“The team failed to grow around the superstar” - Juventus legend on what went wrong for the club and Cristiano Ronaldo
Juventus have had a rocky start to their campaign following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. Out of the nine that were up for grabs, the Old Lady have managed to seize only a single point from a draw against Udinese on the very first matchday of the Serie A season.
Massimiliano Allegri's return as manager has not turned things around for the club yet. They are in the 16th position, which highlights their lack of dominance in the league.
In a recent interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport, Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero said that he is still optimistic about the side delivering results under Allegri. The former Le Zebre captain also evaluated Ronaldo's time at the club.
Del Piero on Ronaldo's time at Juventus
The Italian side were paying high wages for Cristiano Ronaldo's services. Del Piero didn't fabricate the idea that getting Ronaldo off the club's books was one of the priorities ahead of the season. He said:
"I don't think we should talk about not being prepared, but dealing with reality: obviously CR7 didn't want to stay, just as obviously not paying such a high salary could have been useful. I still think that Juventus' attack can be very competitive."
Considering Serie A clubs are not the wealthiest, Juventus had to spend a lot to keep Ronaldo around for three seasons. However, their aspirations of progressing in European tournaments were not met and they even failed to win the Scudetto last season.
Things got so tricky that Juventus had to suffer before they could qualify for a Champions League spot this season.
"Ronaldo is a champion and had to be signed. Rather, the problem was that the team failed to grow around the superstar. We have often judged Cristiano's performance almost unrelated to that of Juventus and it is symptomatic that something did not work. The results in Europe have not been up to par, but if we think that City have not yet won a Champions League, we understand that investments are not always synonymous with victories," said Del Piero.
With several youngsters now shouldering the responsibility of delivering under Allegri, the stakes are higher than ever. Without a force of nature like Ronaldo at their disposal, Juventus need to find answers to their problems more quickly.
While the side has experienced a series of underwhelming results, there is plenty of potential left in the squad. Del Piero believes that those problems will be under rectification with time. Speaking about Allegri's role at the club, Del Piero said:
"I like Allegri, I think he has clear ideas, he cannot work miracles because he himself is the first to know that Juve's problem does not only go back to the technical orientation. The work to be done is great, in the dressing room and on the pitch."