“We are not in any kind of crisis,” Massimiliano Allegri was explaining to reporters.
“We were playing well, but paid for a couple of mistakes at the start of the second half. We need to improve our game management and concentration.”
The then Juventus manager was speaking in October 2017 about the 1-2 Serie A defeat to Lazio a few days earlier, which had brought to an end Juve’s 57-match unbeaten record at home that had lasted more than 2 years.
While Allegri’s second stint as Juventus coach was a huge letdown, his record during his first stint at the Allianz Stadium, Juve’s home, was stunning. Between 2014 and 2019, during Allegri’s first spell, in 95 Serie A matches at home, Juve lost only 3 times. (They won 81 matches and drew 11, with a winning percentage of 85%.)
Here’s a table on Juve’s ‘Home’ form from Allegri’s first season in charge, the 2014-15 season, onwards:
| Season | Juve ‘Home’ Form (Win-Draw-Loss) | Place in Table As Per ‘Home’ Form | Place in Overall League Table |
| 2014-15 | 16-3-0 | First | First |
| 2015-16 | 16-2-1 | Second | First |
| 2016-17 | 18-1-0 | First | First |
| 2017-18 | 16-1-2 | First | First |
| 2018-19 | 15-4-0 | First | First |
| 2019-20 | 16-2-1 | First | First |
| 2020-21 | 14-2-3 | Second | Fourth |
| 2021-22 | 10-5-4 | Seventh | Fourth |
| 2022-23 | 13-3-3 | Eighth | Seventh |
| 2023-24 | 11-7-1 | Fourth | Third |
| 2024-25 | 3-7-0 | Seventh | Season Still On |
In addition to winning 5 successive Scudettos, Juventus also had the best home record in the league for 4 out of those 5 seasons. In three of them, they were unbeaten.
Today, though, those days are a distant memory.
Under Thiago Motta, Juve sit seventh in the table on ‘Home’ form, collecting just 16 points out of a possible 30 so far (their ‘Away’ form is better – they lie fourth, with 16 points collected out of a possible 24).
The last time Juventus had the best home record in Serie A was during the 2019/20 season, when they won their most recent Scudetto, under Maurizio Sarri.
“It’s true we have found it easier to play away from home,” said Motta in November about their record at the Allianz Stadium. “The lads certainly want to play well and (usually) put in a great performance in front of our supporters. That enormous desire might at times cause issues, so we need the right balance to play our game and express our style of football.”
With the season almost at the halfway stage, Juve have 9 league matches at home, and 11 away, left to play. Unless they dramatically improve their form at the Allianz Stadium, they’re unlikely to challenge for the Scudetto this season.
FORM AGAINST TITLE RIVALS
Aside from the usual suspects of Juventus, Inter, Napoli and Milan, three other teams seem to be making an unlikely title push for the Serie A crown this year – Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio.
Of the six title rivals Juve have this season, they have played five (Napoli, Lazio, Inter, Milan and Fiorentina) at the time of writing, and managed to beat only one (Lazio).
Two of Juve’s five meetings ended 0-0, and they managed to beat Lazio only 1-0. Briefly, let’s look at how the Bianconeri have fared in each match against their fellow title rivals this season.
JUVENTUS VS NAPOLI
Date: September 21, 2024
Result: 0-0
When Motta’s men faced off against Napoli at the Allianz Stadium, fourth pitted against second, spectators expected a blockbuster affair but what followed was a cagey meeting in which both title contenders took little risk. Juve started strongly but Napoli gradually grew into the match. Juve’s shortcomings in the final third were on display, the Bianconeri getting into some promising positions but failing to convert those chances. However, Juve’s defensive prowess was also on display, with Bremer in particular dominating Romelu Lukaku with absurd ease.
JUVENTUS VS LAZIO
Date: October 20, 2024
Result: Juventus win 1-0
Till Alessio Romagnoli, the Lazio centre-back, was sent off in the 24th minute, this was an evenly balanced game as Marco Baroni’s men pressed Juventus relentlessly and stopped them playing out from the back. After Romagnoli’s red card, Juventus dominated possession and created some gilt-edged chances – Douglas Luiz in particular wasting a glorious opportunity – before Dusan Vlahovic’s ingenuity induced an own goal from Lazio late in the game. Though Juve remained firmly in charge of the game, they registered only three shots on target, showing a strange reluctance to shoot at goal.
