It is telling of the absolute rollercoaster of a season that Juventus — and Serie A as a whole — has had that not even three months ago, the Bianconeri were celebrating a victory over the very same Inter Milan team that just authored one of the more incredible wins over FC Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals and will be playing for the most important trophy in Europe at the end of May.
Other than Napoli and the aforementioned Inter, no team in the top four race in Italy has managed to differentiate themselves from the pack. Anybody can beat anybody at any time. So, thanks to this parity — that some might call mediocrity but I’m trying to put a positive spin to it — there’s only a four-point difference between fourth place in the table and eighth place.
Yup, only four points between making it into the premier club competition in the world and not even sniffing Conference League football.
That means that despite Juventus throwing away chance after chance to pull away from the pack, no other team has managed to capitalize on the Bianconeri’s wastefulness. They somehow, someway still hold all the cards for that final Champions League spot and the financial benefits that come with it.
(And it is financial benefits only. I hold no illusion of Juventus putting forth anything remotely memorable in terms of their actual Champions League performance next season. Money talks, though, so go team?)
Let’s cook.
Holding On
Parma is in 16th place in the table, barely above the relegation spots but with the fifth worst defense in the league.
Would you believe Juventus — with a chance to help secure their top four finish on the line — laid a duck and lost 1-0? Of course you would. This team has lost the ability to shock me when it comes to objectionable results.
They had 66% possession and only two shots on goal? Sure, why not.
It used to be an affront to drop points against teams like the Parmas of the world. Now, it’s just a regrettable result but not out of the realm of possibility, all things considered.
Even when things are going well, like in Juve’s bounceback victory against now-relegated Monza, they managed to make it a chore by doing dumb stuff like Kenan Yildiz getting red carded in the dying seconds of the first half in a nothing play.
(Little more on Yildiz in a minute.)
This is a team that plays bad football, survives on flashes of talent and breaks going their way. It’s not particularly likable or fun to watch. It has high-salaried players playing sparingly or not at all and is in general just there, taking up a space.
Nobody wants to see this team in the Champions League next season. I’m not even sure Juve fans want to see this team play anymore. Bad teams and bad seasons happen to every club on earth, but I can’t remember the last time there was a season like this one in which it wasn’t just bad, but disappointing, unlikable, boring, depressing and uninteresting also.
Think about it like this: If someone is at the J Store in Turin tomorrow and calls you up to get you — free of charge — a brand new Juventus kit but the only condition is that you have to get it customized with the name and number of a player currently in the roster, is there a player you immediately want to jump at? Are you just picking the least offensive option like Manuel Locatelli? Or trying to get a loophole into this hypothetical and ask if Gleison Bremer is in play?
Seriously, how many players in this team do you like and/or are confident they will be relevant players for Juventus in a couple of season’s time?
(I got to five, by the way, and I could be talked out of at least two!)
Speaking of disappointments …
No. 10 on the field, No. 0 in your hearts
I’m so disappointed in Kenan Yildiz.
The dude just turned 20 this past weekend and he has skills very few people on the planet possess. There were moments this season when he had flashes that made you think that this guy has everything in his power to be one of the most exciting players in Italy and even Europe.
But in a season in which he was supposed to pick up the mantle of so many former great players to wear the No. 10 shirt for this club, Yildiz got caught in the hurricane of disappointment and mismanagement that enveloped the Bianconeri and put forth a season that can mostly be considered a letdown.
And look, you can make the case he grew in his first season with the club. That to expect him to carry such a heavy load so early in his career is a lot to ask of the guy. That with everything going on it was a hard environment to get the results he would have wanted.
Then again, when is a good moment to demand more from Yildiz? Is it next season? Is it the one after that? I knew that the No. 10 shirt was little more than a marketing gimmick after the way it’s been handled recently, but shouldn’t we expect a little more from the guy wearing it for Juventus?
Lamine Yamal is a thing. Jamal Musiala is a thing. Jude Bellingham is a thing. They are all similar ages to Yildiz — Yamal is younger! — and for Musiala and Bellingham they were far more impactful at Yildiz age than the Turkish international.
Yamal was just the best player in a semifinal leg in the Champions League and he is a little over years younger than Yildiz. Sure, those guys might be generational players, granted, but wasn’t Yildiz supposed to be one, too?
Or perhaps Yildiz is just another very good not great talent. Juventus these days seem to have a regrettable abundance of such cases. Let’s hope Yildiz can prove it next season because this one wasn’t a great one for Juve’s current No. 10.
Parting Shot of the Week
There’s three games left!
Only three games left until this season is over and I, for one, think it can’t come fast enough.
The only thing worse than rooting for a bad team — and I have done so before! — is rooting for a boring team. And, unfortunately, this Juventus team is both.
So, three more games to go and then we can all forget this ever happened … crap, the stupid Club World Cup starts next month. This season will not end.
See you next time.
