The Bianconeri lost again and to be quite honest it was not a surprise because the Juve players have completely lost their composure since the 3-3 draw with Siena. The match against Siena was the turning point as Juventus were somewhat managing to grind resultsfollowing Alberto Zaccheroni’s appointment as coach for the remainder of the season.
The Bianconeri have lost in embarrassing fashion to Fulham in the Europa League and to Udinese most recently. In between the club lost to Sampdoria and Napoli while barely managing to beat Atalanta. These are not the results of a contender but rather of a team struggling to survive in Serie A. In fact if it were not for Juve’s solid start to the season then the Old Lady would be now facing the unthinkable: a genuine fight for survival in Serie A! Juventus have already lost 12 times in the league and are in danger of missing out on the Europa League if they continue to play without passion and with little fighting spirit.
To wear the Bianconeri jersey has always been an honour many professional players would cherish and dream of experiencing. Frankly the current crop of players do not deserve to wear the coveted Bianconeri shirt and have shown little to earn the respect and compassion of the Juventus fans. To play with commitment and lose is one thing, but to lose in a disgraceful manner while showing nothing in terms of heart and determination is a totally different matter. Unfortunately the Bianconeri players have been displaying traits affiliated with the latter of the two aforementioned types of defeats which certainly creates tension with the tifosi who expect the well paid players to earn their paycheck.
To only blame the players and Zaccheroni would be wrong because the management has shown it is inadequate, inexperienced, and disengaged from reality. The club’s management inexplicably brought in players such as the Portuguese midfielder Tiago and Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. The worst aspect of these failed signings is the fact these players as well as others have been captured in return for exaggerated and unreasonable fees. The Bianconeri spent a fortune to secure the services of Tiago, Poulsen, Amauri and Felipe Melo. Imagine if the club chose to properly invest the funds and instead signed decent players who really stand for what the Bianconeri spirit is all about: hard-work, determination and perseverance. Brazilian striker Amauri did not even commit to certain passes going his way during the Udinese defeat which makes one wonder if he was trying to avoid any injury ahead of the summer when he is expected to be shown the door.
The alarming fact is the Bianconeri still have to face both Inter and Milan at the San Siro. Those two matches should be placed in the loss column at this point unless something miraculous happens or the two Milan sides are missing at least six or seven starters due to injury and suspension. It is quite disappointing to have to talk about a prestigious club in such a manner but the performances of the players and more importantly the management’s ill advised transfer moves and wrong choices for the coaching job have put the Bianconeri in a worse position than the club’s season in Serie B.
The main concern now is how many games can Juve win or actually avoid defeat in since the club will have to face tough home matches against Bari and Parma. Even the trip to Catania does not bode well for the current Bianconeri side. If Juve do miss on the Champions League then how can they attract some of the better players on the market for next season? In addition the club must decide on an experienced and successful coach to manage the players and at least half of the current squad must be offloaded.
All this implies the Bianconeri must start from scratch. The bewildered and unfortunate tifosi assumed the promotion from Serie B served as a new start for the fallen giants yet it appears the last couple of seasons have gone to waste due to the incompetence of the management. Former Juventus players and some of the critics warned against the situation in Turin with Marco Tardelli being one of the most vocal in his opposition to the current management. Tardelli knows a thing or two about the value of the Juve shirt having represented the club in over 250 appearances. He must have seen things he did not like yet it is obvious his opinion was overlooked by the management which led him to resign from the club’s administration.
To aid in the club’s building process, the following players must be offloaded: Amauri, David Trezeguet, Mauro Camoranesi, Tiago, Poulsen, Melo, Fabio Grosso, Fabio Cannavaro, Nicola Legrottaglie, Jonathan Zebina and Zdenek Grygera. The reason Alessandro Del Piero ought to be kept is out of respect for his legendary status at the club and for what he has done for the Bianconeri over the years. Some players should be given the opportunity to prove themselves such as Diego, Antonio Candreva, and Paolo De Ceglie while established names like Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Mohamed Sissoko, Claudio Marchisio and Vincenzo Iaquinta will hopefully remain injury free to form the backbone of the rebuilt squad.
It is time for the management to be held responsible and the likes of Alessio Secco and Jean-Claude Blanc must tender their resignation in order to save what is left of the fallen giants.
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