INTER MILAN VS JUVENTUS
Date: October 27, 2024
Result: 4-4
A rollicking, edge-of-the-seat, end-to-end classic, Juve and Inter fans will have lived many lifetimes before this match reached its conclusion.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve never been part of a game like that. There seemed to be no warning of a Juventus comeback,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.
In a fightback for the ages, Juve came back being 2-4 down at one point to roar back and level the game 4-4 late in the match.
Inter’s starting 11 for the match was a whole five years older than Juve’s, but the defending champions failed to put away innumerable chances in the second half, which would have killed off the game for good. Motta had inexplicably picked Danilo over Federico Gatti at centre-back to partner Pierre Kalulu, and the 33-year-old Brazilian promptly gave away a penalty in the 14th minute, which Inter converted. Juve later conceded another penalty, courtesy Kalulu, but some marvellous goal-keeping by Michele Di Gregorio and poor finishing by Inter helped the Old Lady stay in the game.
Juve wunderkind Kenan Yildiz came off the bench to score twice – including a goal of such splendour it was scarcely believable he was just 19 – to help the visitors to a draw.
“Until the end is our motto, and today we proved it,” said Di Gregorio after the match. “I said it would be a beautiful match, and it was. It sends us a strong signal to start again. Our team strength was evident; we told each other not to give up.”
AC MILAN VS JUVENTUS
Date: November 23, 2024
Result: 0-0
Juve went into the match short of attackers, with Dusan Vlahovic, Arkadius Milik and Nico Gonzalez all sidelined due to injury. Teun Koopmeiners and Weston McKennie led the line in a match that was low on quality and chances.
Both teams took little risk, and seemed content to go home with a point. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca called it “one of the most boring games of my career.”
“The best word I can use is boring. Too much respect (for each other) on both sides,” he said.
JUVENTUS VS FIORENTINA
Date: December 29, 2024
Result: 2-2
A superlative performance by goalkeeper David de Gea helped Fiorentina hold Juve to a draw, even as the Bianconeri failed to kill off the game despite taking the lead twice.
“After the first equaliser we showed a reaction, but we can’t wait to concede a goal and then resume our game,” said Motta. “I don’t believe in bad luck. We should have killed off the game and don’t leave a chance to the opponent.”
The match saw Juve continue their habit of conceding late equalisers, and their failure to kill off games could cost them in the title race.
POSITIVES FROM THE SEASON
Though Juve have had to endure numerous challenges this season, they do have some positives to take heart from this season – some of which may yet help them end this campaign on a winning note. The foremost among these is their campaign in Europe. Let’s look at Juve’s UEFA Champions League campaign this season before moving on to other positives from this year.
A PROPITIOUS BEGINNING
Marcello Lippi looked away. Seated in the dugout, he looked down at his feet in disappointment, before turning to Narciso Pezzotti, the assistant manager, and uttered words of frustration.
The game was not even a minute old but Juventus were already 0-1 down, trailing Borussia Dortmund, the reigning champions of Germany, in the opening match of the Old Lady’s UEFA Champions League campaign in 1995-96.
But Lippi was soon merrily puffing away his favoured Montecristo as the Italian champions stormed back to win 3-1 at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. Lippi’s men eventually ended their campaign by winning Juventus’ second European Cup/Champions League in May 1996 in Rome.
It remains the last time Juve lifted the Champions League trophy.
Almost 29 years to the day Juventus kicked off their last victorious Champions League campaign, Thiago Motta’s Bianconeri began their European season with a similar 3-1 victory, this time over Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven.
This season marked Juve’s return to Europe after they were ejected from the 2023/24 Europa Conference League for breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Juve’s comprehensive win over PSV was followed by a stirring 3-2 defeat of RB Leipzig, during which the Bianconeri played with 10 men for more than 30 minutes, after goalkeeper Di Gregorio was sent off.
“When Di Gregorio was sent off, many coaches would have introduced a defender to get a draw. Motta, on the other hand, introduced Douglas Luiz, sending a signal to the team,” said legendary coach Fabio Capello.
“Despite the numerical disadvantage, (Motta seemed to be saying) ‘we are here to play our football and secure three points.’”
