The most dominant team in Serie A and one of the most well-known clubs in the history of the sport, Juventus, enter each season with high ambitions, which does not stop at winning everything they can on the Italian peninsula. One of the main goals Juventus set for themselves each year, yet failed to achieve for over 20 years, is to finally lift the Champions League trophy, which seemingly always finds a way to slip from their hands. Hungry to stand on top of Europe once more, Juventus work hard each summer to enter the next season stronger, faster and ultimately with a better chance to repeat their 1996 achievement, which is why it’s understandable to ask ourselves:
Can Juventus win UCL this season?
TURIN, ITALY – JUNE 20: (L-R) New head coach of Juventus Maurizio Sarri and president Andrea Agnelli inspect the pitch during the visit at Allianz Stadium on June 20, 2019 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
Just like before the start of last season, Juventus went through a lot of changes during summer, as they once again enter the new season with several new faces. A total of 11 players left the Old Lady in the summer transfer market, most notable of which were Cancelo, Spinazzola, Kean, Audero and Struaro who were deemed unnecessary in the new and improved Juventus. On the other side, Juventus decided to bring in a couple of new faces to the team to fill the gaps. Most notable of which was without a doubt the signing of a new head coach in Maurizio Sarri, who replaced Massimiliano Allegri in hopes he can do what Allegri failed. Win UCL. Helping Sarri on his quest to the European glory will be Demiral, Pellegrini, Romero, Danilo and no other than Matthijs de Ligt, who joined Juventus for a breath-taking €85.5 million fee, which makes him the third most expensive transfer in Juventus history.
As we look over Juventus squad ahead of season 2019/20 kick-off, it’s hard for Juventus fans not to be highly optimistic. While there are still some doubts about Sarri as a new coach, he has already made a name for himself as a superb manager at Chelsea as well as with Napoli. The Italian strategist is known for his own unique playstyle, which is a complete contrast to what Allegri utilized and is at the same time something Juventus believe can bring them the European glory this season. When asked about his goals and ambitions with Juventus, the Italian coach stated
“This is a club that has won so much in the past five years that it will be difficult to emulate that in the next five years statistically,” to which he added:
“The objective, therefore, must be to forget all the responsibilities and to have fun and to entertain and hopefully combining that by extending the sequence of good results.”
While a lot of expectations have been set on Sarri to deliver as a coach, it will, in the end, all come down to how strong Juventus squad is, and to be fair, no one would argue with the fact Juventus have an exceptionally strong team at their disposal. If having players such as Ronaldo, Dybala, Costa, Ramsey, Pjanic, Rabiot, Sandro, de Ligt and Chiellini in the starting XI, is not enough, Juventus boast with an impressive reserve line-up as well, including players as: Buffon; Cuadrado, Bonucci, Rugani, Demiral, De Sciglio, Emre Can, Bentancur, Matuidi, Bernardeschi , Kean and Mandzukic, if he does not decide to leave for Bayern Munich.
Can Sarri help Juventus to win the UEFA Champions League?
The main question remains. Will Sarri be able to utilize the squad to its full potential? Having such a long list of exceptional players can prove to be a double-edged sword, especially when it comes to rotating the squad for the sole purpose to keep everyone in shape. For that reason the former boss, Allegri changed his squad ahead of almost every game, but when it comes to Sarri, he prioritizes having a solid starting XI and a couple of players that help them team off the bench. That philosophy sadly won’t work in Juventus, considering there are more than just a handful of strong players on the bench.
The strength of the Juventus squad is admirable, which is why it will be fun to see how Sarri uses it. The main problem, as mentioned, is that perhaps Juventus have too many good players, which not only presents problems in rotating the squad but also puts immense pressure for Sarri to use all the quality and strength and win the UEFA Champions League title. Will the former Chelsea boss manage to reach the expectations and win the European throne is anyone’s guess, nonetheless, we can all agree Sarri has all the tools needed to do so, the question remains; does he know how to use them?
