Four reasons why Sarri is not the right fit for Juventus

Third place in the league table isn't a bad place for any team to be. A draw with a team of Atletico Madrid's caliber in the group stage of the Champions League would be a thing to celebrate for many. But this is not any team we are talking about. This is Juventus. And for them, the start of the season has been no less than a mess.

From Sarri having a bout of pneumonia to having to relinquish top spot in the league to fierce rivals Inter, a lot has been going wrong for Juventus. Add to that, their inability to begin the Champions League campaign on the right note. Of course, this is too soon in the season to make anything out of it. But their problems run deeper than these initial results.

They began their transfer business quite impressively but then failed to close it properly. Sure, they got Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot for free and signed the hotshot Matthijs de Ligt but their almost farcical attempts to get rid of Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic could have been avoided. This all, however, began when they decided to go with Maurizio Sarri to replace the outgoing Allegri.

Maurizio Sarri is an odd character in the world of football. Be his coaching philosophy, his dressing, or his journey in football. He is among the new breed of football coaches who haven’t played football professionally. Yet, his journey from a banker to the head coach of Juventus has been nothing short of extraordinary. After popularising his exciting brand of football at Napoli, also known as Sarriball, he moved to Chelsea at the beginning of 2018-19 season. While the season was a mixed bag, Sarri still ended helping Chelsea claim the Europa League title. Now at Juventus, a lot is expected of him.

Let's start by looking at the reasons why Sarri is not the right fit for Juventus.

#1 The style of play

Sarri is known for his possession-based attacking brand of football, much akin to Pep Guardiola’s style. The elements of positional play can be clearly seen in his teams’ attacking and defending. His teams play a high-pressing, quick-passing brand of football with the aim of forcing mistakes from the opposition players. Defensively, his players play a high line with a focus on retaining possession. Playing out from the back, the goalkeeper and the defenders are involved in starting the attacks which are taken forward by the fullbacks through vertical passes to the attacking third.

Though very entertaining and high scoring, Sarri’s football is equally vulnerable at the back. His open and attacking teams are prone to conceding high number of goals. In his three seasons at Napoli, the team conceded a total of 143 goals. But over time, Sarri managed to find a perfect balance and came close to claiming his first Serie A title during the 2017/18 season. However, in the end, Juventus pipped Napoli to the title by a meagre 4 points.

At Chelsea, he wasn’t given sufficient time to truly implement his style of play. As seen during his time at Napoli, it takes time to perfect his system. The swashbuckling football seen at Napoli was the result of work done over three years.

Sarri prefers to stick to his usual 4-3-3 system which he sometimes tweaks for a 3-4-2-1 system. He emphasizes on midfield and attacking from the back. The goalkeeper and the defenders play a major role in the so-called Sarriball. This style of play is quite in contrast to how Juventus played under Allegri and needs a lot of getting used to.

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#2 The Juventus scenario

Juventus have been a dominant force Serie A

After looking at Sarri’s style of play and his time at Chelsea and Napoli, it is pretty clear that Sarri is no quick fix. His football is based on a clear ideology and as seen last year in London, Sarri can be too rigid at times. He is seen as not flexible enough to change his style based on the opposition.

During one instance last season, when reporters asked him if he’ll resort to changing his style of play, he remained adamant that the problem was not his style but the improper implementation of it.

“My target is to play my football, not to change to another football because at the moment we are playing another football”, said Sarri after being thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City.

Though clearly talented, this kind of coach would suit a long-term project unlike that at Juventus. After eight years of dominance in the domestic league, the Old Lady failed to capture the European crown once again. Juventus clearly have a capable squad.

They are in need of a pragmatist (like Zidane) who can make use of this bunch of superstars and claim the elusive Champions League title. They don’t necessarily need a long-term coach like Sarri to build a project from scratch. Ronaldo, Chiellini, and Bonucci ain’t getting any younger even though Rabiot, Ramsey, and de Ligt have given much needed boost to this squad. After getting to two UCL finals in the past five years, Juventus will be desperate to claim their first European title since 1996.

