Juventus-Ajax: The Europa League? It's a Start

Juventus travel to Amsterdam on Thursday evening for the first leg of their Europa League tie against Ajax. With the club in sixth place in Serie A, and only a point off the Champions League places, new coach Alberto Zaccheroni seems to have steadied the ship. But will this tie prove an unwelcome distraction, and should Juve follow the example of English clubs in recent years? It's no secret the competition has become inferior in every way, but perhaps it's time to end all that.

Since the advent of the Champions League in 1992, the biggest leagues in Europe have had their top four teams in the competition, making it the greatest club cup in the world. Conversely, this has caused the UEFA Cup, now known as the Europa League, to become a second rate tournament in the eyes of most people. It is now common practice for teams to put out weakened sides as they pursue a better league placing.

This is especially common place in England, where Everton, Aston Villa, and Tottenham have almost surrendered a tie in order to chase that elusive fourth place. They do this because their squads are not strong enough to compete on two fronts and because the money on offer for gaining entry to the Champions League is phenomenal.

But Juventus are a top four team. They have a squad built for the Champions League and the finances to back that challenge all the way. They have also improved their league form of late, now just a point off fourth. Serie A is not as strong as its English counterpart, and the Bianconeri should easily be good enough to hold off the challenge of Napoli, Sampdoria, and Palermo.

Not only that, but they have a history with this competition. Juventus are the only club to win all the trophies available to a European club, and that all began in 1977 when the club won its first international trophy, the UEFA Cup. The club immediately grew in stature and had won every other European trophy by 1985.

Then in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Juventus struggled in the shadow of Milan, which dominated Italian and indeed European football. Coach Giovanni Trappatoni was convinced that all his squad needed to do was win its first trophy to brake the monopoly enjoyed by their rivals. Then in 1993 they lifted another UEFA Cup, and his belief proved correct. They went on a unprecedented run, winning three league titles and the Champions League.

The current squad could not be in more need of similar inspiration, trailing behind Inter, as they have domestically since the Calciopoli scandal of 2006. Four years of failure is unacceptable in Turin, and the fans are growing restless. Perhaps this old trophy could once again inspire a spell of resurgence for La Vecchia Signora?

Obviously there remains much work to be done at the club: The board is disjointed and unbalanced, the squad desperately needs bolstering, and indeed, they most pressing issue is to find a Coach for next season. Nobody believes that a Europa League win would right all wrongs, but, as Juventus proved twice before, it's a great place to start.