Prior to our latest humiliating defeat at Monza, Max Allegri had spoken to the press, expressing his view on the team’s current status, which naturally included some alibis in a desperate attempt to justify the ongoing miserable run.
The tactician described the current Juventus lineup as “virtual”, referencing the fact that several key players are missing – the likes of Paul Pogba, Federico Chiesa and even his personal favorite, Adrien Rabiot.
For his part, Italian journalist Mario Sconcercti rose to the manager’s defense in his daily Calciomercato column.
The veteran journalist agrees with Allegri’s assessment, even though the poor display at the U-Power Stadium was simply unjustifiable.
Sconcerti names some of the players who were regularly present in the team’s lineup three years ago, and compares them to those who took the field yesterday, while wondering “what happened at Juventus in the last three years?”
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Now surely replacing the prowess and charisma of club legends like Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini was never going to be easy, but the management still signed some reputable names. Many of them had impressed at other top European clubs.
Despite the many absentees, surely we had enough talent on the pitch to overcome Monza – a team that collected a single point from the first six rounds.
So the more accurate question would be: “Why are Juventus players massively underperforming under the current technical staff?”