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Last month Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus side bid goodbye to the Champions League after they were completely outplayed by a young and vibrant Ajax team. Their second consecutive Champions League Quarterfinal exit raised a lot of questions about Max Allegri’s tactics on big European nights.
In the following weeks, Allegri gave some hints of a future away from Juventus and finally, Juventus announced the departure of Allegri at the end of the season.
Even though he has been hugely successful at a domestic level, Champions League has been a tough nut to crack for him. He took Juventus to the very brink of glory in 2015 and 2017 when his side lost to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively in the final. With his departure from Juventus confirmed, all eyes are now on the manager who is going to replace him and how his playing style will differ from that of Allegri’s team.
But before we delve deep into the managerial options, it is important to understand the needs of the Juventus fans and the Club hierarchy. The Serie A title holders have won the Champions League twice and after 23 years since their last victorious European campaign, they are still looking for a manager who can bring the coveted prize back to Turin.
At this point, winning a 9th successive Serie A title will not mean much to the fans and hence the incoming manager will be expected to win the Champions League in his first year itself.
The main exclusion from the list below is “The special one” Jose Mourinho. His style of football might be best suited to a team like Juventus but he has a long history with the Juventus fans and he will most probably end up elsewhere in Europe. Here are the three potential replacements for Allegri:
#3 Didier Deschamps
The World Cup winning Manager has been heavily linked with the Juventus job even though he has been pretty successful as the France National Team manager. He was a part of the Champions League winning Bianconeri side of 1996 and is widely admired in Turin.
His primary system is the 4-2-3-1 formation which could provide a very solid defensive shape to this Juventus team. With just one year left in his contract and with the right amount of money on offer, there is a good chance of him replacing Max Allegri.
But one thing that could go against him is his one year tenure as Juventus manager during 2006-07. That season, Juventus played in Serie B and became Champions but he resigned his post sighting differences with the club management. So Deschamps will surely expect the full backing and trust of the management before signing any sort of agreement.
#2 Mauricio Pochettino
The reason the Argentine has been linked with the job is due to the recent comments he made about his future. After his side’s heroic comeback in the Champions League semifinal, he said “ Winning the Champions League will be a great end to a five-year chapter at Tottenham Hotspur”.
Reportedly the President of Juventus, Andrea Agnelli wants a manager who can provide different dimensions to the attacking talents of Juventus and Pochettino will perfectly fit that requirement. Also, the way young players such as Vertonghen, Sissoko, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min have developed under Pochettino has caught the eyeballs of many top European clubs including Juventus.
Pochettino is adept in a number of different formations and has tactically outclassed several big managers including Pep Guardiola this season. There is a good chance of Juventus moving away from the traditional Italian football style if Pochettino is at the helm next season.
#1 Antonio Conte
As far as Juventus is concerned, Conte is undoubtedly the most famous and popular name in this list as he was the Captain of the Juventus side that conquered Europe in 1996. He also led Juventus to three consecutive Scudettos during his managerial tenure in Turin.
While Chelsea won the Premier League during his first season in charge, his second season was an absolute disaster and he was sacked during the end of the 2017-18 season.
His playing style came under a lot of criticism with many claiming that his 3-5-2 formation was miles behind the attacking standards of modern football. Also, his track record in Europe is not impressive and considering Juve’s obsession with the Champions League, Conte’s appointment would not satisfy many fans.
There is also the issue of affordability as Juventus are not in a flexible position due to the huge amount of money they spent on Cristiano Ronaldo last season.
