Juventus begin the quest to win a ninth straight Serie A title next week when the new season gets underway. But following a big summer of change the Old Lady have some doubts over whether their period of dominance will be able to continue under the leadership of new coach Maurizio Sarri.
Sarri returned to his homeland after the Bianconeri took the brave decision to part company with Massimiliano Allegri, claiming they wanted a change of direction, despite winning four domestic doubles on the bounce under his leadership.
Allegri also guided Juve to two Champions League finals, where they lost on both occasions, and it would appear the powers that be in Turin felt he had taken the club as far as he could. Which in fairness to him was a very long way.
Whether Juve live to regret the decision, only time will tell. Following the departure of Allegri, names such as Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino were being thrown about as a possible replacement, so you cannot blame the Juve faithful for being a tad disappointed when Sarri was handed the gig.
The Italian did well with Napoli, pushing Juve all the way for the title before he was lured away to Chelsea, where he helped guide the club to Europa League success and a place in the top four, meaning Champions League football.
Even so, his tactics and style of play which became known as ‘Sarri-ball’ did not go down well with the Chelsea fans, who did not take to him and were relieved when Juventus came in and lured him away with ease.
Juventus can expect a different style of play under Sarri that’s for sure. It will be more attacking and flamboyant. But that will be no good if it does not bring titles and silverware they are used to.
As expected, there have also been changes regards the playing staff with a host of new faces arriving. Their biggest signing is Matthijs De Ligt, who arrived from Ajax in a deal worth £67.5million.
All of Europe’s big guns were in for the defender, so it is something of a coup that Juve managed to win the race for his signature.
As well as splashing the cash, Juve have also picked up a couple of very shrewd signings, with midfield duo Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot arriving on free transfers from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.
As far as outgoings are concerned it was a surprise that defender Joao Cancelo was allowed to join Manchester City. It is claimed that the Portuguese did not fit with Sarri’s style though, and the arrival of Danilo, who was part of the deal, will fill the void.
There is also a couple of weeks to go before the transfer window closes and there could be more comings and goings. Paulo Dybala’s future is up in the air, but he is clearly available as Juve were willing to sell to both Manchester United and Tottenham before the deals collapsed.
One thing is for certain it looks like being another very interesting season for the Old Lady, and all eyes will be on Turin to see if Sarri can deliver.
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