The following is a guest post from Amit Champaneri. You can follow him here on X (Formerly Twitter).
The ambition for Juventus is seeing us get back to winning ways while playing exciting football. Our history has always been about winning! Will Motta find that balance?
With another Serie A season about to start, and the promise of exciting attacking football ahead with Thiago Motta in charge, and with Cristiano Giuntoli’s dramatic squad changes, it now seems an ideal time to reflect on what has made Juventus one of the most successful clubs in football history, while looking cautiously ahead.
My love for Juventus started at the age of eight when I saw this brilliant team in the famous black and white striped shirts on UK satellite TV (pre-Sky) during the Trapattoni era. Roberto Baggio was playing up front, a young Conte in midfield, Kohler in central defence and, of course, the legend Peruzzi in goal. That progressed to even more love and support when I started watching Juventus play on the incredible Gazzetta Football Italia in the UK, which was Channel 4s flagship Serie A show back when Saturday morning TV was at its peak in the 90s. From this point on I became a Juventus obsessive, which luckily for me coincided with the start of one of our greatest ever eras under Marcello Lippi.
Coupled with the flashy Juventus I witnessed at an early age, I’m originally from Leeds in the UK, and as many Juve fans will know, Leeds United FC sold John Charles to Juventus back in 1957 for a then record whopping transfer fee of £65,000! As he is with Juventus, Charles, or Il Gigante Buono, is a legend at Leeds United to a point where he has the West Stand named after him at Elland Road. I’d therefore heard and seen something of the winning tradition of Juventus locally from a young age, as John Charles, and his legacy at both Leeds and Juventus are still spoken about fondly in West Yorkshire.
As Juve supporters, we have been spoilt with so much success, and at times, we get to watch incredible football, with some of the best and most exciting players to ever grace the game, with icons such as Del Piero, Buffon, Baggio, Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pirlo, Nedved, Trezeguet, Vialli, Pogba (first spell). But that “winning is all that matters” and “Fino Alla Fine” (until the end) mentality is also down to how solid we have been at the other end of the pitch, with the likes of Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci, Ferrara, Montero, Cannavaro, Thuram, Marchisio, Davids, Vidal etc, to name but a few who enable this fighting tradition.
Our recent unprecedented nine successive title league run demonstrates this – Conte’s teams were built on a three-man defence, two wing-backs, one or two midfielders who orchestrate play, while possessing energy to provide defensive cover and an energetic press. Allegri’s first era saw us expand that high-intensity, in-your-face style into effective and attractive football supported by the incredible midfield four of Pirlo, Marchisio, Pogba and Vidal. Even if we have often had to tolerate tight 1-0 victories, we were winning and that is all that mattered, so, when Allegri 2.0 manifested with the defensive/counterattack football style, we seemed to get all the conservative nature of the defensive play, but without any of the success we’ve become so accustomed to…well, aside from the Coppa Italia victory last season.
What we now long for is exciting football, which can also get us the best results. Thus, the arrival of Thiago Motta, a young Coach with a philosophy etched in “beautiful football” and with a team that has balance, defends very well together, has the desire to possess the ball, and attacks together, we may find ourselves being on the cusp of something special. While Motta says he wants this Juventus team to be focused on delivering good performances and attractive football, the balance he will have to strike for is the “winning is all that matters” mentality, and this may mean grinding out results when needed. The winning expectation we have had for decades, after many years of success, will be Motta’s biggest challenge. The desperately needed overhaul of our midfield with the arrival of Douglas Luiz, Thuram, and hopefully Koopmeiners, will be central to any success. It is also clear we are light on wingers now (with Soule’s departure and Chiesa frozen out), and require a back-up striker to Vlahovic, and probably another central defender.
Another challenge for Motta is trying to find harmony in the new squad of players, with Giuntoli looking to fit arguably 2-3 transfer windows activity into one summer. The players who have been frozen out must have their future resolved, and resolved quickly, though it seems difficult to think they will all depart in this window. We know Chiesa, McKennie and Rugani can all make a difference, and with so many competitions to play in this season, squad depth is vital, so a larger team could prove useful if those on the fringes can step up when needed. It should not take many more changes to make this a title challenging squad.
As Juventus supporters, we have experienced a range of emotions over the years, from the highs of winning many trophies, to the lows of UCL Final defeats, Calciopoli and the recent “financial scandal”, which on both occasions, only Juventus were punished severely over. This season, however, represents something not experienced in many years – excitement, hope, and the feeling of an era of success. Winning is part of the Juventus DNA – it has been for many years, and is really all that matters to both the club and the fans. If Motta can instil that “Fino Alla Fine” spirit with the added bonus of modern attacking possession football we crave, he will hopefully find the balance to start another winning cycle for La Vecchia Signora.
