MILAN // When Massimiliano Allegri took over as Juventus coach at the start of this season he initially treated the team like someone who had been asked to look after a neighbour’s precious vase.
Juve had won the previous three Serie A titles under his predecessor Antonio Conte and, having been given a less than welcoming reception by the fans, Allegri decided to leave the things pretty much as they were.
The phlegmatic coach, clearly not wanting to cause any damage to Conte’s cherished side, maintained the starting lineup and tactical formation for his first few matches in charge.
The two-man strikeforce was still there, featuring Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, as was the three-man triangle in the centre of midfield and the wide players on each flank.
Allegri even kept Conte’s three-man defence, which many felt would be the first to go after his arrival.
Once Juventus got into their stride and Allegri had begun to win over the fans, however, he began to ring the changes.
Over the course of the season, Allegri has gradually turned Juve into a far more pragmatic outfit, placing great emphasis on “administering the match”, to use one of his favourite phrases.
Under Conte, Juventus tended to go hell for leather in all matches but Allegri, who has also taken his side to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 12 years, has preferred them to sit back where possible.
In the 1-1 draw at AS Roma, which effectively saw off their rivals’ title challenge, Juve looked like Italian teams of old as they soaked up pressure and hit Roma with a rare counter.
After losing 2-1 at Torino on Sunday, Allegri criticised his side for pouring forward after they had taken the lead.
“There are certain phases in the game in which you also need to wait and be patient, leaving those who find themselves a goal behind to dictate the play,” he said. “You have to know how to read the game and handle the result.”
Conte’s 3-5-2 has now been replaced by a four-man defence and a diamond formation in midfield, while Alvaro Morata, signed from Real Madrid at the start of the season, has overtaken fellow Spaniard Llorente as Tevez’s favoured partner.
Yet, when Allegri arrived at the club, about 300 fans turned up to protest his appointment outside the training ground.
He had been sacked by AC Milan, where he won the Serie A title in 2011, only six months earlier and his reputation was tarnished by the trouble at the seven-times European champions.
But his results at Juventus have vindicated the view that Allegri was a victim of the rudderless leadership at fallen giants Milan, especially as they have continued to struggle since his departure.
He has coped comfortably with injuries to midfielders Kwadwo Asamoah and Paul Pogba, as well as ageing playmaker Andrea Pirlo, and has proved adept at dealing with potentially fiery players such as Tevez and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Even though Juve will not reach last season’s 102 points total, they are clearly as dominant as ever in Italy on and off the field.
The only Serie A team to play in their own stadium, they are enjoying the benefits while their rivals still try to adapt to the new reality of Serie A and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, which have outlawed lavish spending by wealthy owners.
There is little to suggest that their stranglehold on the scudetto is going to end anytime soon.
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