The news made official on Monday moved the whole of Italian football. Great architect of Squadra Azzura’s victory at the Euro last summer, Federico Chiesa will spend the rest of the season on the flank after injuring his ligaments last weekend in the league. Italy will have to do without him for the World Cup play-offs in March. Juventus, for their part, are even more bothered because they will have to do without one of their best players for many months. Starting with this Wednesday, January 12 against Inter Milan, on the occasion of the Italian Supercup.
This trophy duel will be played between Juve, Italy’s most popular club, and their gravedigger, Inter, who ended their streak of nine consecutive Serie A titles last year. from this hegemony, the Old Lady falters. After a very disappointing 4th place last year, the 2021-2022 season was to be that of the reconquest for Juve, embodied by the return to the bench of Massimiliano Allegri, winner of five Scudetti with the club between 2015 and 2019.
However, it is a new season of hardships that the Turin club is going through. Like this serious injury to Chiesa, which came to tarnish a victory obtained by snatch Sunday night on the lawn of AS Roma (4-3), at the end of a totally crazy scenario which saw Juve be led 3 goals to 1 before coming back. This success confirms the best period that Juve has been going through in recent weeks, with seven games without defeat in the league.
This fragile balance could, however, be impacted by Chiesa’s long-term absence. “It was the soul of this team. Losing him at that time, when Juve regains the hair of the beast, it will inevitably put a blow in the back of the head“Says Guillaume Maillard-Pacini, specialist in Italian football. Against Inter this Wednesday evening, Juve will have to do without Chiesa, but also without Matthijs de Ligt and Juan Cuadrado, both suspended.
“They are simply Juve’s three best players since the start of the season“, emphasizes Johann Crochet, correspondent in Italy for RMC Sport. But even in their presence, Juve have provided few guarantees since the start of the season. The attack is at half mast: with 32 goals scored in 21 league games, the Old Lady has had her worst offensive exercise since the 1999-2000 season, at this time of the year.
“The attack is the big job for Juve“, maintains Guillaume Maillard-Pacini. And if the Piedmontese club finds so little the net, it is because”with Allegri, there is no desire to develop play, but more to rely on individuals who will make the differences in front of“Johann Crochet said. Chiesa, with his power and determination, was one of Juve’s key players.
Paulo Dybala, decisive against Roma last weekend, is also. But since the start of the 2020-2021 season, the Argentine has played only 37% of the minutes played by his club in all competitions. Juventus is therefore groping in the offensive sector, orphan of Cristiano Ronaldo who left last summer, when facing Inter Milan. The last Italian champion represents the “offensive turn which has changed mentalities in Italy“.”Fans expect teams to play good games now“, assures Guillaume Maillard-Pacini.
0 – This is only the 2nd time in their last 52 seasons in Serie A that Juventus have failed to win any of their first 3 matches of a top-flight exercise, after 2015/16. Blocked. pic.twitter.com/1L03y25H3M
– OptaJean (@OptaJean) September 11, 2021
Against the tide, Allegri has remained stuck in his positions since his return. Without questioning, with the certainty of being able to win as he has already done in the past with Juventus. However, the Old Lady only occupies 5th place in Serie A, the club’s worst record since the 2010-2011 season after 21 days. “Italian Supercopa win against Inter would really give the whole club a breath of fresh air“Says the Italian football specialist,”because it is the most difficult period for Juve since the arrival of president Andrea Agnelli (in 2010, editor’s note) “.
To make matters worse, in addition to sporting difficulties, the boss of Juve is targeted, along with five other club leaders, by an investigation by the Italian financial prosecutor into questionable transfers made by the Old Lady. 42 operations intended to inflate the funds of Juve are in the sights, and even if other Italian clubs are also affected, the Turin team is the one which stirs the tensions the most.
“The image of the club is affected and it does not help the serenity of the group of players because they breathe this atmosphere which is not serene.“, assures Guillaume Maillard-Pacini. In this difficult and sometimes nauseating context, the players of Allegri try to unite. The coach tried, in a press conference on Tuesday, to defuse the negative effect of a potential defeat against at Inter this Wednesday.
#SupercoppaFrecciarossa, i convocati! ⚪️⚫️ #ForzaJuve #InterJuve @bitgetglobal pic.twitter.com/AJQfQWg3q8
– JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 11, 2022
“Whatever the result, it must not have an impact on the performance that we have been doing for two months“, warned Allegri, aware of the limits of his team. And this even if against Inter, Juve lost only once in the last twelve confrontations between the two teams. And if the Turin coach has keen to play down a potential defeat, there is no doubt that this Italian Supercup is an important step for Juve and that a trophy would reassure a team far from being sure of its fact this season.