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Juventus is the only team to win nine consecutive titles in one of the five most important leagues in Europe
It took two Andreas and one Antonio to start a Juventus dynasty. It might take just one Andrea to finish this.
The Bianconeri have won nine consecutive Serie A titles, but when they face leader AC Milan at San Siro on Wednesday (19:45 GMT start), they will do so 10 points from drift and with their national dominance under greater threat than at any other point in the last decade.
At the helm is manager Andrea Pirlo, whose genius on the pitch helped usher in the era of success that also saw them win the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup four times each, and reach two Champions League finals.
Since Pirlo’s first meeting with Juventus owner Andrea Agnelli in 2011, the couple have enjoyed a close relationship. “It was a soccer love at first sight,” Pirlo wrote in his autobiography.
Under then-coach Antonio Conte, Juve dominated Italian football in a way that not even they, 36 times champions, had before.
Until now.
Pirlo: from architect to destroyer? Andrea Pirlo replaced Maurizio Sarri as Juventus coach in August 2020 with a two-year contract
While Pirlo’s arrival in Turin as a player started an era of unimaginable success, his return as coach could well result in his destruction.
Juventus are fifth in the league, albeit with one game in hand, with just seven wins out of 14. When the champions take the field at AC Milan’s San Siro, they won’t arouse fear in their opponents like they did before.
Shameful draws against players like Crotone and Benevento, not to mention the 3-0 loss to Fiorentina, a team that had managed just two wins in Serie A, has drawn justified criticism and means they are no longer favorites.
Juventus look tactically confused, nervous on too many occasions and vulnerable when attacked in numbers. A team famous for its overwhelming control of a match can’t seem to even control its emotions these days.
Already five times this season a red card has left Pirlo with only 10 men on the field.
Agnelli, who is looking to explain why Juve has been stuttering with Pirlo, explained that the lack of preseason has hampered his start. While the best clubs in Italy have benefited from a certain consistency in these two anomalous seasons, Juventus is one of the few teams that has changed coaches and has therefore not had time to pass on new ideas during a preseason.
Pirlo has been forced to experiment during matches, which has resulted in some bizarre displays and elections early in the campaign. The players were not used in their normal roles and there were tactical imbalances throughout the field. However, little by little, we have begun to see the methods behind their decisions.
Pirlo wants a boldly upright team that presses high up the field, quickly gains possession and immediately delivers the pass to goal. He wants to attack with five and does not want to have senseless possession of the ball.
When it works, like against Parma or Barcelona in the Champions League, it is quite beautiful to see. Bianconeri are capable of unpredictable play patterns and exciting attacks, and they have a defense that has held up well under pressure. Only Napoli have conceded fewer league goals this season.
The problem, however, is that it doesn’t always work out and one is never sure which Juve team will show up, especially if they are missing the top scorer in Serie A, Cristiano Ronaldo, or the top scorer in the Champions League, Álvaro. Morata. Both have been indispensable.
Juventus dominates the game with the authority of the champions or dissolves under the pressure of it. They are vulnerable when attacked in numbers and struggling to take down teams defending in a low block. Also, when obstacles do arise, Pirlo struggles to address them properly due to his inexperience.
For example, against Fiorentina, midfielder Juan Cuadrado received a red card, leaving Juve with 10 men after just 18 minutes. Pirlo opted to remove midfielder Aaron Ramsey and bring in defender Danilo, a decision that led to his team giving up complete control and possession, and a 3-0 loss.
Juventus, like many major teams this season, from Liverpool to Barcelona, are struggling compared to previous heights, but blaming Pirlo for it all is unfair.
What was expected of a man who received his coach badges on September 14, 2020, just days before taking charge of his first professional game?
And it is worth remembering that Massimiliano Allegri, who led Juventus to the Champions League final in 2015, had only 24 points in his first 14 games of the 2015-16 season, and won the national double.
Will power change from Turin to Milan? AC Milan is 10 points ahead of Juventus in the Italian top flight
It will be the tests against AC Milan on Wednesday and then against Inter Milan in a few weeks that will surely give us more answers on what to expect from Pirlo’s men.
Milan, which has apparently started a new project every summer, has finally found consistency.
Under the tutelage of the pragmatic Stefano Pioli, Italy’s youngest team have been producing sensational performances and have not lost in 27 league games, despite the congested roster of matches and the many absences they have been forced to face.
Thanks to the experience and mentality of serial winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the tactical expertise of Pioli, Milan are trying to start a winning era that Juventus ended in 2011. 1-1 draw with Juve in February of that year and lost the title that season. In a decline, the Rossoneri have struggled to stop so far.
Both Pioli and Pirlo insist that Wednesday’s game is not decisive and that the real winner could be Inter, who many believe are the real favorites to win the league. The Nerazzurri have deep squad and an experienced coach in Conte. More importantly, they don’t have European competitions to deal with, so they should arrive in good condition for every match.
January should provide Serie A fans with more answers on who is really capable of competing for the title among the big three.
If Pirlo fails to win the tenth consecutive title, then the fault lies with the Juve management, who insisted on betting at a time when they boast of players like Ronaldo, a player, perhaps unlike his coach, who is ready to win now.
So Andrea could be the culprit of the end of an era, but not the one you thought.
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Source: bbc.com
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