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| The final of the Europa League will be played at Juventus Stadium |
Juventus is right now well on its
way to winning the scudetto for the third time in a row, something that the
club hasn’t managed to do since 1935, when it conquered its fifth scudetto in a
row. With 20 wins, 3 draws and only one loss, in that disastrous debacle versus
Fiorentina back in October it looks like only a catastrophe would stop Juventus
from becoming Italian champions. But is that enough to consider the season a
success or does Juve need to win the Europa League too for that to happen?
Last season Juve had a decent
performance in the Champions League, reaching the quarter finals and losing to
eventual champions Bayern Munich in a respectable performance. This season one of the main objectives was to
improve said performance. The signings of Tevez & Llorente renewed the line
of attack completely, which was the weakest point of the team, and it looked
like Juventus could become a force in Europe again. But after the first round,
Juve find themselves in the Europa League, having won only one out of six
matches in the group stage.
It’s hard to put a finger on what
went wrong for the bianconeri, but the main issue was wasting countless goal
opportunities and failing to win matches that were completely dominated. Bad
luck definitely played its part too, and a poor decision by the Uefa, allowing the
match in Istambul to take place in an unplayable pitch, which ended up deciding
Juve’s luck in the tournament. In the first match against Copenahgen Juventus
dominated the 90 minutes, but poor finishing and a fantastic performance from
their goalkeeper prevent the team from taking the three points home. It was a
similar situation to that one last year, when Juventus also drew against a
Danish team away (Nordsjaellan in that case), but this time dropping those two
points would end up being crucial. In the match at home versus Galatasaray it
look like Juve was winning a hard fought match, but a defensive mistake led to
a late equalizer for the Turkish side. In both games against Real Madrid,
Juventus dominated big parts of the match and definitely could’ve taken more
than just one point from them. In Torino
Juve looked in control of the match until a defensive mistake from Cáceres let
Madrid back in the game and in Madrid a debatable penalty and an unfair red
card ended up giving Real the win.
Coppa Italia never seemed to be a
priority this season, just like in 2012-13. In fact not even in the first
season under Conte it seemed to be despite the team reaching the final and
losing to Napoli (only defeat of the season).
Last season it was understandable since Juve had a respectable showing
in the UCL and starters should be kept fresh for it and the league, but after
the quick exit this season the Coppa was a good opportunity to make amends and focus
on winning the competition for the 10th time, putting an end to the 19
year title drought in it. But Conte didn’t think that way and benched many
players in the QF match versus Rome which Juve lost 1-0 at the Olimpico.
Taking into consideration the
disappointing showing in the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, Conte
should aim to win the Europa League this season, tournament Juventus hasn’t won
since 1993, and start gaining prestige in Europe again. The scudetto looks to
be already in the bag and the team can afford to lose a few points here and
there. Meanwhile, a good performance in the Euopa League would help the team
massively in terms of experience for the Champions League in the future. Juventus
have been dominating with the season long format in Italy, but in home and away
ties with direct elimination the team has struggled lately, winning only two
ties in Europe since 2006, versus Celtic last year and versus Ajax in 2010.
Many teams in recent times found success in the Champions League after winning
the Europa League first. Atlético Madrid is having a great Champions League
this season, after winning the Europa League in 2010 and 2012, and Porto won the
Europa League in 2003 and only a year later they won the Champions League.
For these reasons Juventus should
take the competition seriously this season, with the extra incentive that the
final on May the 14th will be played on the Juventus Stadium itself
and it’s a golden opportunity to win a European title at home.
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