Will The Real Max Allegri Please Stand Up

Is this just “minestra riscaldata” or can Max Allegri revitalise the Old Lady?

As the Coach prepares his team to take on AS Roma this weekend, that is the question on the minds of Juventus fans everywhere, with opinion firmly divided on whether or not he can get the job done.

Allegri’s first spell in Turin went better than anyone could’ve possibly predicted. He arrived late in the summer of 2014, called into service after Antonio Conte’s sudden departure on the second day of pre-season training.

His predecessor had completely transformed the side, taking over a mediocre midtable outfit and leading them to three consecutive Serie A titles, it seemed like an impossible task to even maintain the standard Conte had set.

Yet somehow, through a mixture of astute tactical acumen and excellent man-management skills, Allegri did more than just keep the cycle going, he actually improved the side and led them to a league and cup double in his first season.

That marked Juve’s first Coppa Italia win in 20 years, but the bigger accomplishment by far was reaching the 2015 Champions League Final. It is worth noting here that Conte’s two European campaigns had yielded a group stage exit and one run to the quarter-finals, as well as acknowledging the minimal changes made to the team.

Indeed, that summer of 2014 saw Juventus spend very little. The only arrivals of note were the €20 million ($20m) signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, a €1.5 million ($1.5m) loan deal for reserve winger Roberto Pereyra and the €1 million ($1m) signing of Patrice Evra from Manchester United.

To achieve what he did with that squad deserves immense credit, and so does Allegri’s work in reaching another Champions League Final two years later with a vastly different side. As experienced leaders like Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo moved on, Juve retooled, building a completely new team only to watch as the Coach continued to rack up trophies at an incredible rate.

When that 2017 European showpiece kicked off in Cardiff, only four players who had played for Conte were in the starting XI and that is certainly a fact that is widely overlooked by those who criticise Allegri today.

Those complaints began in earnest in the months following the heavy 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Millennium Stadium, the Coach seemingly affected more than anyone by the manner of that loss.

Slowly, his team became more and more cautious, even the €112 million ($112m) signing of Cristiano Ronaldo not enough to reignite the attacking verve of Allegri’s earlier Juventus teams.

It was that negative approach that led to club and Coach parting ways in 2019, with Maurizio Sarri brought in in the hope he would deliver the same free-flowing football he had delivered at Napoli.

But – despite winning the Serie A title – he was moved on after just one year at the helm, before the same fate befell former midfielder Andrea Pirlo last summer and President Andrea Agnelli made the call to bring Allegri back for a second stint.

The Coach’s first season was undermined by Ronaldo’s late decision to depart, and that can be accepted as the primary reason for the fourth-placed finish that the Bianconeri laboured to achieve in 2021/22.

However, as that campaign progressed, Juve continued to invest in the squad, making the very changes that Allegri needed if he was going to transform a struggling side into an all-conquering unit.

Manuel Locatelli – an impactful and thoroughly modern midfielder – arrived from Sassuolo in a deal potentially worth €37.5 million ($37.5m), followed by Denis Zakaria at a cost of €8.6 million ($8.6m).

Then came the massive move that brought Dušan Vlahović to Juventus, a world class striker who commanded a huge €70 million ($70m) transfer fee.

The spending continued this summer, committing high wages and signing on fees to acquire Paul Pogba and Ángel Di María, two experienced players who add a very tangible level of quality to Allegri’s team.

Supplementing them were the €41 million ($41m) arrival of Gleison Bremer, the Torino star who was recognised as the best defender in Serie A last season, and a €12 million ($12m) move for winger Filip Kostić from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Those moves inspired a huge amount of enthusiasm from supporters, with the Ultras on the Curva Sud promising to return after a long absence to back the players in what looked set to be a promising season.

It began in the best possible way. Juve comfortably dispatched Sassuolo on the opening day with Di María inspiring his new side to the kind of victory that had eluded the club for far too long.

That was the first win by more than two goals of Allegri’s second stint, and even as injuries piled up, the excitement around the team did not waver. But then came Monday’s trip to Genoa and a game against Sampdoria that would reopen old wounds and lead to some uncomfortable questions for the manager and his approach.

According to WhoScored.com, that match – against a team who had won just three of their last 14 games – saw Juve struggle in every facet of the game. They barely edged the possession battle with 52.7%, mustered just four shots on target and, in the most damning indictment of all, managed to get Vlahović just nine touches in 90+ minutes of action.

Seeing the striker so isolated and the team with very little idea of how to get him the ball was incredibly frustrating to watch, and the contrast between those first two games has led to that aforementioned division within the ranks of Juve fans across the globe.

Those who defend Allegri claim he simply was unlucky to lose so many key figures to injury. Without Federico Chiesa, Pogba and Di María, it was difficult to unlock a resolute Samp defence, and when the better players return, the Bianconeri will start to improve rapidly.

Those on the other side of the fence simply view this as what Italians refer to as minestra riscaldata – “reheated soup” – as Allegri continues his second spell in the same way his first ended; ultra-cautious and reliant on the individual brilliance of his players to secure positive results.

Up next is a meeting with AS Roma where Jose Mourinho and former Juve star Paulo Dybala will be desperate to deliver another blow to the Turin giants. The Giallorossi have won both their games so far without conceding a single goal and will provide a stern test for Allegri.

Is this just “minestra riscaldata” or can Max Allegri revitalise the Old Lady? As the season unfolds, the answer will become clear.