I'm going to be honest here, the main reason why I have not enjoyed Ronaldo's stay at Juventus as much as I should have is because I dislike the concept of one star player being bigger than the team itself.
The best period we had post-Calciopoli was 2015 to 2018. We played great football, won four consecutive doubles and reached two CL finals.
In that period, Allegri was in charge and the team was build in his image. We didn't really have one star player, we had a team. We had some players that were more glamorous than others, but at the end of the day it was clear that Allegri was the boss. If any of our star players like Dybala, Higuain or Pogba were not performing, they were benched, as it should be. Dybala earned the right to take free-kicks by being good at them, it wasn't given to him. Nothing was given to anyone.
Right now, we have a player who is literally bigger than the club itself in every way imaginable. His salary is quadruple the next best paid player. Despite the fact that he is a player in decline, he holds a monopoly over this team. He does not live by the same rules as everyone else, because he is the star of the show.
1. You cannot bench Ronaldo if he wants to play, because he's Ronaldo.
2. You cannot substitute Ronaldo. Any other player would have been hooked after 60 minutes for that abysmal performance against Porto, but Ronaldo stays on because he's Ronaldo
3. Ronaldo will always take every free kick despite the fact that he is absolutely horrendous at it, because he's Ronaldo.
Right now we are more like Ronaldo FC instead of Juventus FC
The best period we had post-Calciopoli was 2015 to 2018. We played great football, won four consecutive doubles and reached two CL finals.
In that period, Allegri was in charge and the team was build in his image. We didn't really have one star player, we had a team. We had some players that were more glamorous than others, but at the end of the day it was clear that Allegri was the boss. If any of our star players like Dybala, Higuain or Pogba were not performing, they were benched, as it should be. Dybala earned the right to take free-kicks by being good at them, it wasn't given to him. Nothing was given to anyone.
Right now, we have a player who is literally bigger than the club itself in every way imaginable. His salary is quadruple the next best paid player. Despite the fact that he is a player in decline, he holds a monopoly over this team. He does not live by the same rules as everyone else, because he is the star of the show.
1. You cannot bench Ronaldo if he wants to play, because he's Ronaldo.
2. You cannot substitute Ronaldo. Any other player would have been hooked after 60 minutes for that abysmal performance against Porto, but Ronaldo stays on because he's Ronaldo
3. Ronaldo will always take every free kick despite the fact that he is absolutely horrendous at it, because he's Ronaldo.
Right now we are more like Ronaldo FC instead of Juventus FC
To be honest, the team was done at the end of 17-18 season. It was beyond washed up. We should have fixed the team after that super messy Higuain transfer, instead we bought an old but hugely expensive commodity and added another old defender who was clearly on the decline in Bonucci, let the old guard stay and squeezed out a few more years off them.
As a result, it is no surprise we did not have as much funds to work with, as we would have wanted. There had to be very little margin for error in the transfer market after making such a huge investment but Paratici made mistake after mistake. First with the Sarri appointment then following it up with a poor mercato.
Ronaldo has done some positive things, scored goals, our visibility increased but project Ronaldo as a whole has been a massive failure. Covid was the final nail in the coffin.
Having said that, this team is so bad right now that we heavily depend on Ronaldo to do the goalscoring and there is a fear we might get worse once he leaves especially if he's not replaced adequately.
So once again the call is on the directors to make cold, calculated decisions and try ensuring this team doesn't regress further. Ronaldo is just part of the problem but the main problem still lies with the recruitment and squad planning. That needs to be looked into first.
As a result, it is no surprise we did not have as much funds to work with, as we would have wanted. There had to be very little margin for error in the transfer market after making such a huge investment but Paratici made mistake after mistake. First with the Sarri appointment then following it up with a poor mercato.
Ronaldo has done some positive things, scored goals, our visibility increased but project Ronaldo as a whole has been a massive failure. Covid was the final nail in the coffin.
Having said that, this team is so bad right now that we heavily depend on Ronaldo to do the goalscoring and there is a fear we might get worse once he leaves especially if he's not replaced adequately.
So once again the call is on the directors to make cold, calculated decisions and try ensuring this team doesn't regress further. Ronaldo is just part of the problem but the main problem still lies with the recruitment and squad planning. That needs to be looked into first.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/rate-summer-mercato.43717/
Ah, reading that thread now is a lot of fun.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/summer-mercato-thread-2018.43439/
As is this one.
Ah, reading that thread now is a lot of fun.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/summer-mercato-thread-2018.43439/
As is this one.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/rate-summer-mercato.43717/
Ah, reading that thread now is a lot of fun.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/summer-mercato-thread-2018.43439/
As is this one.
Ah, reading that thread now is a lot of fun.
https://www.juventuz.com/threads/summer-mercato-thread-2018.43439/
As is this one.
While everyone else was fapping over the signing of Ronaldo, I knew deep inside that it wasn't going to work out. The quality of service that Ronaldo received from Modric, Kroos, and Isco was absolutely incredible. Ronaldo is not a player who can dribble past multiple opponents and make things happen on his own. Real Madrid was a well-oiled machine and Ronaldo was the cherry on top. We are not rich enough as a club to afford Ronaldo's wages while simultaneously sporting world class players in most other positions.
2017-18 should have been “the last huzzah” for that team and it should have been rebuilt with consultation of Max. What ifs and all that, but if we got a little luckier with the ref or Chiellini-Benatia didn’t lose focus and allow that chance, I think we would have destroyed Madrid in extra time with a fresh Cuadrado. And perhaps that would have been our year. We had a very hungry squad, we’re scoring goals for fun in the league, and and destroying Madrid at the Bernabeu might have been just the boost we needed to run right through for a CL win. Alas, didn’t happen. And that should have been the end of that cycle, with a lot of young fresh faces brought in.
Higuain should have been sold outright or at least with obligation even if we had to eat a small loss on the balance sheet. He had a good season and I’m sure something could have been arranged if we were demanding 50+ mil. Bonucci should not have been brought back, even if I like him. Caldara may have turned into something special here, and not dealt with the injury woes, who really knows. Benatia would have stayed. Khedira should have been moved on from that year.
But we bought Ronaldo instead, and brought back Bonucci thinking we could run it back with the old guard one more year and we just didn’t have the juice for it, too many old players, we ran out of steam at the midpoint of the season and never recovered. A young, hungry Ajax team ran circles around our old-timers. And we’ve slowly fallen apart from there.
I will say, however, I’m happy with some of the young player purchases we have made. De Ligt, Chiesa, Demiral (even if I’m not as high on him as some), even Mckennie and Kulusevski. That’s a good start. I just hope we continue that rejuvenation this summer.
It does matter in the sense of prevention. If Ronaldo goes to Bayern it will be bad for Juve's CL chances.
The team should do all the hard work for Ronaldo, and that didn't happen in the last R16.
I mean cmon you are telling me, that Juve is hindering Ronaldo's career and his salvation could be Bayern?
The team should do all the hard work for Ronaldo, and that didn't happen in the last R16.
I mean cmon you are telling me, that Juve is hindering Ronaldo's career and his salvation could be Bayern?
