My opinions:
In my opinion it was the end of an era last season when this team was humiliated 4-1 by the same Real Madrid team. In that final the gulf in class was painfully obvious and you just knew that it was going to be a very long time before Juventus would reach a Champions League final again.
Usually when something as humiliating as that happens you react. It is fantastic getting to a Champions League final but losing 4-1 when you are supposed to be an elite club should be a huge cause for concern. Juventus had been completely outplayed that day and they looked like a Europa club in comparison to the Real Madrid team.
So the transfer campaign comes around and you are expecting Juventus to improve the squad drastically. After all this team can still get to the latter stages of the Champions League but it is undoubtedly 2 world class players short of actually competing for the trophy. Juventus also have significant income from that Champions League run so you expect a big signing. Runners up in the Champions League for the second time in 3 years and with the most recent defeat being by such a big margin you don't even hope for a big name signing...you expect it.
What do Juventus do? They sign Matuidi, Bernadeschi, Costa, Benetia and MDS. Now you might look at those signings as good. But lets really dissect them. Matuidi improves the squad but he is not ever going to be the player that Juventus really need to compete for the Champions League. For Champions League purposes the signing is worthless. Bernadeschi, great signing as in great potential but he is not someone to rely on for this season and still needs development. This is the sort of signing that should happen anyway and in addition to big name signings for clubs striving for the Champions League. Costa - again great signing but I guess Costa was supposed to be our X Factor signing and as effective as he has been he just isn't world class. After getting so close so many times in the Champions League after being incredibly frugal in our net spending for the last few seasons you expect signings like Bernadeschi and Costa but again...with a big name signing coming in. Finally Benetia, good signing but did I mention he was a replacement for a world class Bonnuci? Again we not only don't sign a world class player, we actually lose a world class player and a talisman for the club. And then we go to MDS, he's not an elite european club starter and he was brought in to replace Dani $#@!in Alves who was genuinely playing world class, talk about a downgrade.
So when Juventus got Real Madrid in the QF I knew this was only going one way and believed it could be worse than 3-0 (and but for the crossbar twice it very well could have been). There was nothing in our European performances which suggested we were a top team anymore. We were trashed by Barcelona 3-0, we were undeniably outplayed by Tottenham over two legs and our actual performances in the Serie A were dyer. We can count our blessings that Serie A is such a weak league because believe me that Juventus team wouldn't make the CL next season if we were in the Premier League.
There is glaring and I mean glaring weaknesses in this Juventus side. Buffon is on the decline and is becoming a liability. He is certainly not 'world class' anymore on current form and that in itself is like losing another vital player to keeping Juventus competitive. Our fullbacks are just $#@!. I hate to be harsh but they are just $#@!. MDS and Asamoah I mean what elite European club would put those two out? Sadly if rumors are to be believed we are 'reinforcing' the full back position with Spinza and Darmien. Obviously we have just decided to give up being competitive at fullback.
We move to centre backs and we are still playing Barzagli. A 38 year old, notoriously slow central defender against one of the fastest attacks in football. I mean I know Benetia is suspended but how did things get that bad? Then Chiellini he is one of the best central defenders in the world but he is not as effective without Bonnuci beside him and that is the truth. I know the partnership had to be broken up but we really should have broke the bank and replaced like for like..once the likes of Buffon and Chiellini start leaking defensively then the entire team's heads drop.
I'll do a separate quick paragraph here for Alex Sandro. He is supposed to be world class and was last season but this season he has not been world class at all. And he is not a left midfielder. Again how did things get so desperate that we have to play an out of form and out of position player in one of our most vital fixtures this season?
Guys honestly the midfield is just a joke for any top level European club. Khedira and Bentacur were our central midfielders. Bentacur is an exceptional prospect but he is not ready yet to be starting Champions League knock out games for a club with aspirations to win. I am not complaining about his actual performance which was fine but any club with ambitions to win should have a player exceptionally better than Bentacur's current level and with substantially more experience. That we had no one due to Pjanic's suspension is regrettable. Khedira is a ghost and he is not an effective player anymore, he seems to position well but I mean is that really what we look for in our starting midfielders? world class positioning? Khedira wouldn't even bench for most elite teams and yet he is one of the first names down on our team sheets
I won't complain about Costa. I think as our 'big signing' its a let down but as a signing its a great one. Hes exceptional but short of world class. Unfortunately we have no one who is world class in our entire midfield and that is a problem. Pjanic is a level below however I actually feel he can step up a gear further. He will never be Kroos or Modric level though and sometimes you have to look at your competition's midfield and ask if we are really happy with our star midfield players being Pjanic and Costa? Even Tottenham have easily a better midfield than us. The engine of our team is way, way behind the top 10 clubs in Europe. This is not acceptable.
