ROME (AP) — Thiago Motta was supposed to bring flair and new ideas to Juventus in the wake of Massimiliano Allegri’s old-school defensive tactics.
Five rounds into Serie A, the Juventus defense has been perfect without a single goal conceded. The attack, however, is stalled following three straight 0-0 draws.
Part of the problem is a slump for center forward Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored in only one match this season — his brace at Hellas Verona a month ago — combined with Federico Chiesa’s departure to Liverpool.
“Juventus isn’t conceding goals but it’s not scoring them, either. And that’s become a problem,” Fabio Capello, who played and coached at Juventus, said in a Gazzetta dello Sport editorial on Thursday.
Capello added that against Napoli last weekend — when Juventus produced only one shot on goal — the team was “really boring.”
But the Bianconeri could be poised for a breakout performance on Saturday at a tired Genoa side coming off a penalty-shootout loss to Sampdoria in an Italian Cup derby.
New Juventus players are still settling in
Attacking midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who was signed for 55 million euros ($61 million) from Atalanta, and forward Nico Gonzalez, who was loaned from Fiorentina, are still settling in.
“I’m expecting a reaction from Juve,” Capello said. “After such a big market campaign, it’s one of the teams that can contend for the title. … (Motta) has ideas but maybe the (players) haven’t learned them well enough yet.”
Only team in Europe’s 5 big leagues that hasn’t conceded
Two more clean sheets and Juventus will match the Serie A record of seven straight to start the season set by Cagliari in 1966.
Goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has been superb since joining on loan from Monza.#
Former starter Wojciech Szczesny announced his retirement in August but appears set to sign with Barcelona, which needs help following an injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The only goal that Juventus has conceded this season came in stoppage time of a 3-1 win over visiting PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League through Ismael Saibari. Up next in Europe is a visit to Leipzig on Wednesday.
Defense shining but little room for captain Danilo
Motta has been relying mostly on Gleison Bremer, Federico Gatti and Pierre Kalulu (on loan from AC Milan) at center back, with Nicolo Savona (a 21-year-old Juventus youth team product) and Andrea Cambiaso at full back in a four-man backline.
That has meant little playing time for Juventus captain Danilo, who prefers to play center back but Motta wants to use him at full back.
Whatever the combination, the defense has worked — Roma and Napoli came away scoreless from Turin.
“The defensive solidness is something rare for a coach with a new team,” former Inter Milan coach turned TV commentator Andrea Stramaccioni said in the Gazzetta. “Juventus is strong. And if it starts scoring goals it’s going to be tough to face. The Bianconeri have it all: Solidness, organization, ideas, a lot of skill, and an environment that’s energized and united again.
“Attacking is what gets the fans excited but you don’t win trophies without defense,” Stramaccioni added.
The environment that Stramaccioni was referring to involved recent years of upheaval that led to the resignation of former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli amid false accounting cases and the firing of Allegri in May for his ugly outburst toward the referees at the Italian Cup final.
Genoa missing strikers amid financial issues
Genoa started the season strongly by holding defending champion Inter Milan to 2-2. But coach Alberto Gilardino — a center forward on the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup — has also struggled to produce goals after losing his starting strikers from last season.
Amid financial issues involving Genoa owner 777 Partners, both Meteo Retegui (sold to Atalanta) and Albert Gudmundsson (loaned to Fiorentina) left the team and attacking midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi is out following a horrific-looking lower-leg fracture last week. Forward Junior Messias also is a questionable starter with a physical issue.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
