5 Reasons Juventus Will Overcome Conte Suspension and Have a Strong Season

They say that the sign of a great team is not one that succeeds during times of good fortune, but one that encounters great adversity, but still manages to earn success.

For Juventus, the time has come to prove whether they are one of those great sides, after it emerged that they would be without Antonio Conte for the next 10 months (via ESPN.com).

It recently became apparent that the manager would serve a suspension from the game for failing to report knowledge he allegedly held regarding a match-fixing scandal during his time at Siena.

The incident is the second of its kind to afflict Juventus in the space of seven years, reaching out to not just managing staff and officials, but players also.

Conte is set to appeal his ban in September (via Guardian), but for now, his team need to prepare for life without their boss and even his assistant, Angelo Alessio, who is serving an eight-month suspension of his own.

All is not lost though, and here’s why.

Excellent Transfer Window

In a transfer window that saw closest rivals, AC Milan, lose a great deal of stars and veterans, Juventus can feel safe in knowing that their summer period went altogether more smoothly.

Alessandro del Piero and Fabio Grosso left the club on free transfers but the Old Lady also managed to offload several fringe players for decent fees.

Milos Krasić, Eljero Elia, Felipe Melo, Christian Pasquato and Marco Motta were all sold for a collective sum of around €19m (£15m), freeing up a good amount of wages in the process.

That being said, the outgoings of around €50m (£39m) certainly point towards an overall loss, but following the success of last season’s campaign, such things are sometimes acceptable.

The signings of Sebastian Giovinco, Martin Caceres, Mauricio Isla, Kwadwo Asamoah and Nicola Leali strengthen the squad across the board and make for a much stronger outfit than last year.

Not to mention the free arrivals of Paul Pogba and Lucio have the perfect blend of experience and youth needed to win championships.

If Juventus had the strongest squad in Serie A in 2011-12, they’ve done nothing but improve upon that this summer.

With management in turmoil, it will pay dividends for Conte’s side to be as talented as possible without him actually on the sideline.

Massimo Carrera

With a 100 percent winning record currently under his belt, Massimo Carrera appears to have learned a lot from his mentors at Juventus in the last couple of years.

The 48-year-old was appointed as technical director of the club’s youth system several years ago, but quickly became a part of Antonio Conte’s coaching staff in the 2011-12 season.

Now a year wiser, the caretaker manager will seek to emulate Conte’s performances on the sideline in what will be his first campaign as a professional coach.

Sporting Italia reported the coach as saying:

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“Antonio charges the team up during the week. After all, even with veteran champions there is still the need for the odd piece of advice and I will try, thanks also to my experience as a player, to be helpful. Fortunately I am dealing with a squad of men who understand the situation.

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Carrera has the advantage of being a former player himself, and he won seven major titles during his days as a Juventus defender.

The veteran undoubtedly has the hands-on experience that helps in his given situation, and it could be "first time’s the charm" for Massimo Carrera.

Mature Squad

Although Del Piero and Grosso were big losses on the experience side of things, the Juventus squad still has a number of players that, while older, are always useful in title defences.

The Turin outfit were quick to pounce on the free signature of Lucio, a Champions League winner and incredibly experienced Brazilian international.

Add in the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Georgio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo along with several others, you have a contingency of players more than capable of occupying the leader role.

Going on last season’s form, these experienced stars are far from over the hedge either, and are a lot closer to their playing primes if anything.

Winning Mentality

After clinching the Scudetto crown last season, Juve got their 2012-13 campaign off to the best possible start with a Supercoppa Italiana victory over Napoli

The win gives Juventus their second trophy in the last three months, and the club would appear to be getting used to the taste of silverware.

Plenty of the squad that were heavily responsible for winning the league in the previous campaign are still around, and remain largely unchanged since then.

Claudio Marchisio, Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri finished 2011-12 as the club’s joint top scorers and are still at Carrera’s disposal.

While none of the trio racked up a hugely impressive tally, the fact that the goals were so spread amongst the ranks is a positive for the side.

That isn’t to say that Juve wouldn’t welcome the emergence of a supremely prolific striker, but the sharing of scoring duties is certainly something bright to consider.

Conte Appeal

Probably the most literal interpretation of “overcoming a suspension”, Antonio Conte may actually overcome his suspension upon appeal in September.

Feeling that his ban is unjustified, the manager will once again challenge the decision made against him in an effort to see it either overturned or reduced.

It’s uncertain as to how long the ruling will take to make it’s decision, but coni.it (h/t Eurosport) reports that Conte will attempt to have the ban suspended while a decision is made.

The ban applies to when Conte was the manager at Siena, but speaking to the Italian media, the boss is evidently displeased at the decision and feels he has a case to have it overturned.

The Guardian report Conte as saying:

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"I am innocent. It's a disgrace, it's a disgrace. I can say that because it is finished with them (FIGC) although there is another appeal. It's absurd, it's absurd. Everything that has happened to me. I have never bet in my life."

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If Conte were to return to the sideline, it would be a considerable burden off of the team’s shoulders, and would strengthen their season tenfold.