I can't complain with Dybala and Higuain. The service they receive is nowhere close to what they would get at Barcelona, Madrid, Man City, Bayern, Tottenham, Man Utd, Liverpool, PSG. Dybala gets a hard time but he is not exactly surrounded with creativity. Matuidi, Khedira, Bentacur..... Overall I have no issues with our attack although we need a world class attacking midfielder to service our attack. I also fear we play Higuain way too much and think like any top club some competition for his place woudn't be a bad thing for that type of player but I am not greedy.
The bench is just not there. We brought on Matuidi. Hardly a game changer. Mandzu who has been out of form for awhile and I think has not showed anything this season comparative to last season. Cuadrado is a good bench option though and he brings energy to the game I must say. However every time I look to other teams benches I see punishers dotted all over who can come on and change a game. On the Juventus bench I see Cuadrado who can inject some pace but its hardly the same as having Bale and Kovacic now is it?
Unless this team buys big this transfer season then next season will be worse and may be the final straw that knocks us out of the CL top tier for a long, long time. We have Buffon retiring or going to second choice (so losing a world class talisman), we have Chiellini one year older, Asamoahs going which isn't bad but if his replacement is rumoured to be Darmien then thats a potential downgrade even from Asamoah. If Sandro goes as well that is a massive downgrade. We absolutely need to break the bank and buy a world class centre back, a world class midfielder and two full backs that are considerably better than our current lot. I don't know how much that will cost but if Juventus don't fix their defence and midfield before next season then the Old Lady will be put on breathing support.
In my opinion it was the end of an era last season when this team was humiliated 4-1 by the same Real Madrid team. In that final the gulf in class was painfully obvious and you just knew that it was going to be a very long time before Juventus would reach a Champions League final again.
Usually when something as humiliating as that happens you react. It is fantastic getting to a Champions League final but losing 4-1 when you are supposed to be an elite club should be a huge cause for concern. Juventus had been completely outplayed that day and they looked like a Europa club in comparison to the Real Madrid team.
So the transfer campaign comes around and you are expecting Juventus to improve the squad drastically. After all this team can still get to the latter stages of the Champions League but it is undoubtedly 2 world class players short of actually competing for the trophy. Juventus also have significant income from that Champions League run so you expect a big signing. Runners up in the Champions League for the second time in 3 years and with the most recent defeat being by such a big margin you don't even hope for a big name signing...you expect it.
What do Juventus do? They sign Matuidi, Bernadeschi, Costa, Benetia and MDS. Now you might look at those signings as good. But lets really dissect them. Matuidi improves the squad but he is not ever going to be the player that Juventus really need to compete for the Champions League. For Champions League purposes the signing is worthless. Bernadeschi, great signing as in great potential but he is not someone to rely on for this season and still needs development. This is the sort of signing that should happen anyway and in addition to big name signings for clubs striving for the Champions League. Costa - again great signing but I guess Costa was supposed to be our X Factor signing and as effective as he has been he just isn't world class. After getting so close so many times in the Champions League after being incredibly frugal in our net spending for the last few seasons you expect signings like Bernadeschi and Costa but again...with a big name signing coming in. Finally Benetia, good signing but did I mention he was a replacement for a world class Bonnuci? Again we not only don't sign a world class player, we actually lose a world class player and a talisman for the club. And then we go to MDS, he's not an elite european club starter and he was brought in to replace Dani $#@!in Alves who was genuinely playing world class, talk about a downgrade.