Juve went on to clinch a thrilling victory with a late winner from winger Francisco Conceicao.
EUROPE: THE HOLY GRAIL
The three most successful managers in Juventus’ history are Giovanni Trapattoni (14 trophies), Marcello Lippi (13 trophies) and Massimilliano Allegri (12 trophies). In their first season in charge of Juventus, all three won the Scudetto while also leading the Bianconeri to the final of a European tournament.
While Trapattoni was successful in the UEFA Cup final in 1977, Lippi and Allegri were runners-up in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League respectively.
On this count, Motta started promisingly, then hit a speed bump before seeming to regain his footing.
HITTING THE BREAKS
Flying high after kicking off their European campaign with two successive victories, Juve followed up in their next Champions League tie by giving perhaps their worst performance of the season, against VFB Stuttgart.
A 0-1 defeat in which the Old Lady registered just one shot on target would have been far worse but for the stunning performance of their stand-in goalkeeper, Mattia Perin.
Motta chose to start the much-slower Danilo over Gatti at centre-back alongside Pierre Kalulu, and the 33-year-old Brazilian ended up conceding a penalty late in the game and getting sent off. Though Perin saved the penalty kick, Stuttgart deservedly found the winner in stoppage time.
“They were better than us from the first minute,” Motta conceded later. “We must digest this defeat as quickly as possible, maybe a night and a day, then get back on our feet.”
Juve did get back on their feet – holding Internazionale, the defending Serie A champions, to a 4-4 draw in an exhilarating encounter at the San Siro in their next match. In Europe, however, injuries, lack of sufficient depth and the splendid form of Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier combined to condemn Juve to a 1-1 draw against the French side in their next Champions League tie.
GOOD TIDINGS
Juve’s injury concerns worsened in their next tie, against Aston Villa away, where Motta had only 14 outfield players to choose from.
However, though the high-flying Villa had almost a full-strength squad available for the tie, the Bianconeri valiantly held on for a 0-0 draw. In an exciting encounter, Villa created far greater chances, but failed to score.
Juve saw Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pull off a stunning save to deny a Conceicao effort while Villa’s goal at the death was disallowed for a foul during the build-up on Juve goalkeeper Di Gregorio.
Manuel Locatelli, Juve’s stand-in captain, was heroic, producing at least two crucial blocks to deny the Villans and putting in a performance of sterling courage. His teammates followed suit.
Unai Emery, the Villa manager, said, “We were dominating them. We were getting into their box better and we had chances to score. It was a very tight match for both teams. But I’m happy with the overall result.”
Motta, for his part, admitted that he had asked his wards to not take too many risks. “It’s true that we created little so as not to expose ourselves to their strengths,” he said.
Gatti, the centre-back who was a rock in Juve’s defence, was succinct. “It’s a good point but we could have won. In any case, when you can’t win, you mustn’t lose.”
The Old Lady then took on Manchester City. Though City had lost seven of their last nine matches going into the match, they created enough chances to take something from the game, if not win it. However, Juve’s defensive excellence – in particular outstanding shifts put in by Di Gregorio and Gatti – denied City. Attacking a mentally vulnerable City, Juve forced Josko Gvardiol, City’s Croatian centre-back, into making a mistake to score their first goal and then scored their second by ruthlessly exploiting the space left at the back by City as the English champions searched for an equaliser to Juve’s first goal.
“We discussed among ourselves after the Bologna game (which Juve drew 2-2) and decided that we cannot afford to wait for a slap in the face to react,” said Dusan Vlahovic, who scored Juve’s first goal against City.
“The challenge against City was always going to be tough, but we have to approach the other games with the same intensity. Hopefully this match will mark a new beginning.”
Frustratingly for Juve, they drew their next match, 2-2 against Venezia, who were then bottom of the Serie A table.
Compared to Serie A, Juve’s prospects in Europe look brighter, but are no less straightforward than in the league.
After six rounds of the eight-round League Phase of the Champions League, Juve lie 14th, with 11 points. They’re already inside the top 24 positions, which will guarantee a playoff spot to qualify for the next round. They are also just two points off eighth place, which will grant automatic qualification to the next round.
However, Juve’s two remaining matches are against Club Brugge (away) and Benfica (at home). While both ties look winnable on paper, Brugge have already beaten the more fancied Aston Villa and Sporting CP earlier in this campaign, and Benfica blanked Atletico Madrid 4-0 and beat Monaco 3-2 earlier in their campaign.
