Dear Andrea Agnelli,
May 2011. It is over three years to the day you hired Antonio Conte as the coach of Juventus. Fans of Juventus in Turin, in Italy and all over the world were hopeful once again. There was a strong sense of optimism for a beautiful future ahead. Il Capitano had returned home after seven years. We had also extended the contract of the eternal Alessandro Del Piero. Fast forward, three years later, here we are without Del Piero. Here we are without Mister Conte and with Massimilliano Allegri as the new Juventus coach.
On a relatively warm sunny afternoon here in Canada, I went to bed on the hopes of us securing Alvaro Morata and Juan Iturbe. More importantly, I went to bed with resounding confidence about Mister Conte being the orchestra-tor at Juventus. A couple of hours later, I woke up to experience the unexpected. Mister Conte had just resigned on mutual consent with the club and you had written an open letter to our former coach complimenting him for his services to the club. In the open letter you assured the fans of working day and night to give Juventus and us fans what we deserve. But, here we are with Allegri as the coach after not even 24 hours since the departure of Mister Conte.
Hurt, shocked and saddened, we are left with an attempt to dream of Juventus without our leader. A beautiful bond has finally come to an end, a bond between Juventus and Antonio. A bond that helped us break records in the league and create many of our own. A relationship that kept the identity of the La Vecchia Signora intact. A Juventus that won in Italy for three years in a row might have just ended. Do we thank you for choosing him as our coach three years back or express our gratitude to you for sticking by him during the scandal? Here we are to witness the start of a new Juventus under a man who turns 47 next month.
Agitated, annoyed and disturbed, we are finding it hard to digest. We are unable to accept the fact that Mister Conte is no longer at Juventus. From dreaming to finish in the top four in Europe this season, we are now unsure of qualifying for Europe next season. We just lost a man who fought for us on the field and thought for us passionately off it. The intimidation factor associated with the real Juventus just vanished all of a sudden. Antonio was more than just a face of Juventus, he was a figure. A relentless, everlasting and gritty figure that gave us hope to become the best in Europe someday. And now here we are, in melancholy, with a hope to hope again for a club under the supervision of a man you appointed to replace an eternal cult.
Throughout all the tough times at this beautiful club, we rarely complained. We accepted the success and defeat that came being a part of this club. We endured the Calciopoli, we tolerated the 4-1 loss to a team that just got relegated to England’s second division and we resisted all those win less years before you hired Mister Conte. We persevered even without Alex in our team while we also put up with the likes of Amauri, Marco Borriello and Nicklas Bendtner representing us on the field. Now we continue to persist again as we bid arrivederci to Mister Conte. Here we are steadfast, by “your” club that is now represented by a man who left his former girlfriend on the day of their wedding.
It is no more “our” club any more. It is a club that is no more willing to listen to its supporters. It is a team that could not give a good farewell to David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi. It is a company that chose to lose Didier Deschamps, a man who brought back Juventus from hell. It is a unit that chooses to announce the exit of Del Piero in public without considering the opinion of the supporters. It is a group that is responsible for the loss of Mister Conte. It is a party whose captain is no more involved in the decision making process. This is now a team that has appointed a man who was responsible to win the lower division title with Sassuolo.
We will never know what happened in the meeting between you and Mister Conte. But, after looking at Mister Conte publicly declaring his resignation, we will never feel that he had planned to step down. After observing his interview, we will never feel he enjoyed quitting on the fans. But, here we are still willing to support the club despite all of it. At the end of it all, with some of them in Turin and others elsewhere, here we are welcoming a man that was sacked by our rivals Milan.
Always wishing the best for the club,
A loyal Bianconero for life.
Fino Alla Fine
