Once the match, the post-match press conference and other formalities were over, did Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri return to his room and watched highlights of the Manchester United tie against Villarreal? Or Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal, to be precise? If he did, we may further imagine, he felt truly dismayed by the loss against Chelsea. Well, the defeat wasn’t totally unexpected – the Old Lady knew she was up against formidable opponents in the Champions League. But the margin was; 0-4 was too much to swallow – throughout the encounter Juventus were reduced to play the second fiddle. Allegri admitted the other day that Ronaldo’s departure to Manchester United cost his team a lot. “We must improve our finishing. We’re creating good chances and making mistakes with the final ball,” the coach said. He added: “Everywhere Cristiano has gone, he’s always been the top scorer. We have a lot of players who can score goals, but at the moment we aren’t finding them.”
True, but to an extent only. Yes, Juventus looked out of breath in front of rival goalmouth, but what about the defence? Only recently the coach said his team had struck 18 times in Serie A but conceded 15 goals. Things were no different against Chelsea. Juventus defence was completely ripped apart by the Blues’ gameplan and the Turin boys were sluggish in their approach. The gulf of difference between the two teams was so apparent that one suspects, even Ronaldo’s presence would have hardly made an impact on the ultimate result.
At the same time, what Fabio Capello had to say on the match has a deeper meaning. He felt Juventus alone shouldn’t be blamed – the current style of Italian football has to take the responsibility. “And tonight, we saw Chelsea never pass the ball backwards. They never start from the back, instead they are always proactive, always forward, no passes to the goalkeeper. These are rhythms that the Italian league is no longer used to. There is a big difference in speed and quality compared to our league,” Capello said. This is something worth thinking about.
Seriously.