Football Season Guide

Quite surprisingly, the 8-year-long love story between Juventus and Massimo Allegri came to an end right after their last triumph, in the Coppa Italia against Atalanta. The coach was sacked for disciplinary reasons, with just 2 games left, and Paolo Montero closed the campaign at the helm of the team. Despite winning the domestic Cup, the past season was not a very bright one for Juventus, who looked capable of contending the title with Inter only until mid-January, when they were just 1 point off the top. From that moment on, wins became rare and they struggled to finish 3rd, thus qualifying to the Champions League again after 1 year without Europe. Juventus decided for a radical change over the summer and they handed the reins of the team to Thiago Motta, who is expected to bring a more proactive football to Turin after an outstanding season at Bologna. Logically enough, they also opted for a major squad overhaul, always with an eye to the budget, though. In the last seasons, Juventus displayed serious problems in the midfield, due to the lack of players good with the ball, and, having let go Rabiot, whose wages weighed too much, they hired Douglas Luiz, coming from Aston Villa, and Thuram, who was impressive at Nice. But they are also still dreaming of Koopmeiners from Atalanta. Then, they decided to keep reducing costs by hiring Di Gregorio, last season’s Serie A best goalie, but have failed to find a new club for Szczesny, whose salary is excessive, yet. Moreover, they let aging Alex Sandro go and immediately replaced the left-back with promising Cabal, who did well at Hellas Verona. Motta asked the management to get rid of more players who are not suited to his football, like Rugani, De Sciglio, Milik, Kostic, McKennie and, above all, Chiesa, while they are still hunting for a centre-back, an alternative striker to Vlahovic and a winger/attacking midfielder.