There is a common maxim in football that says. “You should never go back”, especially for footballers and managers who go back to their old stomping grounds. Often tome, it doesn’t ever end well, especially if the first time was hugely successful. In 5 years in charge of Juventus, Italian manager, Max Allegri led the Bianconeri to 11 trophies, including 5 league titles and managing to reach 2 Champions League Finals, losing to Barcelona in 2015 and Real Madrid 2 years later, both teams arguably one of the finest teams seen in Champions League history.
He left under a cloud back in 2019 to be replaced by Maurizio Sarri, only to come back 2 years later, after the sacking of Andrea Pirlo. However, his second coming hasn’t gone exactly to plan, with the Old Lady struggling to mount a title challenge, falling way behind the likes of AC Milan, Inter Milan and Napoli. They also crashed out spectacularly to Villareal in the Champions League Round of 16, losing 3-0 at home to the Spanish outfit and 1-4 on aggregate. Juventus are 8 points behind AC Milan in the Serie A standings, and shockingly so the odds are still in their favour at best online casinos usa to turn things around.
They have been too inconsistent to compete for the league title, especially suffering damaging results at the early part of the season, as Allegri struggled to get his best 11. The fans at the Allianz Stadium have been less than impressed with the way the team has played all season, as a number of players have performed way beyond expectations. Summer signings, Moise Kean and Manuel Locatelli have not hit the heights expected of them while seasoned campaigners such as Bonucci and Chiellini have shown signs they may be on the decline as players.
Fans have also been frustrated with the transfers of Rodrigo Bentacur and Dejan Kulusevski, both players tearing it up in the Premier League with Tottenham, though the arrivals in the January transfer window, Denis Zakaria and Dusan Vlahovic have impressed just enough, but not spectacularly. Juventus are still in the Coppa Italia, as they have a semifinal against Fiorentina to navigate, which means they can still end up with silverware this year, but Allegri must ask himself what next, before his second coming turns into a nightmare.
The first time doesn’t always count for much, in the world of football. You can ask Jose Mourinho and Chesea or even the users of best australian online casino.