“We missed the Champions League last year,” said Manuel Locatelli ahead of Juve’s first Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven earlier this year. “It is special to hear the music.”
If Juve keep up their form in Europe, they’ll keep listening to the famous anthem for a while more.
POSITIVES FROM THE SEASON: PLAYERS OF THE CAMPAIGN SO FAR
In a challenging campaign for Juve, some players have stood out more for the Bianconeri than others. Among those, we have already discussed the respective forms of Michele Di Gregorio and Francisco Conceicao in this article’s first part. The following are the other Juventus players who have most made an impression on the Old Lady’s season so far.
MANUEL LOCATELLI
The screen was pitch black. The only way to make anything out of it was to look at the top left corner, which bore a minuscule picture of a player in Juventus’ black and white jersey. Next to it shone the words, ‘locomanuel73,’ in slender white against the dark backdrop. The rest of the screen was a brooding, impenetrable black.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti had just named the Azzurri’s squad for Euro 2024. Manuel Locatelli was not in it. And the Italy midfielder, from his Instagram post, seemed to be in mourning.
Locatelli’s was an omission that shocked Calcio followers, but there were also murmurs of agreement: Juventus had not had a stellar season and Locatelli had not blossomed in Turin in the way that had been expected when he signed on for the Old Lady. Though he was still a fixture in the Juve first team, there were concerns he had regressed. For someone touted as one of the future stars of the Azzurri’s midfield – along with Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali – that was not good enough.
A few days later, Locatelli took to social media to give his thoughts on the omission.
“I will always have a positive outlook because I am aware that I have given everything. Working everyday to improve myself is my mentality, and it will always be like this.”
Locatelli has been as good as his word.
The 26-year-old has been an imposing presence in front of the Juve defence this season, his unflagging work-rate and crucial interceptions an important part of the Bianconeri’s unbeaten start to the season.
Locatelli ranks among Serie A’s best on some crucial parameters. In ‘Passes into Final Third,’ he ranks second (129 passes), only behind Matteo Guendouzi of Lazio. In ‘Passes Completed,’ he ranks fourth, with 952 passes. In ‘Total Passing Distance,’ he ranks fifth (17,958 yards) and in ‘Passes Completed,’ he ranks sixth (1,063 passes).
He has even captained Juventus regularly of late. As club captain Danilo is not an automatic starter anymore, Motta has preferred to rotate the armband, with Federico Gatti and Andrea Cambiaso having also led Juventus earlier this season. Of late, though, Motta seems to have settled on Locatelli.
The midfielder showed his team spirit when he recently played as a centre-back for the first time in his career against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia. Juventus won 4-0, keeping a clean sheet. Naturally, Locatelli was captain.
In November 2024, he earned a recall to the Azzurri.
“I see Locatelli doing things he didn’t do before,” said Spalletti.
FEDERICO GATTI
The Big Cat trotted across the Allianz Stadium towards his goal. On the right flank, Swedish winger Pontus Almqvist was played through on goal by a teammate. Juventus captain Danilo bustled towards him and made a diving challenge, trying to win the ball. Almqvist rode the challenge and ran on. All that remained between the Swede and Michele Di Gregorio in the Juve goal was one Juventus player. Unfortunately for Almqvist, that player was Federico Gatti.
It was the 90th minute and the score 2-2. Newly promoted Parma were looking for their first win at Juventus since 2011.
But Gatti, called affectionately as ‘Gattone’ (Big Cat, for his 6’4 frame), showed little sign of anxiety. He briefly looked behind him, noticed the Parma Number 9, Gabriel Charpentier, running in and there was a modest infusion of pace as he tried to get to the goal mouth ahead of the forward. Gatti, though, wasn’t running. Just a few strides across the green turf, and the Big Cat was inside the penalty box.
Hands now clasped behind his back, Gatti neared Almqvist, who had broken into the penalty box from the right side.
Off the pitch, he’s the same as he’s on it. There’s no middle ground with him. He always gives his all.