#3 Rivalry with Napoli

Juventus and Napoli have a long-standing rivalry.

Italy can be a really passionate place for the fans of football. In this country, football has a bigger aura due to its representation of the political climate in the country. For years, people have used this sport to raise their voices. The Italians are surely among one of the most passionate football fans in the world.

Inside Italy, nothing exemplifies this passion better than Napoli. The only club from the city of Naples, the third largest city in Italy (after Rome and Milan). The city falls in the South of Italy which has suffered from poverty, unemployment, and organized crime and shares a rivalry with the North, which is considered more prosperous. Nothing exemplifies it better than Juventus and Napoli.

Juventus are one of the most successful clubs in Italy. From the North of Italy, the club is owned by the super-rich Agnelli Family.

The political history of the country shaped the footballing rivalry of Juventus and Napoli. Napoli are the only team from the South of Italy to win the Serie A title (along with Cagliari). Maradona almost single-handedly won Napoli two Serie A crowns. This was much more than just a league win. It was the victory of the underdog South over the dominant North. Due to this, Maradona is revered as a God in the city of Naples. The amount of love the Neapolitans have for Maradona has only grown over time. Neapolitans are truly passionate in love as they are in their hate. Gonzalo Higuain, after switching Napoli for Juventus, experienced this first hand.

.His appointment at Juventus has already angered a lot of fans in Napoli and Juve fans might also take time to warm up to him.

#4 Managing a team of superstars

Sarri has some big names at his disposal at Juventus

Juventus is unlike anything Sarri has experienced so far. Sure Napoli are a great team and Chelsea too, stand as one of the most successful teams in England in recent times. But in Juventus, Sarri will be tasked to lead a serial-winner team. After eight consecutive Serie A titles, the expectations would be to conquer Europe as well as the domestic league. Sarri not only would be expected to settle in, know his team, find his top XI, but also be expected to kick off from where Allegri left.

In addition to that, Sarri would be tasked to manage a pool of superstars, much bigger than he ever has. His Napoli team was built around teamwork rather than individual brilliance. In Chelsea, Hazard was the sure shot superstar of the team. However, his recent comments make you see that he wasn’t much fond of him either.

“We had to accompany Eden Hazard’s characteristics, as he could change the game, but also his presence caused issues in defending that we had to work on,” said Sarri at one of his press conferences. During a different press conference he claimed, “Eden is a wonderful player but he is an individual player. He is an instinctive player. For him it’s very difficult to play in one position.” Such comments clarify Sarri’s preferences.

Now it might prove to be difficult when he’ll have to manage a bunch of brilliant individual players at Juventus. Cristiano Ronaldo is the prime contender. The Portuguese superstar has his own history of issues with disciplinarian managers. Jose Mourinho, while at Real Madrid, was at loggerheads with Ronaldo due to a lack of defensive efforts from him. Next would be Dybala, who is at his best when given freedom to roam on the pitch. Sarri would also have to accommodate the talents of Rabiot, Pjanic, de Ligt, Chiellini, and Bonucci. Only time will tell, if Sarri manages to be successful in doing that.

Conclusion

Taking everything into account, one seriously doubta if Sarri could be a success at Juventus. There is no doubt about Sarri’s coaching abilities. There has to belot of respect for whatever he has achieved in his career and I genuinely enjoy the football his teams play. It’s just that this appointment looks a bit odd.

Juventus would have been better suited for someone like Zidane or Ancelloti who are well-known to handle large dressing rooms and have the experience of winning the Champions League, a major target for Juventus this season. Maybe the unavailability of any quality managers forced their hand to sign Sarri instead. Who knows what decisions are made in those board rooms. With Sarri, they have opted for a long-term process. Let’s see how things fold out.

NOTE: The writer's view do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda's.