Juventus’ reign as the best club in Italy looks to be over with the Bianconeri out of this year’s title race. Champions elect Inter Milan are leading Serie A and even the red half of Milan have overtaken Juventus in the Italian football rankings.

Juventus’ unpredictable form in Serie A this year has led to many losing football bets. Usually a guaranteed winner for an accumulator, Juventus have won less than 60% of their league matches this season and have busted the accumulators of many punters. The expert tipsters at OLBG give a detailed analysis of football matches so it’s often prudent to see what the football betting tells us before gambling on games.

Form

Most clubs would be delighted with the current position of Andrea Pirlo’s side. The club are fourth in one of the best leagues in the world, nobody has conceded fewer goals than Juve and they’ve achieved a respectable 62 points from their opening 31 fixtures. But Juventus aren’t ‘most clubs’ and this isn’t good enough for the most successful team in Italian history.

The Bianconeri are a huge 13 points behind Inter Milan and this represents a power shift in Serie A. Juventus had the scudetto wrapped up with two games to spare last season under manager Maurizio Sarri, but the Italian was deemed surplus to requirements when he failed to progress past the Round of 16 in a Champions League loss to Olympique Lyon. Sarri was sacked the following day which emphasises the lofty expectation which comes with managing the side from Turin.

Pirlo replaced Sarri to the delight of fans worldwide, but the performances have not improved under the former midfield maestro. Champions League glory is clearly the main priority of the Juventus Board and another loss in the Round of 16 in 2021 – this time to underdogs Porto – will not have been well received by stakeholders.

Pirlo has the lowest overall win percentage of any Juventus manager since the maligned stay of Luigi Delneri a decade ago. Delneri only managed 50 games in charge before he was dispensed, and Pirlo is only a few games shy of that mark.

Style over Substance?

Andrea Pirlo oozes class, has swagger and he’s arguably the coolest footballer ever. All these attributes make him perfect for the media and the club increase their appeal based on his acquisition too.

The love affair Juventus have with Pirlo will have surely played a major factor in both his appointment and ultimately the amount of time he gets to prove he’s the right person for the job. The playmaker made 116 appearances for the Bianconeri and importantly, reached a Champions League final with them. The rose-tinted spectacles worn by those who played a part in his recruitment will be coming off given the performance of the team, and Pirlo’s legacy at the club has the potential to be affected.

When the 41-year-old joined Juventus for his first managerial role, Pirlo stated that his football would be “purposeful, possessive and attacking. I want total football”. Despite having arguably the greatest forward in the history of the game in Cristiano Ronaldo, Pirlo’s attacking philosophy has not translated into his team almost a season into his tenure. In a crunch tie against rivals Atalanta on 18 April 2021, Juventus only managed one shot on target in a dismal 1-0 defeat. 

Players

If the prospect of joining a club as established and universally acclaimed as Juventus isn’t enough, the lure of working with a man such as Andrea Pirlo will be.

Even though Pirlo has only been in charge for less than a year, he’s already formed close bonds with some key youth products and is actively developing them into elite players. The emergence of Federico Chiesa, son of former Italy striker Enrico Chiesa, is one shining example of Pirlo’s ability. Chiesa has developed significantly under the current Juventus regime and the club are benefiting from the youngster’s most productive campaign of his fledgeling career.

Whilst it’s clear Pirlo is still finding his feet managerially; he is still an icon to many players across the globe and the mentorship potentially offered by Pirlo could be enough to persuade talent to join his ranks.

It was less than two years ago that Juventus sold prodigy Moise Kean to Everton and with rumours that Juventus are looking to bring the Italian striker back to the Allianz Stadium, the new prospect of working with one of his role models could sweeten any sour grapes Kean had.

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