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As we call the curtains on yet another Serie A season, we present you with the season review for the ‘Old Lady of Turin’. This season is not only a vintage one in Serie A’s history, but their campaign has stood out in all of Europe’s elite leagues. Juventus have performed really well and consistently all round the season and after the January window, the title race was rather one sided. In this season review we shall analyze of some talking points of an illustrious season by the better half of Turin, their highs and lows and how they fared in both domestic and international scenarios.
Season Overview
Juventus started their season on a very high and confident note having won the previous Scudetto unbeaten. Juventus played pre-season friendlies against Benfica, Hertha Berlin and Malaga, registering a draw with the Eagles and winning the other two fixtures. There was more to come as they defeated Milan and Inter in the TIM trophy, besides defeating Napoli in a 4-2 win for winning the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana, to put the icing on a wonderful pre-season. The match saw a lethal Cavani opener to put Juventus on the backfoot. However Maggio’s own goal and Vucinic’s brace in extra time sealed it for the black-whites at the Beijing Stadium. They had Nike as kit suppliers and Jeep as chief shirt sponsor.
Top Transfers
Juventus brought in loads of players to supplement the departures of talented players like Elia, Krasic, Melo and legend del Piero. Some of the very successful transfers are as below :
Sebastian Giovinco (11 million from Parma):
He has performed as a viable center-forward or false 9 who was deployed to score goals and assist forwards. He has had a great season and has justified his sizable price tag. He is pacy, makes a fool out of defenders and is a very good finisher. He is only going to get better in the coming years.
Paul Pogba (Free from Manchester United):
He couldn’t break through the first team at Old Trafford and forced his way out without renewing his contract. He turned out to be a real gem at Juventus. Besides having amazing attacking and defensive prowess he has a good physical presence. His 40 yard screamer against Udinese was absolutely stunning. He has netted 5 times this season is surely the one for the future.
Martin Caceres (8 million from Sevilla):
He has added steel to Juve back line. The former Barcelona man had two brief stints with Juventus before. He can play centre-back, right back or a wing back. He, despite his injury concerns, has been instrumental in defending against tough attackers. He brings a different style of defending to the back four.
Mauricio Isla: A gamble gone wrong
Isla was identified as a prime target to replace Krasic at Turin and they shelled out a hefty sum of 18.5 million to get the Chilean international in their squad. It was important for them to have a goal scoring winger and utility player as they prepared to take on the best in Europe. Pundits however had warned this move could backfire, as Isla had over the years got accustomed to 3-5-2 at Udinese and could not fit well into Juve’s formation,besides his injury concerns. He has wonderful attack prowess, but is very weak in performing his defensive roles despite his popularity as a utility player. He played only 8 matches and couldn’t score even once besides failing miserably in assists and hence was aptly labeled as a transfer flop. Isla was a player who was destined to be big and deserved top flight football for all his years of hard work at Stadio Friuli . Maybe if he stays next season he can gel into the team well and weave his magic back.
Champions League football after three years
Juventus waited three long years for playing with Europe’s elites in the UEFA Champion’s League. They collected a squad with the required experience and depth to compete in it. Having being pitted against Shakhtar Donetsk, Chelsea and Nordsjaelland they topped the group with 12 points with three wins and three draws.
Round of 16 saw Juventus face the Scottish giants Celtic FC. But they brushed them aside by netting in 5 goals in aggregate, following the 3-0 demolition at Glasgow. However, they had a difficult fixture against the mighty Bayern Munich in the quarter finals. Expectations were high for an electrifying high profile encounter. But unfortunately, Bayern scored 2 goals in each leg with Juventus failing to score even once, marking the sad departure of a promising team.
Notable Performers
Juventus had played most of the season with the absence of a prolific striker. Vucinic and Giovinco were the only two strikers until Anelka was signed in January break. However they coped with this problem with a formidable midfield structure which could easily adapt from attack to defence. Marchisio and Pirlo ceaselessly piled pressure on the opposition by leading the passes upfield, besides keeping hold of possession and dictating the tempo of the game. Vidal also had a pivotal role to play in the team, if we ignore his balant disciplinary record of most yellow cards.Stephan Lichtsteiner and Georgio Chiellini also were on the top of their form. Moreover Juventus had maintained their teamwork and coordination which seemed better than last year which helped them stay calm and score even in the most horrible scenarios and win matches.
Lessons for next season
Having played Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Juventus have realized well that they not only need to have all players performing well but also have class players to compete with the powerhouses of Europe. It was a nice opportunity to see where they stand when pitted against the best of the best. The prompt move to get hold of a striker in form of Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente, who joins them on July 1st, was a step ahead. They have done the job at their domestic scenario, but have to spend well to get the results in the International club competitions.
Latest transfer rumors
Recent rumor mill has it that Juventus are closing in on Gonzalo Higuain and Alexis Sanchez both of whom are out of favor in their clubs and can be available at a cut-price. Stephan Lichtsteiner is said to be on the exit doors besides Isla has already confirmed his uncertainty over his future just after a year with the club.
I conclude the report card for Juventus with a reference to my season preview of Juventus last year where I had predicted their progress in various competitons. They did fairly well, winning the league, making it to the quarter-finals of UEFA Champions League and semi-finals of Coppa Italia, before getting ousted by Lazio in a hard fought match.
Overall they are a strong side who have very well achieved their goals this season. Congratulations to Juventus on their success and we wish them a great season ahead.
