Let’s get this out of the way immediately; Juventus wanted to win the Champions League in 2018. Sure, there are carefully thought out quotes from Coach Max Allegri, President Andrea Agnelli and Director General Beppe Marotta about how difficult that is, that being in the quarterfinals represents a good season and that the unpredictable nature of a knockout tournament makes victory extremely tough to achieve, but there is also plenty of evidence that European glory was a top priority.
Two years ago, the Bianconeri were already dominating Serie A, yet they invested heavily in a plethora of attacking talent, hoping that Gonzalo Higuain, Miralem Pjanic, Federico Bernardeschi and Douglas Costa – a quartet whose combined transfer fees add up to a cool €208 million – would help carry their success into continental action. The intriguing Netflix docu-series revealed the players and Allegri were obsessed with the Champions League, while Gigi Buffon’s reaction to their eventual elimination told its own story.
Of course, seeing the usually calm and collected Captain explode at referee Michael Oliver during and after the match was somewhat understandable given the heartbreaking circumstances as Real Madrid were awarded a last-minute penalty that would ultimately see them advance at the expense of the Italian side. It was a cruel defeat, one that came after the Old Lady cast aside her usual caution, Allegri allowing his players to attack from the outset and they took a 3-0 lead at the Bernabeu only to fall at the final hurdle.
Yet even acknowledging all of that, fans of the club, neutral observers and even the players and coaches themselves simply cannot be disappointed by a campaign that saw Juventus rewrite history.
There are 19 other teams in Serie A who would swap places in a heartbeat. For the seventh year in a row, the Bianconeri left everyone else chasing shadows, becoming the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to secure a league-and-cup double in four consecutive seasons. Only five players – Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Claudio Marchisio and Buffon – have been present for that entire run, a fact which stands as testament to the club’s work off the field to build and maintain a talent-laden and competitive squad.
But they didn’t have it all their own way this term. Roma were rebuilding, Inter and AC Milan were underwhelming, but Napoli emerged as an opponent who pushed Juventus to an even higher level. Thanks to the remarkable pace set by Maurizio Sarri’s men, the Bianconeri had to display an incredible level of consistency, their rivals becoming the first Serie A team to surpass 90 points but not win the title.
There are questions to be asked about the cost of Sarri’s reluctance – perhaps even refusal – to rotate his side, a decision that may ultimately cost him his job as Napoli continue to be linked with Carlo Ancelotti and which certainly contributed to their last collapse. The Partenopei even went to Juventus Stadium and won, Kalidou Koulibaly’s towering header handing them a well-deserved 1-0 victory, but the difference between the two teams was revealed by what happened next.
The contenders – whose fixture list in the run-in pitted them against much weaker sides – celebrated that triumph long and hard, but the scenes upon their return to Naples would prove to be premature as they lost 3-0 to Fiorentina and then drew 2-2 with Torino. Meanwhile, Juve simply dusted themselves down and did what champions do, winning away against Inter and at home against Milan to make their lead at the top of the table unassailable.
Perhaps more than any other quality it is that resilience that makes them so unique and underpins their recent successes. With the departures of Buffon, Lichtsteiner and Kwadwo Asamoah already confirmed and surely one or two more to follow, there will undoubtedly be some unfamiliar faces lining up when they next take to the field, but the mental toughness that has long been a hallmark of Juventus teams will remain, passed on to each new signing upon their arrival at Vinovo.
It is that intrinsic toughness and will-to-win which their rivals must match if they are to overhaul them in the seasons to come, but that is a thought for the future. The same goes for those Champions League aspirations or criticisms of Allegri’s negative tactics, because a man who has won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia every season of his four-year tenure deserves to be lauded not lambasted.
Napoli, AS Roma and the rest of the league must gather themselves and prepare to try again as Juventus once again emerged triumphant. It’s just what they do.
