The elimination of Juventus is the umpteenth setback for Italian football, which has not won a UEFA club competition since 2010. After Inter’s treble, the Calcio teams have accumulated only defeats in Europe, and what is happening this season confirms their inexorable distance from the other top leagues.
Serie A, for the second year in a row, will not present a team in the quarterfinals of the European Cup. Villarreal, seventh in LaLiga, eliminated Atalanta and Juventus by thrashing them at home, a terrible sign for Calcio, who now has to hold on to Atalanta and Rome in Europe and the Conference League. Italian football needs very urgent reforms, both at the structural level (the vast majority of its stadiums are almost identical to what it was in the ’90 World Cup), as well as ideas and courage with young people.
Juve, however, is a separate case. La Vecchia Signora has everything to raise the level of Calcio in the international arena. A new and modern stadium and sports complex, a solid club, high-level squads, however, were not enough to break his jinx with Orejona, who have not won since 1996.
Juventus performance
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The growth of the club prevents including its international disappointments in the sins of Italian football, which are many. The numbers say it. According to data from the specialized website Transfermarkt, Juve, since signing Cristiano in 2018, is the European club that has spent the most on the transfer market: 775 million. More than Barcelona (621), Chelsea (619), Atleti (579), Madrid (549) and City (544).
Also analyzing the balance between incorporations and sales, the Italians are still in the top-3 of the Old Continent, with losses of 290, surpassed only by Manchester United (-379) and Arsenal (-290). These numbers clearly did not make Juve a favorite to win the competition, but they did make it a team capable of doing something much more important than coming out badly against Ajax (fourth), Lyon, Porto and Villarreal (eighth) as has occurred.
Yesterday, the Bianconeri once again showed the limits of a technical project that did not take off despite the changes on the bench (Allegri, Sarri, Pirlo and Allegri again). Juve play poorly, they win by suffering against inferior rivals and that in the Champions League takes its toll. Cristiano’s 101 goals in 134 games did not serve to change his history, and neither will Vlahovic’s, who has started off great. To be great again in Europe, the Vecchia Signora needs a deep renovation.