Since coach Antonio Conte arrived at Juventus, the club have participated in European competition twice. In the 2012/13 season, Juve qualified for the quarter-final before falling to eventual champion Bayern Munich.
This year, the Bianconeri were eliminated in the group stage of the competition before losing to Benfica in the Europa League semi on Thursday.
Since then, Conte has been the subject of criticism as fans and media claim that his 3-5-2 system doesn’t work in Europe and that he doesn’t have what it takes to succeed in the continental competitions. Considering he’s just finishing up his third season and his second in the European tournaments, the abuse is far too premature.
Conte must be given another couple of years before anyone critiques him. After all, he’s won his club three consecutive Scudetti, for the first time since the 1930’s. He’s also led Juventus to a Coppa Italia final, two Supercoppa Italiani and is on pace to break several domestic records.
Juventus have gone from 7th place underachievers to a powerhouse once again. They acquired several talented players such as Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba, Fernando Llorente, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo for a fraction of what they’re worth now in the transfer market. Some of that is down to sporting director Giuseppe Marotta, but it’s Conte that has the belief of the squad.
In Andrea Pirlo’s new autobiography, “I Think Therefore I Play”, the Italian international claims that it’s the coach that makes Juventus great. He’s an intelligent, tough, hard working man who has instilled the ‘grinta’ or passion back into The Old Lady.
His European success hasn’t been up to par with his domestic record, but many former great Juventus tacticians took a while before finally triumphing in the Champions League. Marcello Lippi won the Champions League in his second season, but had been coaching for 14 years before that. Conte only has 8 years and three with a club the size of Juve.
European competitions have also become a lot more difficult to win these days. That’s why no team in the Champions League era has won the tournament consecutive times since AC Milan did it between 1989 and 1990. Another reason is the financial situation in Italy. Even though Juve are heavy weights, they’re still in debt by a substantial margin.
This was also the first time Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez played together. It took
them a few months to get in sync with Juve’s system, especially Llorente. It wasn’t until the Real Madrid games when the Spanish striker was in form.
Conte definitely could have done a lot better in Europe this season, but to criticize him and want him gone considering the transformation Juve have gone through, it’s ridiculous to ask for. If the Bianconeri haven’t accomplished anything of note by Conte’s fifth season, that’s when everyone should be asking questions.
Juventus have never been European powerhouses. They’ve lost the joint-second highest amount of European Cup finals at five. They made it to three in a row between 1996 and 1998, but only won the first time around. The other victory was in 1985. Until fans stop settling for domestic accolades and clammer for European dominance, nothing will change.
The least they can do is to give Conte another two years, because it’s still too early to slander him.
