Are Juventus Serie A’s only Champions League hope?
Juventus’ humbling at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League final means it is now seven years since an Italian club has won the world’s most prestigious club competition.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side have come the closest to ending the drought, twice finishing as runners-up in the past three years. But both times they were beaten convincingly by Spanish opposition and they seem unable to overcome the final hurdle.
Their fabled defence is ageing and they cannot match the financial firepower of some of their European rivals, so they may struggle in the years ahead to lift the trophy. How long might it take for an Italian club to return to the summit of European football?
Next season it looks as though Juventus are going to have to carry the torch alone. Betting sites all offer different odds, review them before placing a wager as there are other concerns to take into account, like trustworthiness and liquidity, but they all have Juventus as fourth favourites, behind Barcelona, Real and Bayern Munich, and priced between 8/1 and 11/1. Then you have to go way down the list until you find the next Italian club as Napoli are 80/1, while you can get 100/1 on Roma.
Neither Napoli nor Roma are really in a position to compete with the game’s elite and neither has made it to the latter stages of the Champions League for a long time. Both have been busy strengthening their squads this summer, but the largest fee either has spent is Napoli’s €19 million capture of Nikola Maksimovic. Roma have only gone to €13 million for Feyenoord’s Rick Karsdorp.
Contrast that with the Premiership, where Man Utd have just signed Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku for £75 million. Man City have spent £80 million on Monaco winger Bernardo Silva and Benfica goalkeeper Ederson. Both clubs are set to carry on spending astronomical sums, as are Chelsea, and these are the sort of teams Serie A’s representatives will have to content with in the Champions League.
Even teams that are nowhere near the top four in the Premiership are spending vast sums: Everton bought Jordan Pickford from Sunderland and Michael Keane from Burnley for €33 million apiece; Bournemouth purchased Nathan Ake from Chelsea for €23 million. Teams across Europe like PSG will also spend big, and it is unrealistic to think that Napoli and Roma – strong as they are domestically – can conquer all of them on the European stage.
Juventus are blessed with plenty of players that would command gigantic sums on today’s transfer market and can go toe to toe with anyone in Europe, but they will have to improve their mental strength after suffering another second half collapse in a Champions League final. It was strange to see, because they have such a magnificent collection of experienced players and stars that are accustomed to winning and closing out games.
If they cannot improve in this department, and if Roma and Napoli are not at the requisite level, it could be down to the ambitious Milan clubs to return Serie A to its former pomp. Inter are the last team to win the competition, under Jose Mourinho back in 2010, while AC Milan are among the real heavyweights in the tournament’s history.
Both are desperate to get back to the top of the game after years in the wilderness, and both have the potential to do it as they are bankrolled by foreign investors with deep pockets and plenty of ambition. In the summer transfer window it is these clubs that are making the most noise. Milan have already spent more than anyone else, an enormous €123 million that puts them right up there with the Premiership clubs, PSG, Bayern Munich and La Liga’s big two.
Signings like Andre Silva are extremely exciting. Meanwhile Inter have been quiet thus far but continue to be linked with huge deals for stars like Nemanja Matic. Inter and AC Milan will probably not quite be ready to topple Juventus in 2017-18 but they could well secure a Champions League place at the expense of teams like Napoli and Roma.
If they carry on spending like they are, they have every chance of then ending the drought.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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