Juventus Changes Give Massimiliano Allegri Chance to Shape Future

Having enjoyed an incredible debut campaign at Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri rightly received much praise for his stewardship of the Bianconeri. A domestic double—only the third in the club’s history—was a remarkable achievement, while guiding the team to their first Champions League final in over a decade ensured the coach was widely lauded.

However, almost every time Allegri was given a compliment, it came with the caveat that he had inherited an incredible squad who were already accustomed to winning. Indeed, the 47-year-old arrived in Turin to take charge of a team that had already won three consecutive Serie A titles under previous boss Antonio Conte.

In taking the club from a seventh-place finish in 2009/10, he inspired them to an undefeated campaign that saw them seal the first Scudetto of the post-Calciopoli era. Conte built the team in his image and was clearly essential to the successes achieved during his tenure, and his exit could have caused major problems.

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Yet having been appointed the day after his predecessor walked out on Juventus on the second day of pre-season training, there is little doubt that Allegri entered at an extremely difficult and delicate moment for Italian football’s grand Old Lady.

But the former Milan boss’ calm demeanour and ability to cope with pressure ensured there was no drop-off in performance, and he quickly won over a fanbase that had been hugely sceptical of his appointment. There were no signs of the problems that blighted his time with the Rossoneri however, Allegri smartly continuing with Conte’s 3-5-2 formation and making very few discernible changes to the style of play.

Then, after a poor run of results in late October, he switched the team to a 4-3-1-2 framework that he had taught them before the season began. That saw an immediate improvement, sparking an upturn in fortunes that brought Juventus to the brink of a historic treble, with that tactical shift playing a major role.

Allegri also moved away from the methodical attacking approach preferred by Conte in his final season, at times returning to the pressing that had been a hallmark of Juve in 2010/11. With the likes of Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal harassing defenders, the Bianconeri sought to quickly win the ball back and score in transition.

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That was perhaps most evident in the Champions League wins over Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, but Allegri will face an even greater challenge next season. With Tevez and Andrea Pirlo having already moved on, Juventus confirmed that Vidal will also be leaving at a press conference earlier this week.

“Vidal has expressed his desire to embark on a different experience,” the club’s director general Beppe Marotta told reporters (h/t FourFourTwo.com). Sat beside him, Allegri appeared to relish the challenge of what is now a vastly different side, with the club having signed Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic.

“The new arrivals possess different characteristics to those who have departed,” the coach noted per the official Juventus website, adding that “it’s my job to enable them to best express themselves on the field of play.”

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How he approaches that remains to be seen, with the club also linked with a variety of attacking midfielders, such as Mario Gotze of Bayern Munich and Schalke’s Julian Draxler, per Gianluca Di Marzio (h/t Football Italia), and Allegri discussed that possibility at Monday’s media event:

“Juventus have the opportunity to excel in Italy for the next four to five years and also build on last season’s success in Europe,” Allegri said, per the Juventus website. “As far as further signings are concerned, the club has got its eye out for an attacking midfield player with offensive qualities. We’re assessing our options and requirements.”

Whatever he decides to do, this time it will clearly be “his” Juventus, and any success he achieves will undoubtedly be entirely his, with the team no longer resembling the one in place when he arrived.