4 things Juventus must do to win the Champions League
According to a popular saying - "If it isn't broken, do not fix it". But what if it is broken? Then, it has to be fixed.
The Old Lady, as Juventus is fondly called, are the champions of Italy once again. This is their eighth successive domestic league trophy. They have been far above other clubs in the Serie A since their resuscitation from that infamous match-fixing scandal.
Despite their recent successes domestically, Juventus have fallen short of expectations in Europe where teams are usually tested to the limit. Given their recent investment in players like Dybala, Pjanic, Higuain, and Douglas Costa, they were expected to taste European success.
However, while their failure to claim Europe's elite tournament during the past few years didn't meet much scrutiny, the same cannot be said of this year after the club signed Cristiano Ronaldo, a proven winner in the Champions League for £100 million and still fell short, as they were sent packing from the tournament by a young Ajax team.
With that humiliating setback against Ajax, a team not rated among the favourites for the Champions League at the beginning of the term, it is clear that there must be some fixing to do by the Bianconeri at the end of the season. Hence, we take a look at 4 important things the Serie A giants need to do in order to finally taste European glory.
#4 Managerial change
Massimiliano Allegri has had a nice career in Turin. He has really impressed at Juventus since succeeding Antonio Conte, with impressive victories and scintillating performances. At the club, he won four consecutive domestic doubles between 2014 and 2018 and he has also won his fifth League Cup - the only coach in Europe to do that. So, why change him?
Juventus may have been the most outstanding team in Italy for almost a decade. However, the biggest trophy in Europe still eludes them. Under Max Allegri, the Old Lady has maintained a steady growth and continuous overhaul for conquering Europe.
This season, despite signing CR7 - a proven winner, the Bianconeri failed to prove their mettle again to go all the way. So, the main culprit for their failures in Europe is actually the coach. His cautious and negative approach sometimes prevents the team from dominating their opponents in Europe, especially in the knockout stages.
The manager is accused of not having the right tactical masterplan to succeed in the Champions League and his team was heavily exposed by Erik Ten Hag's Ajax, who dominated them both home and away, and punished them severely in the quarterfinals.
Hence, Juve's first step to European glory could start from replacing their manager.