It is not often the case that when a team wins a league
title in one of the major football leagues, the victory ends up being hollow
and largely devoid of meaning.
Yet, that is exactly what has happened to Juventus this
season.
In their latest Serie A match, the Bianconeri, who have
already clinched the league title, only managed a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan
in the season’s last Derby d’Italia.
As is often the case with teams which no longer have any
meaningful matches to play, Juve seemed to play with little spirit and desire
and were outplayed by the Nerazzurri for most of the match. Only the 600th club
goal of Cristiano Ronaldo’s legendary career prevented a Juve loss.
When Juve look back at how their season unfolded, they
will surely regard it as a failure despite winning Serie A.
At the beginning of the season, Juve were among the teams
with a genuine chance of winning a Treble. However, this would not even come
close to materializing.
In January, Juve suffered a stunning 3-0 upset loss
against Atalanta in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. This loss to the underdogs
from Bergamo meant that the Turin-based juggernaut would fail to win the cup
for the first time since 2014. Coincidentally, Juve were also knocked out in
the quarterfinals that year.
Juve’s Champions League exit this season was arguably an
even bigger shock.
Having drawn the first leg of their quarterfinal tie
against Ajax 1-1, Juve headed back to Italy in command of the tie. Although
they did not win their first-leg match, they were already the heavy favourites
to advance to the semifinals. The fact that they had been able to bag an away
goal in Amsterdam further bolstered their position.
However, in an astonishing turn of events, the Dutch club
scored a 2-1 victory in the second leg to knock Juventus out of the tournament.
When the season commenced, it was obvious that Juve were
eyeing the Champions League more than any other title. This was understandable,
as they had not won the tournament since 1996; the years since then had been
littered with near-misses including four losses in the final. With this fact in
mind, Juve spent heavily during the off-season. Players such as Emre Can,
Douglas Costa, Leonardo Bonucci, and of course, Ronaldo were brought in. Juve
spent the eye-popping total of €239.9 million, of which €100 million was
expended to bring in Ronaldo, on player signings – a figure that most clubs
could only dream of and a clear signal that they were hell-bent on bringing the
continental title to Turin for the first time in 23 years. Unfortunately for
Juve, even this massive outlay for Juve would prove insufficient.
What makes this even more galling for Juve is that this
may have been their best chance to win it all for quite some time. Had they
advanced to the semifinals, they would have been favoured to beat Tottenham. In
the final, they would have played against either Barcelona or Liverpool. These
are both teams against which Juve would have had a genuine chance of winning.
It is interesting to note the massive margin by which
Juve won the Serie A title. With just four matchdays remaining, Juve have an
insurmountable 18-point lead over second-placed Napoli. Yet, this may be part
of the cause of their failings in Europe this season.
The fact that Juve have been unchallenged in the league
all season long has allowed them to coast for large portions of the season.
This has led to their relative lack of sharpness in the Champions League, while
teams who have faced stern fights in their own domestic league, such as
Tottenham and Liverpool, have been able to parlay this continued high-level,
high-effort play into European competition and make deep Champions League runs.
So, as strange as it may sound, if Juve are to win next
season’s Champions League, they may need Napoli, Inter Milan, and AC Milan to step
up.
Juve’s feat of winning eight consecutive Serie A titles,
as well as their large margin of victory this season, does deserve due credit.
However, a season that yields a league title, a Coppa
Italia quarterfinal, and a Champions League quarterfinal does not even approach what Juventus would consider a successful one.
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