Football Season Guide

Returning to Juventus after 2 years unemployed, coach Allegri was expected to lead them back to the top of the Italian football but he failed miserably. In fact, they not only had another 4th-place finish, as under Pirlo, but they even failed to bring home any silverware for the first time in 11 years, losing both the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup to Inter. Holding the 11th-best attack and the 4th-best defence only, Juventus could not expect to fare any better. Despite such poor results, including an embarrassing European debacle, Allegri was confirmed at the helm and asked to make them competitive again, while also continuing to reduce costs. Firstly, Juventus decided to let go of a few players who made history at the club. This was certainly the case of genius but-injury-prone Dybala (115 goals out of 293 games in 7 campaigns), who had his contract terminated. The same occurred to versatile Bernardeschi, who seldomly managed to show his real skills, while monumental Chiellini was allowed to play his last football in the MLS. Beside them, 22-year-old key centre-back De Ligt, at times erratic in his performances, was sold to Bayern. To replace him, they snatched last season’s Serie A best defender, Bremer from Torino. At the back they will also have 24-year-old Gatti, already capped by the Italian national team despite never playing in Serie A, but one more important signing is expected. Having displayed serious problems in the midfield last season, Juventus re-signed Pogba on free after 6 seasons at Manchester United, but this will not solve their issues as he immediately injured himself. With McKennie also injured and the absence of a playmaker, they are still short in the middle of the park. Aging Di Maria should replace Dybala, together with Chiesa returning from injury, but Juventus are still looking for a back-up striker, considering that Morata returned to Atletico.