The rebirth of Juventus under Spalletti leaves behind the question: can it already run for the scudetto? This is why it is good for the Old Lady to focus on how to plan the future without making bold dreams.
It took him about eighty days, almost as long as it took Phileas Fogg to make his trip around the world, but in the end Luciano Spalletti has found the key to rekindling Juventus. The results, supreme judges of the work of any coach, say it, and the feeling of finally having a team with a precise and recognizable identity in front of them also explains it. Not perfect, with obvious gaps that carry over from its construction, but now on the pitch it knows what to do and in most cases it does it well.
From last October 30th to mid-January: it took Spalletti a while to make things right. The outcome of his commitment is there for all to see: in the last 11 games played, Juventus have won 9, only losing the one (the worst by detachment) in Naples and drawing the match against Lecce which in terms of performance was one of the most convincing performances. Then, since football is a game that loves to fool those who practice and talk about it, the people of Salento returned home with a point and the Old Lady seemed to fall back into the crisis. All false.
Spalletti and the solutions found for attack and defense
Suddenly the picture began to take shape. There is still no Spalletti signature on how the Juventus game flows, even if the last few matches have shown plots that recall the past, however the coach brought clarity to his choices and, consequently, gave confidence to his players by obtaining adequate responses. The symbol is the Canadian striker Jonathan David, who went from nothing in the autumn to a certain confidence with the goal: Vlahovic is increasingly distant from Juventus’ thoughts and at the end of the year he will be able to peacefully say goodbye to the company when his contract expires.
The return to a permanent position of Bremer he certainly gave a big hand to Spalletti and fueled the distant regrets of Thiago Motta and Tudor. However, a line has been built around the Brazilian that has defined hierarchies and which has also allowed for Kelly – a highly criticized purchase in recent months – to be useful on a continuous basis. In short, all is well except that there are staff limits and Spalletti himself knows this, so much so that he would not disdain a hand from the January transfer market despite knowing the limits within which the club must move.
Juventus, this is why the scudetto remains a mirage
And now? What is the reasonable horizon of this new Juventus? Can he run for the scudetto, as the coach preached on the day he landed in Turin, or is it better not to have any illusions? Having said that it won’t be easy to even climb up to the Champions League quota, the minimum goal required by the owners, yesIt would be useful for the recent past to suggest to the Juventus world not to bite off more than they can chew.
Inter and Napoli also demonstrated in the big match at San Siro that they are two advanced and evolved sporting projects, certainly superior to the Juventus one which is in year one of the Comolli era. Being aware of this does not mean abdicating one’s history, but building the future with pragmatism. In the meantime, Spalletti’s deal will have to be put on paper, which formally expires at the end of the year: the signs are there and the announcement will not be long in coming. So we will need to finish sowing this season, extending the Champions League journey as much as possible and making a return round as good as the first round.
Calculator in hand, the 36 points collected in the ascending phase of the championship are not yet a guarantee – if repeated identically – of gaining the pass for the Europe that counts. We need to run and eliminate waste and empty passes. And evaluate the players available to avoid making mistakes in the consolidation market in the summer. Programs that do not rhyme with the Scudetto, but which are the basis for Juventus to win again.
