observer hears that Juventus are top and poised to reclaim the title, they treat it as though it were inevitable when really it has been anything but. Juventus lost Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal in the summer. An injury crisis, decimated them at the beginning of the season and has never truly gone away. For the first time since 1912, they suffered defeat in each of their opening two league games.
No one had ever won the Scudetto after making such a start and as the season moved into November, the Old Lady found herself down in 12th, a seemingly disastrous 11 points off the top. Anyone who thinks Juventus get any favours should remember that, argued Gigi Buffon. They ended the girone d’andata with 39 points. Again, no one has ever won the title from that position.
If they were to do so, Buffon told me in February, it would be the biggest achievement of this Juventus generation. Bigger than the undefeated season. Bigger than the year they broke the 100-point barrier. Bigger, even, than when they almost did the treble.
It has taken something Herculean for Juventus to come back and be where they are now. Comparisons were drawn with Chelsea in the opening stages of the campaign. But how are they doing now? They’re 10th in the Premier League and already I can hear the counter-argument. The Premier League is tougher. More competitive. It does a disservice to Juventus.
They could have thrown in the towel and told themselves: it is a transition year. Instead they kept their composure, dug deep within themselves and attempted the impossible. The ability to hold their nerve is astonishing. The mentality is the X Factor.
This should already go without saying but it has been by no means easy for Juventus. They’ve had to come back from behind five times. Some games have only been resolved in the second half, the most pivotal being the Turin derby in November and the clash with Napoli in February: 17 of their points this season have been won after the interval.
Since their last defeat in Serie A, they have had to be as close to perfect as possible. Their record after 10 games was won 3, drawn 3, lost 4. From then on it has been won 22, drawn 1, lost 0. They have taken 67 points from a possible 69. That level of consistency is impeccable. Whatever you think about the standard of Serie A, every game remains a chess match. It’s why its coaches are the most sought after in the world.
Juventus’ resurgence has manifested itself in a 20-point swing. They have taken 40 points in the girone di ritorno and there are still five matches to play. The record is 50, as established by Antonio Conte. In the second half of the season, Juventus have conceded only twice. Buffon broke Sebastiano Rossi’s 22-year record for minutes without conceding. Stoppage time isn’t included but if it were it would have come to rest on 17 hours and 3 minutes.
Andrea Belotti stopped the clock in the Turin derby a month ago at the Stadio Grande Torino. However, the last player to beat Buffon at the J Stadium in Serie A was Josip Ilicic in December. Juventus have kept eight consecutive clean sheets at home, matching the club records set in 74-75 and 77-78.
Considering three of Juventus’ last five games are in front of their own fans, any hope Napoli might have of launching an improbable comeback of their own appear slim to none. Emerge unscathed from this week’s games and it really is done. Juventus’ focus can then turn to the Coppa Italia final against Milan and to next season.
Talk of a new contract for Allegri has been doing the rounds for six weeks. Before committing beyond his current arrangement, which expires in a year’s time, he wants reassurances about Juventus’ plans for the future. “If there isn’t consensus, one of us can put up their hand and leave,” he said. Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta remains in no doubt that Allegri is staying. His confidence, as expressed yesterday, that Paul Pogba will also still be around next season was presumably aimed at Allegri.
Juventus couldn’t be more satisfied with him. In November Tuttosport published a front-page which Photoshopped Allegri hanging on the side of a plane like Tom Cruise in the latest Mission Impossible movie. Instead of self-destructing, he is close to declaring this assignment from the IMF Mission Accomplished.
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