Serie A 2020-21 Season Preview: Juventus

Juventus will be eyeing an incredible feat in the 2020-21 Serie A campaign. They are on the verge of winning the Scudetto for the tenth consecutive years. It will also mean a record 37th league title for them.

The Old Lady of Turin has replaced manager Maurizio Sarri from the last campaign to bring in club legend Andrea Pirlo for the role. The dead-ball specialist in his playing days, Pirlo will have a stern challenge to guide the side to major honors in the 2020-21 season.

Performance in the Serie A 2019-20 Season

Juventus claim the prestigious league trophy once again but not in fitting fashion. Their football wasn’t the best with Bianconeri only pipping Inter Milan to the title with just a solitary point. They also had a below par performance in the cup competitions. Juve lost to Napoli in the Coppa Italia before getting eliminated from the Champions league round of 16 stage by French Side, Lyon.

The only positive from the 2019-20 campaign is that Cristiano Ronaldo is still showing his class at the age of 35. The Portuguese goal machine broke a single-season scoring record of any Juventus player, becoming the fastest to reach 50 Serie A goals. Juventus will be wishing him to do something similar in the 2020-21 Serie A campaign.

Juventus transfer activity

Pirlo’s arrival guaranteed a revolution at Juventus. That period started with the 2020 summer transfer window. The Black and Whites already acquired Arthur Melo in a swap deal that saw Miralem Pjanic departing to Barcelona. Weston Mckennie’s transfer was also made from Bundesliga outfit, FC Schalke. Another midfield arrival came in the form of Dejan Kulusevski from fellow Serie A club, Atalanta. Youngster Felix Correia also joined from Manchester City academy.

Blaise Matuidi’s departure from the club caught the headlines as the 33-year-old veteran midfielder switched to MLS for Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham. Defender Christian Romero and goalkeeper Mattia Perin were sent on loan to Atalanta and Genoa respectively.

Speculations are there that the club will allow Gonzalo Higuain to leave in a bid to acquire Luis Suarez from Barcelona. Andrea Pirlo like the striker and wants to remove Ronaldo-dependency from the team.

Strength of Juventus

Juventus’s strength certainly lies in their forward line. They contain a class duo in Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo to score bag full of goals for them. Sarri planned out a brilliant setup to start the two together from the first with the Italian champions flourishing through their magical feet.

There is also a necessary depth in the team with the new arrivals making matters even more comfortable. Also, the squad always carries a Plan B to gather results from losing position. The characteristic that should be there in a title-winning squad.

Weakness of Juventus

The Old Lady was criticized last season for not playing the football inscribed for them. Under Maurizio Sarri, the team was disappointingly slow in transition, stagnated at the back, and often overpowered by their defensive setup in games. Despite winning the title, Sarri was replaced because of his unimpressive tactics.

Juventus’s main problem was in midfield. They never constructed a pair in the middle of the park that will construct the play. Now a Barcelona man, Pjanic had a strange offseason. Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey and Rodrigo Bentancur haven’t been the best of mates in their role. Matuidi’s departure signal the intent. For that, the club was forced to bring in so many quality midfielders.

Prediction for 2020-21 Serie A campaign

With Andrea Pirlo in the hot seat, Juventus are hoping for positive football to return to Turin. The club has made some potential signings in the required places. The Italian manager is also tipped to use the wing-back system with three-men defense. In their preseason friendlies, the formation got the best out of Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro.

More changes will take place as the season goes on. Their closest challengers, Inter Milan are strengthening their squad to topple their supremacy while Atalanta remains a challenging side with their magnificent style of play. Pirlo also has no prior experience of managing a professional club but his legacy is all that took the risk. Overall, it will be very hard for them to claim the 2020-21 Serie A title.

Also Read: 2020-21 Season: Five Fixtures to look out for this weekend