On the back of five Serie A titles in a row, three Italian supercups and two Coppa Italia wins, Juventus are riding high.
Throwing their weight around on the transfer market also unexpectedly happened this summer. A rather unusual €94m splashed out on Gonzalo Higuain, €32 on Miralem Pjanic and €25 on hot Croatian prospect Marko Pjaca.
This was obviously aided by the departure of star midfielder Paul Pogba for a massive €105 million in this summer’s blockbuster move to Manchester United.
Squad strength
The spending spree was unusual. Juventus have always maintained a transfer market ethic of spend what you earn rather than ‘spend spend spend’. A number of players and club officials have also declared to the press that this year ambitions are high.
Perhaps the most glaring message out of the Juventus camp for the last three months is the intent to mount a serious challenge for the UEFA Champions League.
Guess what though, I think this time, they are serious.
Top management intent
Transfer market aside, it has always been known that Juventus’ ambitions were first and foremost local. The Serie A, is indeed, Juventus’ core.
The five titles in a row prove commitment to honouring this cup. What we have noticed though is a certain message coming across all channels that Juventus is really after a European Cup win.
May 2016 marked the 20th anniversary of Juventus’ last taste of European glory. Paired with the management’s commitment to gift Gianluigi Buffon with a Champions League trophy is the fact that Juventus seem to have covered every position of the field with star power and pace.
A close shave in 2015 against Barcelona in a high tempo final has left Juventus hungrier than ever.
The manager
Juventus’ starting line-up is nothing short of impressive. Antonio Conte, who has since moved to the English Premier League, started a cycle and Massimiliano Allegri hopes to be the manager to finish off the process.
The prediction
Could this be Juventus’ year? Anything short of a semi-final will be a huge let down for the club. A win would be gold. The club is ready but as everyone may know, being great doesn’t always guarantee wins.
Luck of the draw, match episodes and many external factors come in to play but Juventus are strong enough. I think it is their year.
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