– Bremer, Juventus centre-back
Behind Gatti, Di Gregorio was crouching, arms hanging loosely by his side, ready to spring to action if Almqvist took the shot. Di Gregorio need not have bothered. After glancing to the middle and deciding to go for the shot himself, Almqvist tried to steer the ball into the goal and beat Di Gregorio on the right. But Gatti stuck out one nonchalant foot to block the Swede’s shot and sent the ball looping over the bar. Almqvist doubled over in anguish, while Gatti strolled away with an annoyed look on his face and muttering to himself in Italian.
“Off the pitch, he’s the same as he’s on it,” says Bremer, the Brazilian centre-back who’s usually Gatti’s partner in the middle of Juve’s defence. “There’s no middle ground with him. He always gives his all.” Bremer was talking to the official YouTube channel of Serie A, in a feature focusing on Gatti’s football career.
This season, Gatti and Bremer picked up where they left off last May – when they helped Juve beat Lazio to win the Coppa Italia – except that under Thiago Motta, they were now playing in a four-man backline, instead of a three-man defence.
After Bremer ruptured his cruciate ligament eight matches into the season, the 26-year-old Gatti has stepped up admirably, quickly establishing a solid centre-back partnership with Pierre Kalulu, who is on loan from Milan.
It’s not the first time Gatti has thrived in a crisis.
In the 2017-18 season, when Gatti was still an amateur footballer and a midfielder, Pavarolo, his club, were struggling to pay players their wages on time. One day, the more experienced players stopped showing up.
“At the time I was a mezz’ala (a wide central midfielder). The coach asked me if I wanted to move to defence because I was the tallest in the team. I accepted. And I became a full-fledged defender,” said Gatti in an interview to Calciomercato in 2021, when he was still at Frosinone. Less than a year later, he had joined Juventus.
When Gatti was 17, he faced a bigger crisis. His father had lost his job, so Gatti left school to find work and feed the family. For around three years, he was a bricklayer, did window and door fittings and repaired roofs.
But after work, at night, Gatti continued his football training. He kept playing as an amateur, before finally earning his first professional contract in 2020. Four seasons later, he led Juventus out on to the Allianz Stadium in their season opener against Como, wearing the captain’s armband.
“I dreamed of this moment since I first set foot on a soccer field,” wrote Gatti on his Instagram account after the 3-0 win over Como. “When it seemed impossible to achieve it, I never gave up. You must not stop believing in your dreams. Wearing this armband, in this jersey, in this stadium, it was the greatest thrill I have ever felt!”
Gatti is a native of Turin, and grew up supporting Torino. However, his idol was Giorgio Chiellini, the legendary Juventus centre-back. It’s a choice that seems natural, as Gatti’s physical, take-no-prisoners attitude on the pitch resembles that of Chiellini’s.
When Gatti signed for Juve in January 2022, he travelled to the Bianconeri’s headquarters in Turin to sign his contract.
The centre-back met the then Juventus captain Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci there. “As soon as Chiellini saw (Gatti), he said, ‘Here is my heir!’ recounted Gatti’s father Ludovico, in an interview with Tuttosport.
“Federico started laughing, they exchanged a few words and then, once the day was over, he returned to Frosinone (to finish the second half of the season there on loan).”
If Gatti keeps up his evolution at Juventus, it won’t be long before he’s truly regarded as the heir to Chiellini.
KENAN YILDIZ
“He’s brought back a bit of (Giampiero) Boniperti, let’s say,” said Guido Vaciago, editor-in-chief of Tuttosport, an Italian daily.
“But poor Yildiz won’t know what that means without looking it up on YouTube or reading some books.” Vaciago was talking to Juventus’ official YouTube channel, for a documentary on the Bianconeri career of Yildiz and Dean Huijsen (who has since joined Bournemouth).
Giampiero Boniperti is a mythical name at Juventus. Joining the Old Lady in 1946, he made his debut aged 18 – just like Yildiz.
Over the next 15 years, Boniperti played out his career in the black and white shirt, before retiring in 1961. By that time, he was Juve’s all-time top scorer (179 goals), appearance-maker (459 matches) and long-time captain who had led them to three Scudettos and two Coppa Italias.
In October 1953, Boniperti was the only Italian player called up for the Rest of Europe to face England, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Football Association. Though usually a number 9, Boniperti was deployed as a right winger at Wembley. He scored twice in a 4-4 draw. England coach Walter Winterbottom, when asked what it would take to strengthen his team, was pithy: “11 Boniperti.”
