One of the interesting sights in the inaugural matches of the 2022/23 Italian League Serie A competition is the absence of a draw. 10 teams won and 10 more teams had to lose in the first match. Juventus is one of the teams that won the first match. A 3-0 win over Sassuolo in front of his own fans seemed to send a strong message that in his second season as coach of the I Bianconeri, Massimiliano Allegri is ready to face and challenge for the championship in the 2022/23 competitive season.
Juve’s inaugural victory in the first week of the Italian League was colored by the instant effect of new Argentine player Angel Di Maria. De Maria, in addition to scoring one goal, he also created an assist for the second goal of Vlahovic and also the third goal for Juve. Players who arrived on a free transfer from Paris Saint Germain (PSG) seemed to provide additional energy on Juve’s front lines this season.
Unmitigated, legendary goalkeeper Gigi Buffon told La Gazetta dello Sport that De Maria is like Diego Maradona for Serie A. The factor of De Maria’s experience in various top leagues and clubs in Europe and his quality as one of the best strikers today can be the best provision for Juve’s performance this season.
Reportedly De Maria was only under contract for one season at Juve before moving to his country of Argentina. The factor to play in the world cup in Qatar in November this year was one of the reasons De Maria agreed to Juve’s offer. Regardless of the reason, De Maria’s ability was needed by Juve who let P. Dybala and Morata leave. Even De Maria’s ability can be one of the assets that makes Juve appear convincing in Serie A and the Champions League this season.
Evidently, in Juve’s inaugural match as well as De Maria’s debut in the Italian Serie A, this 34-year-old player immediately showed his quality as an attacker to watch out for in the Italian League. However, it is unfortunate that De Maria’s sweet debut had to end in the 65th minute due to injury. It is not yet clear how long De Maria will be sidelined.
Most likely, the player who has played at Benfica, Real Madrid and Manchester United will not play when Juve meet Sampdoria and AS Roma in the Italian League in the next two weeks. However, De Maria’s first performance has convinced Juve to compete and compete to regain control of Italy.
Two seasons in a row, Juve had to lose to the city duo Milan. Inter Milan’s 2020/21 season managed to overthrow Juve’s 9-season hegemony on the throne of the Italian League Serie A. Last season, it was AC Milan who managed to come out as champions of the Italian League Serie A.
Juve’s failure in the last two seasons cannot be separated from the condition of the team. Changes in coach and squad composition also affect Juve’s performance.
The re-sign of Max Allegri as coach by Juve since last season is a prelude to returning Juve’s mentality to winning ways. Yes, Allegri is one of Juve’s most successful coaches. During his five seasons as coach, Allegri won 5 Scudetto, 4 Coppa Italia trophies, and entered the Champions League final 2 times. However, Juve’s path in the Allegri era to change in the first season was not as smooth as planned.
Juve’s journey last season was not so convincing. Juve’s change of form slowly improved when Allegri brought in the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria and Dusan Vlahovic in the middle of the season. Suddenly, the purchase of these players improved Juve’s performance. As a result, at the end of the season, Juve managed to enter the top 4 and even become runners up in the Coppa Italia.
Juve started this season very convincingly. The team nicknamed the Old Lady at least improved their early performance last season. At the beginning of last season, Juve started with a draw against Udinese (2-2), and then in the second match lost to Empoli 0-1. However, this season there is a rumbling belief in the Juve camp. Allegri seems to have found a formula in building a team.
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo as Juve’s top scorer for three seasons has begun to be covered by Vlahovic. Vlahovic’s two goals became clear the reason behind Juve’s eagerness to compete with Arsenal for the Serbian striker.
Then, Allegri also dared to release P. Dybala who was the club’s top scorer last season on a free transfer, and also returned Alvaro Morota to Atletico Madrid, who was also Juve’s mainstay on the front lines last season.
Allegri seemed willing to build a different game system in the first match. Vlahovic’s pace was matched by Angel Di Maria up front, and supported by midfielders such as J. Cuarado, D. Zakaria, M. Locatelli and W. Mckennie.
Placing 4 midfielders balanced Juve’s game against Sassoulo.
Coupled with the influence of Paul Pogba in the MU midfield. Pogba, who is considered rejected at Manchester United, is Allegri’s former golden child. The experience of both can become one of the aspects that support Juve’s performance this season, simultaneously repeating the success that had been inscribed together. Problems for Juve at the moment when De Maria suffers an injury. The absence of De Maria must be covered by commensurate players.
Reportedly, Juve approached Memphis Depay from Barcelona to strengthen the front line and at the same time close the hole left by De Maria. Angel Di Maria can be one of the factors that can challenge the strength of the Milan city duo this season as well as return Juve to the stage of the Italian Serie A champions.
ASL
