The Good
Cameo Appearances
Fans and pundits alike can remember a hopeful time in Juventus’ recent history when everything seemed new and exciting. A new manager, new players who came at a large expense, and two of three kits in the 2024-25 season being quite decent. However, things have recently not been as great as they seemed in previous months for the Old Lady, as one of those premier and exciting signings seemed to have all but disappeared.
The Brazilian midfielder from Aston Villa, Douglas Luiz, graced the few supporters he still has on Wednesday with his first appearance since February’s ill-fated loss against Empoli in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. He made little to no impact, but it’s always nice to see a familiar face that cost so many millions of Euros.
Interestingly enough, Luiz was not the only ghost to step onto the grass against Parma. Alberto Costa, the Portuguese fullback who has not been seen since Juventus conceded a total of seven goals in back-to-back matches against Atalanta and Fiorentina last month, also made a brief cameo appearance in the waning minutes of this slog of a loss.
Realistically, there is not much impact to be made with such late substitutions, but some people out there finally got a small bit of their money’s worth in purchasing named kits for these two.
The Bad
Pass and Pray, Then Nothing
Sometimes the gods of football bless a team with cohesive and precise attacking prowess, even if it means compensating for a fragile defense. Or, in the case of Juventus, the football gods have bestowed one of the least threatening attacks out there, as well as a massive Newcastle-shaped hole in the defense.
Which begs the question: Why is this Juventus team so bad in the box? Their build-ups this season have consisted of Khephren Thuram barreling through the midfield and Kenan Yildiz turning defenders inside out on the wing, but why does every single time the ball crosses that little white line into the 18-yard box does Juventus become a massive scramble of flailing bodies?
There is always a little leeway when it comes to attacking against Italian clubs, because if the sunny peninsula didn’t invent the art of defending, it certainly perfected it. But this is simply a long-term issue that nobody has solved for this Juventus squad. How many shooting dummies need to clog up the box during training until a tap-in goal becomes something expected?
Intermittent Fight
Wednesday’s match against Parma only contributed to the strange concept that Juventus has a selective level of fight that ebbs and flows over the course of 90 minutes. The team came out strong at the beginning of the match, there was a lull in the closing fifteen minutes of the half that allowed for Parma’s only goal, and then came out roaring in the second.
For about 10 minutes.
Of course, in true modern Juventus fashion, that fun stretch of time between the first bit of second half momentum and the late-game realization of “wow, we need to score or we lose against Parma” was a halfhearted set of attacks and defending that limped on until the whistle.
There is simply no mentality on this team that believes they can come back from being a goal down.
Please Du-san Something
At what point does the club pack it in and ship Dusan Vlahovic over to an English club? Surely he doesn’t have another season in black and white in him.
For the past three years, there have been intermittent hot streaks followed by not only droughts of goals, but now there is an overall inability to even contribute. Yes, he got his two assists a two weekends ago against Lecce, but outside of that the Serbian has been more of a liability than an asset in recent months. But as Sam pointed out in his match review, this iteration of Vlahovic is getting bullied around.
Yes, the 6-foot-3 pride of Belgrade is becoming increasingly more of a punching bag for defenders, and this is a newer occurrence. There was a time a few seasons back where Vlahovic got in people’s faces, was aggressive, and went ballistic when he couldn’t perform. The Vlahovic that Juventus has now just seems like he is biding his time until the close of the season.
Realistically, will he score a goal in the next five matches? If history is an indicator, the outlook is not great.
Some Bigger Context
At this point, it has become tiresome to state that “Juventus are on a knife’s edge.” They were on a knife’s edge a few months ago with Thiago Motta, they were in the same place in early 2024 with Max Allegri when there was an actual chance at a title race. But this current edge the team is on is fueled by Euros and being content. With any possibility of a trophy outside the longshot of a Club World Cup out the window, the only goal is to finish in the top four and make the Champions League next season.
Why? The first reason is the precious cash injection the club will receive to attract new talent, and the second is to keep current players within the plans for next season happy to stay because they can compete in Europe’s most prestigious competition. This isn’t the same as when Juventus received a UEFA ban for a year and the likes of Filip Kostic and Alex Sandro were happy to stay along for the domestic ride.
No, the failure to qualify for the Champions League would have some seriously negative implications for the few extremely talented players on the roster.
The Ugly
Lloyd Left Looking
There was a brief window where Lloyd Kelly was actually looking a lot better under Igor Tudor, but as this club has proved, regression is an inevitability. Kelly cannot mark a ban, can barely take on any 1-on-1 situations, and looks shaky even making a pass. This all came to a head during first-half stoppage time Wednesday, when Mateo Pellegrino levitated above the Englishman to make the score 1-0 in favor of Parma.
Were this the NBA, the snapshot of Pellegrino’s arial over Kelly would be used for a season or two to sell Nike sneakers, and it would rightfully be said that Kelly was dunked on.
Now, Kelly’s time at Juventus is still a head scratcher. It’s not a clear case of fraud like Ali Dia claiming to be George Weah’s cousin to get a start for Southampton in 1996, but it still is wildly confusing. Italy is known for a lot of wonderful things, and near the top of that list is defending. In a world of infinite options across the likes of Serie A, Serie B, and academies, as well as La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga, why was it so crucial to get Kelly to be the fix for the patchwork defense of Juventus? Even more so, why was it so important to make it so his loan ends in a purchase?
It’s just one of those inexplicable things.
Relegation Blues
This season, Juventus have defeated Inter Milan, AC Milan, Lazio, and Manchester City, but somehow, against all odds, cannot string together wins over the bulk of the relegation battlers. Venezia got a draw against Juventus, Empoli knocked them out of the Coppa Italia, and now a desperate Parma was able to Corto Muso themselves into three points against the giants of Turin.
A few days ago, Parma sat in 16th place, above Monza, Empoli, Venezia, and Lecce. Today, they are in a fragile spot still, but a bit more solidified. Is this chip on these team’s shoulders about the big wealthy northern Italian powerhouse so large that it actually becomes enough to topple them?
Buono, brutto, o cattivo?
Simply ugly.
On paper, this match should have been 3-1, maybe 3-1 in the waning minutes. But Juventus reverted to a soulless team that felt as if there was nothing to fight for. But there is something to fight for, which is extremely important. More games like this will see Juventus in the UEFA Conference League playing on pitches that used to be farms or have a train station running through the bleachers.
But that does get me thinking: maybe that’s where we are at this point. We can talk all day long about the Champions League, but realistically Juventus could not even make it to the round of 16 this year, so even with the almighty cash injection, how far could this club really go? Maybe they would have a fighting chance in the Europa League if Seville doesn’t show up, and it would be even more of a chance in the Conference League.
In life and football, there is a great importance to self-reflection. Maybe, just maybe, as Juventus battle a club from a small town in Austria next season, players and coaching staff will sit down and wonder “how did we get here” as sworn rivals play in the Champions League and teams that the Bianconeri used to crush slowly are rising to challenge the status quo.
Shame can be a powerful tool if used well, and after shame, reflection.
