Things may perhaps be looking all well and rosy for Juventus right now, as they are just behind Napoli and have been on the mother of all winning runs. But things did not start this way, and after three games gone, I was the loudest in saying they would struggle and not win the Serie A because of the golden trio that left the club.
With no Tevez, I wondered where all those goals would come from, as he was a very reliable source of getting them. Without Pirlo, you lose those free-kick goals and the calm vision in the middle of the pitch and having no Vidal would mean the bite and stability of the midfield would crumble. It all lead me to deduce that they would inevitably struggle.
But how Allegri kept chipping away even when people thought he would have a recurrence of his AC Milan nightmare, and he got the team back on track and they locked in and started to win game after game, it hit me for six. I really did not expect Juventus to look just as good and even better in places than they were last year. And all the praise in the world has to go to Allegri who is doing a lot to put that Milan crapfest to bed with his managerial achievements.
Reaching the Champions League final was something almost nobody saw. All eyes were on Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern. Even when Juventus managed to make it to the semis, it was assumed that UEFA would have their dream final. But Allegri said nuh-uh, and put on a tactical masterclass against his countryman which lead his team into the final.
This season, his real achievement is getting the best out of Dybala and Pogba. The two young lightning rods of the team and the very essence to what allows Juventus to win games. Pogba struggled with the weight of Del Piero's jersey but is now coming into his own and knowing how to be influential in games and as for Dybala...what more can be said? He's pretty much the best player in Serie A right now. Well, I'd also put Koulibaly in the conversation as he does work that isn't so glamorous, but is very important.
If Juventus win the Serie A this season, some would argue it's business as usual and is proof that it's resembling Bundesliga and Ligue 1. But my response would be all those naysayers who thought Juventus were done and dusted can't just change tune and say it's the same old Juventus. If Allegri win the title after taking the team from near the bottom of the table right to the top, he has to be given his just dues and it would be his greatest managerial achievement.
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