Yildiz, like Boniperti, is becoming known for his ball control, vision and passing range. “There are very few people who can control the ball like a star player,” then Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said in January 2024. “Moreover, he rarely makes wrong decisions, and that’s a natural talent. We didn’t need to teach him that.”
Proof of this came in October, against Inter.
Coming on as a substitute after being benched in the ‘Derby of Italy,’ Yildiz received the ball in the 71st minute.
Juventus were breaking back after an Inter attempt on goal, and the Turk had space to run into. He was inside the Inter half, near the centre circle, with only three Inter outfield players ahead of him.
Weston McKennie’s pass to Yildiz arrived at pace, and bounced when the Turk tried to control it. As the ball threatened to spin away from him, Yildiz instinctively used the outside of his right boot to tap it back into his path and continued his run. He then entered the Inter box, shot between Denzel Dumfries’ legs and into the bottom right corner of the Inter goal. The score was now 3-4 in Inter’s favour and Yildiz would score again to help Juve end the game 4-4.
“Before the game, I told my teammates not to leave Kenan any room to breathe,” said Hakan Calhanoglu, the Inter midfielder and Yildiz’s international compatriot for Turkey. “They didn’t take it very seriously. I said to them afterwards, ‘I told you so!’”
Though Yildiz has been inconsistent this season – he had a fallow period in terms of goal contribution after a blistering start to the campaign before recovering – questions remain if he’s being played in his best position.
Max Allegri believed his best position was as a second striker – which is where Yildiz played most of his matches under Allegri last season. “I think he’s a second striker, he has quality and goals in his legs. I don’t think he can be a midfielder, at least not now,” Allegri said earlier this year.
“He is a young player, but already a great player that we must exploit in the best way, both as a winger and as a midfielder. However, I am convinced that great players can play anywhere and very well.”
– Thiago Motta, Juventus coach
Four of the five assists Yildiz has registered this season came when the Turk was deployed either as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Motta, though, is persisting with Teun Koopmeiners as the attacking midfielder and Yildiz as a left-winger.
“He is a young player, but already a great player that we must exploit in the best way, both as a winger and as a midfielder. However, I am convinced that great players can play anywhere and very well,” said Motta in October.
If versatility is one of the signs of greatness, Yildiz will need to display more of it if he’s to be compared to Boniperti. Boniperti moved into a deeper position in the later stages of his career, playing as a second striker, attacking midfielder, winger, central midfielder and even defensive midfielder.
Yildiz, though, is just 19 and has time on his side.
One man certain of the Turk’s ability is Wojciech Szczesny, the Polish goalkeeper who was Yildiz’s teammate last season at Juventus.
“I bet with a friend that Kenan Yildiz will be nominated for the Ballon d’Or within five years,” Szczesny said in a podcast earlier this year. “I played with many players, but I never saw a talent like him. I am confident I will win that bet.”
PROGNOSIS FOR THE SEASON
At almost the halfway point of the season, Juve lie sixth, nine points behind Atalanta and Napoli, the joint-leaders. Though the Scudetto is certainly mathematically within reach, the Bianconeri’s hot and cold performances this season – a combined result of their youth, an inability to kill off matches and struggles in the final third – all suggest that Juve need more time to become genuine title contenders. In Serie A, a finish in the top four looks likely.
Khephren Thuram seemed to nail it in his comments after the 2-2 draw with Fiorentina on December 29, in which he scored a brace. “We are disappointed with the draw, the brace is OK but I would prefer not to score and to win,” the Frenchman said. “We are a young team, and we have to find the right balance. We put in a good performance, with character, but these mistakes hurt. I like making those types of runs on the pitch, the coach always tells me to do that and I get to know my teammates more and more as time goes on.”
In Europe, Juve look poised to qualify for the next round of the Champions League and might still go on to win the trophy – but it’s hard to see them getting past stronger sides like Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. A quarterfinal exit looks likely. Next summer, the Bianconeri are also set to feature in the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup, which is hard to make a prognosis for as it’s a completely new competition.
Apart from the league, the Champions League and the Club World Cup, Juve are also competing in the Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia. Juventus are the defending champions in the Coppa Italia but victory in either the Coppa or the Supercoppa – or even both – is unlikely to suffice for Italy’s biggest club.