After doubts and criticism regarding his succession of Antonio Conte’s, the 47-year-old Bianconeri coach has shown he is much more able than first thought.
They say “it’s better to be lucky than good.” In Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri’s case, it is sometimes difficult to tell which he is.
Ask AC Milan fans and they will likely put his current successes at Juventus down to luck. Ask neutrals and Juventini today, and they will put up the case that he is much shrewder than meets the eye.
Former employer and AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi never particularly rated Allegri; taking the liberty to offer him tactical “advice” to man-mark Lionel Messi, ahead of the Rossoneri’s UEFA Champions League tie against Barcelona in 2013.
“I still haven’t found the time to talk to Allegri, but I won’t tell him what side to pick – I’ve never done that,” said Berlusconi to RTL.
“I know the role of the president and that of the coach – I respect those – but a president has the right to give advice to his coach.
“On this occasion my suggestion would be that Messi is man-marked.”
Against Roma on Monday night though, Allegri needed no such helping hand and pulled the proverbial rabbit out of his hat to maintain the nine-point lead over the second-placed Giallorossi.
Looking back at the game however, Juventus went ahead (through Carlos Tevez’s free kick) and conceded the draw to 10-men Roma. Given that context, Allegri does not seem as clever anymore and was rightfully frustrated by the two points dropped.
“I’m happy with my team’s performance until the 70th minute, but then we stopped playing,” Allegri said to Sky Sport Italia. “Roma did well to push us at the end when we were not alert enough.
“This draw has made us leave the field feeling pretty angry. A nine point advantage is still a big lead, but there’s still a long way to go in the season.”
But context is indeed an important variable to factor in. Juventus came into the Stadio Olimpico without Andrea Pirlo (injured) and Paul Pogba (not 100 per cent fit). It goes without say that both midfielders have been Juventus’ key players this season, and thus their absence presented a consequent handicap.
Allegri stepped into the clash against Roma reverting back to Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2, which he had moved away from since. With a nine-point lead to defend and hopefully stretch, Allegri set up to absorb Roma’s pressure and hit them on the break.
Some quarters will label the approach tentative and not befitting of the three-time Scudetto winners Juventus are, but it did pay off on the night.
The switch to the 3-5-2 allowed Allegri to better nullify Roma’s width and go man-to-man on each one of Rudi Garcia’s three forwards. Adding a third centre-back allowed Leonardo Bonucci and Claudio Marchisio to catch Roma’s false No.9 Francesco Totti in a pincer, and better stymie his influence. By keeping a compact shape, Juventus remained aggressive in pressing the Roma midfield as they broke via Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Allegri completely blunted Roma attacking threat, conceding 62 per cent of the possession in the first half but keeping the Giallorossi from taking a single shot the entire first half. In fact Roma’s first shot only came on 72 minutes from a Kostas Manolas header off of a free kick.
In the end, whether you rate Allegri or not the result and his current position at the top of Serie A will have proven him right thus far.
Others might have preferred and indeed opted for braver tactics than Allegri against Roma; but it was the Juventus coach’s pragmatism that shone on the day, whereas Garcia’s dogmatic 4-3-3 approach proved all too predictable.
Constructing his victories might not always be his forte, but he is certainly adept at destroying his opponents’; a scenario which played perfectly into Allegri’s machiavellian hands on Monday night.
