Breaking Down Juventus' Pre-Season Friendly Opponents

With much of their summer transfer business completed, Juventus can begin to prepare for the 2015/16 season in earnest. Training for the new campaign begins on July 16. The squad’s international stars return four days later, followed by those involved in the Copa America, who will enjoy a further week’s holiday.

“The bulk of our work has been done,” director general Beppe Marotta said at a recent media event (h/t Football Italia), adding that the club would “evaluate any opportunities to improve the squad.”

Manager Massimiliano Allegri will therefore hope to enjoy a much more stable period of preparation this year after the club had to overcome Antonio Conte’s hasty exit just two days into the 2014/15 pre-season schedule. The coach offered some insight into his methods recently, openly discussing his management style in an interview with La Repubblica (h/t Football Italia):

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There are talents like waves, for example Alvaro Morata and Kingsley Coman. They go up and down, so you need to keep an eye on the flow and wait for the right moment.

Some players need to be taken by the hand and educated, like children, but from others I find collaboration, experience and character. Having said that, I prefer not to be friends with my players.

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He will begin to build similar relationships with the likes of Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic over the coming weeks before embarking on the fixtures he hopes will best prepare his team for the challenges ahead.

Last year, the club embarked on a lucrative tour, making a long trip that involved matches in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. This year, the club will remain much closer to home. They will visit France, Poland and Switzerland for friendly fixtures before they have to make a trip to China for the Italian Super Cup.

Over the following pages is a look at each of Juve’s pre-season opponents, offering some insight into what Allegri and his players can expect from each encounter.

Borussia Dortmund

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Juventus get their pre-season preparations underway against a German club whose summer may be as eventful as the one Juve endured a year ago. The first fixture of the Bianconeri's summer schedule takes them to St. Gallen, Switzerland for a rematch of their Champions League last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Yet this game—to be held on July 25—promises to pit them against a very different team than the one they went head-to-head against back in February and March. That tie ended 5-1 on aggregate to the Italian giants, sparking their impressive run to the final of the competition and undoubtedly hastening Jurgen Klopp’s decision to end his time at the Westfalenstadion.

The widely respected coach was in charge of BVB for seven years, winning two Bundesliga titles and offering perhaps the only significant challenge to the dominance of Bayern Munich in that period. Thomas Tuchel has replaced Klopp, and this pre-season matchup promises to offer the first real glimpse of what to expect from the team under his tutelage.

Lechia Gdansk

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Just a few days after their meeting with Borussia Dortmund, Juventus travel to Poland to take on a much less prestigious opponent, Lechia Gdansk. The friendly forms part of the Ekstraklasa side’s 70th anniversary celebrations and will be a celebration of their 1983 Polish Cup triumph.

That resulted in the club’s only foray into European competition, and they were drawn against the Bianconeri in the first round of the Cup Winner’s Cup. Giovanni Trapattoni’s men ran out 10-2 victors on aggregate and would go on to lift the trophy to continue an incredible trophy-laden run.

The game will take place on Wednesday, July 29 at their PGE Arena home, a stadium built for Euro 2012 and hosted Italy’s 1-1 draw with Spain in the group stage of that tournament.

Marseille

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After their Polish excursion, the Bianconeri head to France just three days later to face Ligue 1 side Marseille at the Stade Velodrome. This encounter will see the Provence-based club relaunch the Robert Louis-Dreyfus Trophy in honour of their former owner, who died in July 2009.

Because of renovations to their stadium ahead of Euro 2016, the pre-season contest has been absent from the calendar since the first edition in 2010, when Valencia took part. Given that the French league season gets underway just seven days after this meeting, Marcelo Bielsa’s men will be much closer to full fitness than Juventus, who will still be three weeks away from the start of Serie A.

Marseille finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season, narrowly missing out on a place in the Champions League playoff round, leading to a major exodus of talent this summer. Andre Ayew, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Giannelli Imbula, Jeremy Morel and Dimitri Payet have all moved on in order to ease the club’s debts.

It remains to be seen who will arrive to replace them, but Massimiliano Allegri’s men will be taking on a very different team to the one seen last year.

Lazio

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Next up for Juventus is the Italian Super Cup, meaning another trip to China in order to face Coppa Italia runners-up Lazio. The game—the 28th annual edition of the competition—will be played on August 8 at the Shanghai Stadium, with the Bianconeri looking to win the trophy for a record seventh time.

They lost last year’s edition to Napoli on penalties after victory in each of the two previous seasons, including victory over the Biancocelesti in 2013. The losing finalists have never won the Super Cup in five attempts, though Lazio did triumph in their meeting with the Turin giants in the competition back in 1998.

Stefano Pioli’s side were hugely impressive last season and unfortunate not to clinch second place ahead of neighbours AS Roma. At this stage, they have also retained the majority of their squad. Felipe Anderson and Antonio Candreva were central to their success, the two midfielders netting a combined total of 20 goals last term.

They also weighed in with 16 assists, while Stefan de Vrij marshalled a strong defence which conceded just 38 times in 2014/15. Lazio will be keen to make amends for their poor displays against Juventus last season, however, against whom they recorded 3-0 and 2-0 defeats in the league before their 2-1 loss in May's Coppa Italia final.

La Partita in Famiglia

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Juve’s pre-season calendar concludes with a fixture at the heart of the Bianconeri universe, the Partita in Famiglia held at Villar Perosa, the home of the Agnelli family. The village was built by Edoardo, the first Agnelli to own Juventus, and it was where the team once trained.

As the demands of modern football outgrew the picturesque surroundings, Edoardo's son Gianni ensured they returned for an annual clash, often passing up more lucrative friendly fixtures for a meeting billed as Juventus A against Juventus B.

It pits the first team against a side made up of reserves and members of the youth sector, with its title of the Family Match perfectly capturing the spirit in which it is played. The wives, girlfriends and children of players, coaches and staff are often present on the touchline, with the small pitch reminiscent of an impromptu kickabout at the local park.

The team will not face a less competitive opponent all year, but the humble clash—which takes place on August 19—is a significant Juventus Football Club tradition.