One year ago this January saw Juventus in a similar position to where they are this January, 1st place. Last year’s edition of the side opened the year on 44 points, before walking off the pitch on the wrong end of a 1-2 reverse to Sampdoria. The match would mark the beginning of a tough stretch of games that would see 2nd place Napoli gain ground on the club, albeit only slightly as they entered into a funk of their own. The only bright spot in an otherwise brutal January saw Beppe Marotta secure the services of one Fernando Llorente on a costless transfer set to take place in the coming June. Injury blight took Claudio Marchisio and Giorgio Chiellini out of action for too long, and the African Cup of Nations called Kwadwo Asamoah south only to return him in poor form.
Despite the rough patch the men from Turin showed the grinta that Conte has ingrained in them, and il bianconeri finished the season on a torrid streak en route to a second straight scudetto. Most impressive is the sides run in the Champions League, which saw them dispatch Celtic with relative ease to advance to the quarter finals where they would succumb to eventual champions Bayern Munich. Ultimately, the deep run would be branded a success as it was the club’s first taste of success in European football since anyone currently at the club cares to remember.
The summer brought hope a plenty to northern Italy as CarlosTevézarrived for a paltry €10m to add what was hoped would be a much needed spark in the attack. Angelo Ogbonna arrived from cross-town rivals Torino to add depth to the defence and at the market’s close Marotta managed to swindle the entire Serie A in moving various contracts and players around to acquire 50% of Simone Zaza, Domenico Berardi, and Manolo Gabbiadini, while sending Luca Marrone out on loan to gain experience.
HOW THEY'VE DONE SO FAR
Juve would begin the campionato in fine fettle, routing Lazio 4-0 in the Supercoppa Italiana. That form however seemed to simmer out as the season dragged on, as the side looked complacent in far too many matches, and while they only dropped points to Inter in the Serie A, there were too many close calls. The mentality carried over to Europe as Il Bianconeri would drop points at home to Galatasaray, away to Copenhagen, and then finally boiled over back on the home front with a 2-4 loss to Fiorentina after taking a commanding 2-0 lead. A victory against Copenhagen retuned some hope, before a loss to Galatasaray saw them bow out of the tournament in conditions which were admittedly sketchy. That also seemed to mark a turn around on the home front as Juve ended 2013 a proverbial juggernaut winning 10 straight domestic matches, including 9 in the Serie A during a span which saw them score 27 while conceding just once. As 2013 makes way for 2014 Juve sit in first place on 46 points from 15 victories, 1 defeat, and 1 draw.
POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE TEAM THIS SEASON
Juve have done quite a few positive things this season as their impressive record would indicate. The defence has improved markedly; Fernando Llorente is making the necessary strides to compliment Carlos Tevéz, and they boast a +28 goal differential. Additionally the duo have paved the way for the side to record 18.4 shots on goal per match, close to a full 2 more than second place (in that category) Milan, who are at 16.7. What has allowed them to do this has been the stellar play of the midfield. When Claudio Marchisio is the 4th best in his position in a side, results akin to the ones which have been seen should be expected. Juve have played 32% of each match in its oppositions half, a higher percentage than any other Italian side. They have done so while boasting the highest pass completion percentage as a team in the Serie A as well, at 86.7%. Paul Pogba has continued to improve and has arguably been the most consistent performer of the fall term, as both Pirlo and Vidal have had matches off the mark. The young Frenchman leads the side with 4 man of the match awards courtesy whoscored.com.
While the stellar midfield play has led to the high shot totals, it has had a similar effect on the defence, as Juve have conceded the fewest shots per game of any team. Despite allowing 4 more goals than Roma, they concede a full 2.5 less shots per game than the Capitol club, at 8.4 to Roma’s 10.9. What helped this number along was the mercurial finish enjoyed by Il Bianconeri, as they conceded just 1 goal over their last 10 Serie A matches. Granted, there are things the club needs to work on.
NEGATVE ASPECTS OF THE TEAM THIS SEASON
The biggest things that stand out in terms of items the side needs to work on is shooting efficiency and mental lapses in defence. While conceding only 8.4 shots per game is impressive, the fact that they have allowed more goals than Roma while conceding 2.5 less points to a discrepancy somewhere. While the problem has seemingly been fixed, at the beginning of the campaign, as well as at various points over the last season, individual mental mistakes have been what have damaged the side the most. Leonardo Bonucci comes to mind as the most common scapegoat, Mauricio Isla has made a few, and even Giorgio Chiellini looked almost suspect in the early stages. While the recent streak of clean sheets seems to suggest that is being fixed, there is another issue the side has struggled with.
Shooting efficiency hasn’t necessarily been awful, as Il Bianconeri are averaging 7 shots on target from 18 shots per game; what is becoming an issue is their inability to break down defences, as they are in a group with Catania, Bologna, Udinese, Livorno, Cagliari, Sassuolo, and Sampdoria of teams who have taken over 50% of their shots from outside the 18 yard box. Lazio is also in the group, but they have reason as Lulic and Candreva are just two examples of players in the side who are excellent long range strikers of the ball. Compounding this is the failure of the side to put together a successful fast break as they are one of only four sides without a fast break goal so far this season. Ultimately, a team with quality strikers the likes of Tevézand Llorente, coupled with midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo, this should not still be an issue.
Granted, this number could be skewed for two reasons, the first being the tendency of sides to play with 11 men behind the ball when matched up against Juventus. The second item could be that the side is so incredibly prolific at creating chances that it creates a comfort level with launching outside shots. Either way, a focus on getting more opportune shots should become a priority for Conte’s men as the season progresses.
For the record, I could have filled this space with words talking about an over-reliance on Pirlo, but that topic has been beaten bloody, the end of season domestic success without him suggests the side may be adapting.
BEST/WORST SIGNINGS
While I was tempted to opt for Fernando Llorente as the club’s best signing due to the price tag, what Carlos Tevézwas able to contribute from Day 1 offsets the minor price discrepancy between the two transfers. El Apache has been the engine Conte wanted, cool headed, and clinical all at the same time. He sits second in Serie A with 11 goals, has added 5 assists, and accumulates roughly 2 key passes, dribbles, and fouls won per game. This alone is not the entirety of his contribution however, as the Argentine tracks back as well, adding 1.3 tackles per game to his stat sheet. It has been this mentality and work rate that has made him such an inspirational player. Granted, some have questioned his lack of goals in the Champions League, however he did not play altogether poorly as he chipped in with close to 3 key passes as well as a tackle per game in that competition. Unless a similar goose egg in the goal column appears next year, it seems it can be written off as his goals simply falling on different days.
There is little to say about the worst signing, although there were two different alternatives. Mauricio Isla has ultimately been a bust at Juve, however the argument is there to be made that he was not given a proper chance, and the odds were never in his favour coming back from reconstructive knee surgery. Additionally, only Conte knows his future with the club, and he has retained several supporters throughout his tenure. However, as the second half of his contract was purchased this past summer, it seems either a permanent home near Turin, or a quick move away are on the cards. Nicolas Anelka, on the other hand, was downright brutal. Yes, he arrived for costless, but he earned more than he should have in wages and contributed nothing to the team over 3 partial appearances. Le Sulk, as he was nicknamed during his time at Vinovo, should never have been brought to the side.
As 2014 continues Juventus look in poll position to capture a third straight scudetto. They have been eliminated from Champions League contention earlier than they wished, but the Europa League final will be at their home stadium, so the incentive is there for them to make a push for that. Regardless, they remain the side to be beaten in Italy.