The Weekly Take, Issue 259: Staring Down the Abyss

There can be no question that Juventus have endured a season which could be described as just about anything apart from "ordinary". In January, Juventus received a deduction of 15 points in Serie A after having been found guilty of false accounting. Several of the club's board members, including former club president Andrea Agnelli, were also suspended owing to their respective roles in the related incidents. However, three months later, this point penalty was suspended pending a further trial. The points of which the Bianconeri had been stripped were returned to the Turin club; this caused Juve to rocket up the league table and into firm contention for a top-four spot and thus a Champions League berth.

As it would turn out, there would be another twist to come. On May 22, another charge of false accounting resulted in Juve incurring a 10-point penalty; this point deduction all but ended their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Juve's hopes of making the top four were then extinguished once and for all with a 1-0 home loss to AC Milan. Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of the match. Milan's victory also ensured that it would be the Rossoneri who would join league champions Napoli as well as Lazio and Inter Milan in next season's Champions League.

Over the past three seasons, the general situation at the Allianz Stadium has progressively worsened. The "dominoes" that set Juve's decline into motion was the firing of former head coach Maurizio Sarri and the subsequent replacement of Sarri with Andrea Pirlo. In his first season in Turin, Sarri had led Juve to the league title for an unprecedented ninth consecutive season. Yet, in what can only be described as a knee-jerk move, Sarri was fired at the end of the season after an upset Champions League round of 16 loss to Lyon.

With the incompetent Pirlo in the dugout, Juve did not even come close to retaining their Scudetto. They finished fourth in 2020-21 and ended up a massive 13 points behind league champions Inter. Juve were also once again knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16. Despite winning the Coppa Italia, Pirlo was rightly dismissed at the end of the season. Juve's dismal season also led to legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from the club and stunning return to Manchester United.

Last season, Juve again finished fourth in the league; however, this time they finished 16 points behind league champions Milan and scored just 57 league goals. Paulo Dybala's 10 goals made him the club's only player to break the double-digit barrier in the league. This season, of course, has been even worse. Juventus will miss out on the Champions League for the first time since they finished seventh in the 2010-11 season. Juve are once again in seventh place with one matchday remaining; failure to overtake either Atalanta or AS Roma would mean that Juve would not even qualify for the Europa League but instead have to enter the Conference League.

It may soon get even worse for Juve. Should their point penalty be upheld, Juve will begin the 2023-24 Serie A season with -15 points, greatly hampering their chances of returning to the top four even before the season's opening kickoff. This would also make it almost impossible for Juve to attract any notable names during the upcoming off-season transfer window; at this point, it is somewhat likely that over the off-season, clubs like Napoli, Milan, and Inter will get stronger while Juve either stagnate or perhaps even continue their decline. It's not out of the question that Juve lose key players who are only interested in playing for a Champions League club.

Juventus' downfall has been as stunning as it has been swift and their decline has been becoming steeper and steeper. If Juve were to finish next season outside the top 10 in the league while once again suffering an early exit in their continental tournament, it would not even be all that surprising. Juve's path back to the top table is a long and difficult one indeed. It could be many years before they are once again a bona fide Scudetto contender.