So when Juventus got Real Madrid in the QF I knew this was only going one way and believed it could be worse than 3-0 (and but for the crossbar twice it very well could have been). There was nothing in our European performances which suggested we were a top team anymore. We were trashed by Barcelona 3-0, we were undeniably outplayed by Tottenham over two legs and our actual performances in the Serie A were dyer. We can count our blessings that Serie A is such a weak league because believe me that Juventus team wouldn't make the CL next season if we were in the Premier League.
There is glaring and I mean glaring weaknesses in this Juventus side. Buffon is on the decline and is becoming a liability. He is certainly not 'world class' anymore on current form and that in itself is like losing another vital player to keeping Juventus competitive. Our fullbacks are just $#@!. I hate to be harsh but they are just $#@!. MDS and Asamoah I mean what elite European club would put those two out? Sadly if rumors are to be believed we are 'reinforcing' the full back position with Spinza and Darmien. Obviously we have just decided to give up being competitive at fullback.
We move to centre backs and we are still playing Barzagli. A 38 year old, notoriously slow central defender against one of the fastest attacks in football. I mean I know Benetia is suspended but how did things get that bad? Then Chiellini he is one of the best central defenders in the world but he is not as effective without Bonnuci beside him and that is the truth. I know the partnership had to be broken up but we really should have broke the bank and replaced like for like..once the likes of Buffon and Chiellini start leaking defensively then the entire team's heads drop.
I'll do a separate quick paragraph here for Alex Sandro. He is supposed to be world class and was last season but this season he has not been world class at all. And he is not a left midfielder. Again how did things get so desperate that we have to play an out of form and out of position player in one of our most vital fixtures this season?
Guys honestly the midfield is just a joke for any top level European club. Khedira and Bentacur were our central midfielders. Bentacur is an exceptional prospect but he is not ready yet to be starting Champions League knock out games for a club with aspirations to win. I am not complaining about his actual performance which was fine but any club with ambitions to win should have a player exceptionally better than Bentacur's current level and with substantially more experience. That we had no one due to Pjanic's suspension is regrettable. Khedira is a ghost and he is not an effective player anymore, he seems to position well but I mean is that really what we look for in our starting midfielders? world class positioning? Khedira wouldn't even bench for most elite teams and yet he is one of the first names down on our team sheets
I won't complain about Costa. I think as our 'big signing' its a let down but as a signing its a great one. Hes exceptional but short of world class. Unfortunately we have no one who is world class in our entire midfield and that is a problem. Pjanic is a level below however I actually feel he can step up a gear further. He will never be Kroos or Modric level though and sometimes you have to look at your competition's midfield and ask if we are really happy with our star midfield players being Pjanic and Costa? Even Tottenham have easily a better midfield than us. The engine of our team is way, way behind the top 10 clubs in Europe. This is not acceptable.
I can't complain with Dybala and Higuain. The service they receive is nowhere close to what they would get at Barcelona, Madrid, Man City, Bayern, Tottenham, Man Utd, Liverpool, PSG. Dybala gets a hard time but he is not exactly surrounded with creativity. Matuidi, Khedira, Bentacur..... Overall I have no issues with our attack although we need a world class attacking midfielder to service our attack. I also fear we play Higuain way too much and think like any top club some competition for his place woudn't be a bad thing for that type of player but I am not greedy.
The bench is just not there. We brought on Matuidi. Hardly a game changer. Mandzu who has been out of form for awhile and I think has not showed anything this season comparative to last season. Cuadrado is a good bench option though and he brings energy to the game I must say. However every time I look to other teams benches I see punishers dotted all over who can come on and change a game. On the Juventus bench I see Cuadrado who can inject some pace but its hardly the same as having Bale and Kovacic now is it?
Unless this team buys big this transfer season then next season will be worse and may be the final straw that knocks us out of the CL top tier for a long, long time. We have Buffon retiring or going to second choice (so losing a world class talisman), we have Chiellini one year older, Asamoahs going which isn't bad but if his replacement is rumoured to be Darmien then thats a potential downgrade even from Asamoah. If Sandro goes as well that is a massive downgrade. We absolutely need to break the bank and buy a world class centre back, a world class midfielder and two full backs that are considerably better than our current lot. I don't know how much that will cost but if Juventus don't fix their defence and midfield before next season then the Old Lady will be put on breathing support.
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