Why Allegri’s new-look Juventus is stuttering

Two consecutive losses in their first two matches sees Juventus sit in 17th position on the Serie A table. And with the Bianconeri’s title defence off to a faltering start, Ryan Wrenn assesses what has gone wrong with Massimiliano Allegri’s new-look side.

Massimiliano Allegri’s dramatic reworking of his Juventus side is already being called into question a mere two games into the season.

Some changes were forced upon him. The team is clearly feeling the loss of a trio of their best players. The departures of Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo this summer were never going to make for an easy transition.

Injuries have also played a part. Alvaro Morata has been limited to a mere 28 minutes over the first two games while new midfield signing Sami Khedira won’t make his debut until October at the earliest.

Speaking of Juventus’ struggles this season in the context of departures and injuries neglects to appreciate how much the team has changed over the summer however. Though Allegri was rumored to be targeting some like-for-like replacements for the departed – most notably his former AC Milan star midfielder Riccardo Montolivo in for Pirlo – most of the changes have been significantly more about transforming than stabilizing.

The considerable business Juventus did do on the transfer market – €120 million spent on eight players plus two loan signings – had more to do with fortifying the attack than attempting to replicate the contributions of Pirlo and Vidal in midfield. This is the kind of spending spree often only undertaken by a team entering a rebuilding phase.

Rebuilding to what, exactly? It’s tempting to look at the Juventus’ first two games and see some symmetry with Allegri’s old side, AC Milan.The defense looks uninspired and especially narrow even for a back three. A workman’s effort in midfield, borderline-utility players there not to dazzle but simply to do a job while the attackers in front bear the weight of settling the game. Paul Pogba, much like Kevin Prince Boateng before him, looks lost in a makeshift trequartista role.

Now, of course, Allegri’s AC Milan won the Scudetto in 2011 and followed it up with second and third place finishes. Were it not for Juventus’ reemergence, they might have had a similar era of dominance in Serie A. They were, in short, a good team.

The problem, of course, is that Juventus were – and likely still are – a great team. Allegri inherited a side last season that had been crafted by Antonio Conte as deftly and skillfully an Old Master had crafted a work of art. It was that team with which Allegri came close to winning the treble in undoubtedly his greatest season as a head coach.

As with all works of art, the paint started to crack and colors began to fade. Some small chips fell away entirely. Any responsible curator will tell you what to do in that scenario. You touch it up, add in a few brushstrokes here and there, fill in the blanks. Though you’ll never be able to replicate the original artist’s work, it is your duty to at least honor what made the work great, to ensure that it endures.

Pirlo’s departure has left a massive hole in Juventus’ midfield, one which Pogba so far has yet to fill.

Instead of touching up Conte’s masterpiece, Allegri seems more content to paint over it. The transfer window seems proof enough of that, though these opening two games have made it especially clear. The majesty with which Juventus used to control the midfield seems to be slipping away.

Compare the corresponding fixture against Roma last season to their recent loss. Allegri, knowing that Juventus only had to maintain the gap between them and their primary competitors for the Scudetto, played for and got the draw. The midfield trio was its typically dominate self even in the absence of Pirlo due to injury. Vidal, Roberto Pereyra and Claudio Marchisio averaged 37 successful passes as the latter player did his best attempt at replicating Pirlo’s usual contributions.

This season’s trip to Rome looked markedly different in both substance and style. Paul Pogba, Simone Padoin and Stefano Sturaro averaged a mere 23 passes. They struggled to contain an admittedly fantastic Roma midfield and, more worryingly, seemed reluctant to contribute anything to attack in those rare moments when they did reclaim the ball. Only when Pereyra was introduced in the 71st minute did the midfield begin to resemble its former self, but by then it was too little too late.

It is far too early to make a final judgment on Allegri’s intent with Juventus this season, it must be said. It could be that the international break will make him reconsider his tactics in the opening two games. Perhaps he will field a more familiar team in Saturday’s crucial game against league leaders Chievo.

Over four seasons of football, no one in Serie A has yet found a way to reliably usurp Conte’s Juventus. As much as Allegri surely wants to imprint his own mark on the team, there is no sense in changing a formula that could still remain entirely effective.