Will Turin’s Old Lady Sing Again This Season?

Published on: 03 September 2019

The more things change, the more things stay the same. That statement has certainly rung true since the start of the decade, as Juventus have been the undisputed kings of Italian football.

Since 2012, they have won all eight contested editions of the Serie A and although the managerial helm has changed hands during that time, the Old Lady of Turin has never relinquished her vice-like grip on the Scudetto.

With Juventus running roughshod over their Italian counterparts, the question has been as to whether or not they can transfer that dominance to the European stage. Allegri’s Juventus got desperately close in both 2015 and 2017, but it is Champions League failure which has been his undoing.

The relatively shock exit to Ajax in last season’s competition was one that was always going to be a huge blot on the copybook of the now-former Juventus boss. It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction from the board, though: many had been feeling that his days in charge were coming to an end.

There’s no doubting that Allegri is one of the best coaches in recent times but without earning the accolade of kings of the continent, the Juventus hierarchy seemed to lose patience in their bid to earn one of the game’s biggest prizes.

Which meant that change was afoot over the course of the summer and that came in the way of appointing Maurizio Sarri as the club’s new manager, someone who now has a taste of winning European silverware of his own. Admittedly it may have only been the Europa League with Chelsea, but they do say that success breeds success and after a slightly uninspiring stint in West London, Sarri will certainly have a point to prove back home.

Some quarters will point to what they think is Sarri taking over the easiest job in Italy and when you look at the latest Serie A betting, you can begin to understand why this train of thought has become so prevalent. Juventus are priced at 1/2 favourites to extend their run of Serie A title victories to nine and although they do have the squad in which to do so, at the same time you could argue that Sarri has the most difficult job in Italy.

That’s because with such an ominous streak of success, no-one ever wants to be the man in charge when it all comes to an end and after struggling to win over Chelsea fans with his method of ‘Sarri-Ball’, he is going to have to make sure Juventus’ passionate fan base now buy into his brand.

You could argue that once again Serie A is Juventus’ to lose but at the same time, it could just as easily be Inter Milan’s to win and when you consider that they have installed Antonio Conte in the San Siro hotseat, it makes things all the more interesting.

What better way, then, to topple Juventus from their perch, than by employing a man who has been to that very same summit. With Conte knowing what makes this club tick, Juventus might just be looking over their shoulders this season.

If one former Chelsea manager can outwit another, then Juventus’ domestic dominance will come to an end and if Maurizio Sarri fails to deliver Juventus to a ninth straight title, don’t expect him to be given a second season of employment.

The stakes are going to be high going into this new campaign and although you may consider backing Juventus as a worthwhile long-term investment, do remember that all winning streaks eventually come to an end. Turin’s old lady might not be singing come the end of the season.

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

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