He has won six league titles, always leading exceptional teams. Now, he battles against stronger rivals (starting with Inter): Allegri has never had such an impact. And fans are changing their minds.
“The relationship between Allegri and Juventus fans has always been always strange, to the point that we could describe it as illogical. During his first five years in Turin the man won 5 league titles out of 5 possible, reached 2 Champions League finals, won six national cups and he was often criticized by the Bianconeri faithful. Their idea was more or less as follows: with such a strong team, winning is expected, but they should also play better, be more spectacular, and more entertaining. This was a clear contradiction with the Bonipertian motto that Juventus has always identified with: ‘Winning is not important, it’s the only thing that matters.’ Yet, people wanted to enjoy the show, not just lift trophies. They had such an issue with the coach who almost always won but rarely entertained them that campaigns for his dismissal, often under the hashtag Allegriout, regularly took over social media, despite the numerous championships. In the end, even Andrea Agnelli adapted: Max out, just a few hours after the fifth title, and in comes Sarri. Now, that’s when we started having fun.
FIXING THE PROBLEMS
The strange aspect of the story, what truly seems illogical, is that Allegri began to be missed when he was at home, without a team. Especially when Pirlo, after nine consecutive seasons, failed in the pursuit of the league title: if we have to play poorly and not even win, then give us Max back. That’s when Allegri’s second adventure with Juventus began, and this year – in this one, the third season of the new cycle, the 8th overall – the relationship between the coach and the Bianconero world has finally become balanced, we could say normal. The team doesn’t dominate as it did in the past, but it strives to win, and people appreciate Allegri’s work more than they ever did in all his previous years in Turin. Why?
SMALL MIRACLE
The fans’ sentiment towards Allegri is less illogical than it may appear: if they now praise him, if they appreciate hard-fought successes, if they accept winning even when the game is not exciting, it’s because they understand that this time Max is truly performing a small, great miracle. Juventus lacks star players or big champions; it doesn’t have a deep-quality squad; it has players rediscovered, reinvented, valued, pushed beyond their limits; it has a midfield too thin without Pogba and Fagioli suspended for off-field activities.
If Allegri is still up there, in the race for the title, on the eve of the direct clash with Inter, it means he is getting everything he could from his group of players. We don’t know if Juventus will win the title this year. Looking at the standings and squads, we think Inter is favored despite the added stress and fatigue of the Champions League. Even if Allegri doesn’t secure the title, we can still say that he is probably experiencing one of the best seasons of his career. He has won six league titles, yes, but always leading incredibly strong teams: the Milan that dethroned Inter in 2011 with Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Nesta, and Seedorf; and all the Juventus teams that Max led to success built on Pirlo, Pogba, Tevez, Higuain, Dybala, and even Ronaldo.”
SERIAL WINNER
To be clear, finishing first is never easy, even when you are the best, and the fact that Allegri is second only to Trapattoni in the history of our football for the number of league titles (7 to 6) still makes him an extraordinary and serial winner. But what he is doing this season with Gatti and McKennie, with Yildiz and Cambiaso, dealing with Vlahovic‘s initial issues and Chiesa‘s continuous injuries, bringing out the best from each player, goes even beyond victories. The fans have finally started to accept Max, this is their man, their fighter. He loves and cares about this club way more than many others. The job done this year is nothing short of a small great miracle. Whether it dims a bit on Sunday night at San Siro or finds new strength to believe in, remains to be seen.”
