Juventus: The Grand Old Lady is in Trouble.

You cannot help but sympathize when you see the Juventus of today, gone are the days when they were a recognizable force in not only Italy but also in Europe. Things haven’t been going on very well for the bianconeri since 2006. Who can forget the match fixing scandal that stripped them of two Serie A titles, and it didn’t stopped there. They were relegated to Serie B for the 2006-07 season, though they have bounced back but it has never been the same story for them. September 8 will be a new chapter in Juventus’s history when the old Stadio Delle Alpi will be replaced by Juventus Arena.

Whether the new Juventus Arena will bring the new luck to the old lady remains to be seen, but the stadium will loose some of its old characteristics that uniquely identifies it. There will no more be a running track surrounding the football pitch rather you will see the stands much nearer to the pitch. All this reconstruction has been done in order to increase revenue and fan interest, what impact will it have on player’s performance remains to be seen. The problem with Juventus is that they have set such high standards in the past that their fans ( which comprise a very large number!!!) expect nothing but silverware. To say that their performance in 2010-2011 was mediocre would be an overstatement, last season for them was pathetic and one could only hope that their recent signings turn the fortune of the club around.

Delle Alpi will be renewed and will be opened on 8 th Sept as Juventus Arena

Juventus are going through a very tough period indeed, there have been changes in top management in 2010 Jean Claude-Blanc was replaced by Andrea Agnelli and there have been changes on the football pitch as well. It seems that the managerial post has been cursed , since Claudio Ranieri was sacked there have been 3 changes, the current manager Antonio Conte is the 4 th manager to be appointed in last 2 years. These knee-jerk reactions seem to have negative impact on the club. Another problem is that Juventus now cannot boast of a world class young talent, they have one of the finest youth academy in the world but it hasn’t churned out a talented impact player who can inspire them. They have indeed some of the finest players still in names of Buffon, Del Piero ( still going strong!!!), Pirlo , Toni, Ziegler, Simone Pepe and others, but what is hurting them is the lack of world class young talent .

Andrea Pirlo has been Juventus's major signing this summer

Another accusation against Juventus is that now their style of play has become much dull and less entertaining, they look to contain rather than create scoring chances. To pass the buck to players would be a bit judgmental, what do you expect when the managers come and go like devotees to a temple. The players have been subjected to play under different and weird combinations. It is indeed very sad when no top player in transfer market says that his dream destination would be Juventus and it is quite understandable too.

Who would want to go to Juventus when they are in such a sorry state, where managers and top management play game of musical chairs, where there is no stability and where there is no ambition. The nail in the coffin has been their elimination from all European competition, even Serie A looks out of sight as of today.

Come September 8 we shall see whether a new era dawns or whether the sorry story continue. They look for inspiration again and who better than Notts County to provide that (didn’t get the connection… relate that of Juventus’s jersey), Notts will play inaugural match on September 8, however the real test for the White-Blacks will begin when they kick off their Serie A campaign by playing away game at Udinese on 28th September.