I will say this about the last couple of weeks of Juventus football: They sure as hell haven’t been boring!
Juventus recorded two draws and one win in their last three games. Relatively unremarkable, but
it’s really the way they have gone about those results that had Bianconeri all over the world feeling like they had gotten on a rollercoaster ride.
The Juve offense managed to score eight goals and allow seven in back-to-back matches against Inter Milan and then Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League debut. It was good enough to beat the fraudulent Nerazzurri squad by a 4-3 scoreline and salvage a draw against the German side late in stoppage time.
Both games featured a barrage of crazy moments and gutsy comebacks to snatch a point out of sure defeats. You can look at it in a positive light and make the case that it’s encouraging that Juventus was capable of scoring goals in bunches and fight back in games that by all intents and purposes last year’s team was surely losing. Then again, there is no reason that a team with aspirations even lets themselves be in that position not once, but twice within the span of less than a week.
And, well, the less we talk about that snoozefest that was the 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona in which the team slept walked through 90 minutes against potential relegation battlers the better.
Let’s cook.
Fun Times are Here
Remember how the Thiago Motta era was supposed to be fun?
Lost amongst the tire fire of the 2024-25 season, the thing that we were robbed the most was the fun. The Max Allegri 2.0 era wasn’t particularly successful and it was often drab as all hell, so with our new coach, the pitch was that at the very least we were going to score a lot and be entertaining to watch. And in the end, isn’t that what is all about? Isn’t football at its core just 90 minutes of your time that are supposed to be enjoyable?
Unfortunately, not only was Motta’s Juventus project unsuccessful, it was also even somehow more boring than what we were used. Almost every game was a slog, even fun players like Francisco Conceicao or Kenan Yildiz struggled to consistently bring in sparks, and as it all disintegrated during the second half there were very few reasons to tune in to watch the games other than a masochistic impulse to waste perfectly good weekend afternoons and watch Dusan Vlahovic pout either on the pitch or on the bench.
So far, Igor Tudor’s squad has, at the very least, brought back some semblance of excitement to our TVs. It’s yet to be seen if this team amounts to much in the long run, but you are at least seeing what happens when you let fun, talented players do fun and talented things. Now free from having to touch the sidelines every single time he has the ball at his feet, Yildiz is blossoming right in front of our eyes as the offensive fulcrum of this team — and goddamn it is fun to watch.
Every time he has the ball there is a palpable electricity in the stadium that we haven’t felt in a while. Conceicao has been a constant source of energy as well and a pretty fun companion to Yildiz. Edon Zhegrova has dazzled in limited minutes and even the much-maligned Joao Mario has shown exciting flashes of offensive production that make you think that maybe the Juventus scouting department knew what they were doing. Even Lloyd Kelly scored goals in back-to-back games — and at the buzzer, too! Lloyd Kelly! Who everyone and their mother thought was barely a professional football player last season is now getting standing ovations at the Allianz Stadium after game-saving goals. We are living in a simulation.
(Yes, I know, Joao Mario was borderline tragic against Hellas Verona, but it’s been a while since we’ve had that boom-or-bust, crazy fullback type of player, and I’m kind of enjoying the ride.)
Hell, even Vlahovic has suddenly turned into the best striker alive these last few games, salvaging the Borussia Dortmund game singlehandedly. He’s become a surprise impactful player off the bench and, somehow, has people unironically ask if we should start thinking about renewing his contract beyond next summer. I’m very far away from getting a Vlahovic No. 9 kit, but goddamn I respect a guy getting it together in a contract year. Just a very human thing to start really trying once you are on thin ice, who amongst us hasn’t done that?
Sure, the Hellas Verona game this past weekend happened and it was a bummer for all involved, but I’m willing to give you some amount of leeway considering all the fun that they have provided us lately.
Are fun teams necessarily successful teams? No, of course not. We all remember those Netherlands teams of the 70s — sorry, Chuks — or the Sarriball Napoli teams that everyone loved to watch but ended up winning squat in the long run. But considering Juventus has been boring and unsuccessful as of late, they are at least turning the tide on one of those things.
Sustainability
In general, allowing a combined seven goals in back-to-back games is more often than not going to yield losses. The fact that Juventus managed to salvage things from such a horrific defensive performance is a testament to their resilience, but it’s also an early warning sign that this is still a team that is far from being a true contender for any silverware.
In both games against Inter and Borussia Dortmund there were some goals allowed that you just have to tip your cap to the other team and move on. But there were also more than a few silly to downright offensive lapses in defensive judgement that a serious team just does not allow.
And that’s the crux of the situation for Juventus right now. Are they a serious team right now? Is this a team that can compete for titles, that can be in the midst of a Serie A title run in February and March or is this team just a fun, but ultimately flawed squad that will aim for Champions League qualification in the top four and not much else?
Their win against Inter says the former, but the lifeless draw against a pretty pedestrian Hellas Verona team says the latter. Ultimately, it remains too early to make a final judgement call on what this team is going to end up being down the road, the one thing that is true is that at least it feels like it’s going to be really entertaining to find out.
See you next time.
