This is an odd week for Calcio. Most of the other big European leagues finished up this past weekend, with the exception of La Liga. That said, Spain’s title race has gone down to the wire, in Serie A this was not the case. In fact, the only thing undecided on the table going into the last week is the final Europa League spot. Thrilling.
The fact that many nations have recently announced their World Cup call ups only makes things more odd. It’s hard to stay focused on, let alone be excited with, a campaign that is basically over. Attention has turned to the World Cup – perhaps even overshadowing the Champions League final – and also to the usual trappings of a summer mercato.
These trappings usually consist of transfer rumors. Those are yet to come this season, partially due to the World Cup, partially due to other rumors regarding Juventus. I am talking about Antonio Conte. The Italian media has been rampant in their speculation of his future this week. He’s re-negotiating his contract, and his comments to the press recently have become fodder for these rumors.
If you ask me, Conte isn’t going anywhere. Perhaps if Juve had done better in Europa League this year, thus boosting his stock, he would be heavily in demand by the European elite. Instead, he’d be hard pressed finding a job that’s equal – in terms of competition and challenge – to coaching Juventus. At least this summer. Sure, Monaco can build a pure gold statue of him outside their stadium – and then build another for his home – but I don’t think that’s either challenging enough nor prestigious enough for Conte. Indeed, given Juve’s “failure” in Champions League this season, I think that Conte still has some things left to achieve at Juventus.
In my opinion, Conte is letting the uncertainty hang in an attempt to both deflect blame for Juve’s European journey, and to coerce the club into spending more on players this summer. This is not to say that a rift exists between Conte and management, but rather that Conte is trying to play his hand the best he can.
Or maybe he’s just waiting for the gold statue in Monaco to finish being built. Now, that’s the big story in Juve land this week, but it’s also worth discussing the Juventus players and their respective statuses with their national teams heading into the World Cup.
For starters, Fernando Llorente, Paul Pogba, Kwadwo Asamoah, Arturo Vidal, Stephan Lichtsteiner, and even Mauricio Isla, were all called up for their respective nations. Llorente was perhaps the biggest “shock” – only because there was so much competition for that Spain squad. It’s definitely a nice achievement for Llorente to even make the Spain squad, and it serves as a testament to his performance this season. Vidal, on the other hand, may not play much at the World Cup despite being a key member of the Chilean national team. It all depends on his recovery from the knee surgery.
And of course ItalJuve is alive and well – six Juventus players were called up to the Azzurri. Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli, Claudio Marchisio, and, Andrea Pirlo will all play important roles for Italy in the World Cup.
Then there is Carlos Tevez. Tevez, who had a fantastic season, has not factored into Argentina’s plans for some time. This is partially due to coach Walter Sabella’s dislike of Tevez – whether that is personal or tactical, I don’t know – and partially due to Tevez’s lack of form over time when playing for Argentina. Whatever the reasons, it’s very sad for Tevez, who definitely earned the right to play in Brazil this summer.
In a selfish way, it is good for Juventus. Tevez will be better rested, and he avoids risking an injury. Still, it is also fun to see your team’s players at the World Cup, and Tevez is in fine form this season. At least Tevez will be sharing something with Conte for now – they are both staying at Juve.
