After failing to win the Champions League, even after some huge signings that have arrived at the club this season, Juventus announced they will part their ways with their head coach Massimiliano Allegri at the end of 2018/19 season.
Image source: twitter,com
Ever since Juventus lost to Ajax in the Champions League, the future of Allegri has been under a big question. As a club which was one of the biggest favourites to go all the way and finally lift the UEFA Champions League trophy for the first time since 1996, Juventus lost to the biggest surprise of 2018/19 UCL season Ajax, who trashed them 1:2 at Juventus Stadium. This saw the Old Lady prematurely exiting the Champions League and once again failing to reach the top.
Ever since Massimiliano Allegri arrived at the club, he has helped Juventus reach the finals of UEFA Champions League twice, but none ended the way Juventus had hoped. In 2015 Juventus lost to Barcelona, while it was Real Madrid who bested them in 2017. But Juventus did not give up and came prepared this season, by bringing new players to the squad this season, namely Cristiano Ronaldo. This lifted hopes and expectation of Juventus fans. Cristiano Ronaldo was widely considered to be the final missing piece in Juventus squad that would finally win them the Champions League after 23 long years.
At first, it sure looked like it. Cristiano Ronaldo did not need long to find his place in his new team. Coming from a long career at Real Madrid, Ronaldo came to Juventus and almost instantly started performing on the level he did back in Spain. While he failed to finish the season as the top scorer, Ronaldo managed to score 21 goals in Serie A in addition to 6 goals in the Champions League. But even that was not enough. Being the only scorer in the 2nd leg of quarter-finals when Juventus lost 1:2 against Ajax, the Old Lady once again failed short and left the tournament earlier than expected. The home defeat against Ajax was one of the most disappointing results in the clubs history, which did not only result in disappointment among Juventus fans but also very questionable future of Allegri as the head coach of Juventus. While there were no official statement made up until now, most of the football world knew it would happen. And it did.
Juventus released a statement on their website, which read:
“Massimiliano Allegri will not sit on the Juventus bench in the 2019-2020 season.
As of now, there are no additional news regarding where the 51-year old will end up next season. Having won 5 Scudetti, two Supercoppa and four Coppa Italia during his time in Italy on top of holding the highest win % among all Juventus managers in history (75.5%) Allegri has proven he is a valuable coach, however, the club decided it’s time for a new coach and new strategy that will hopefully bring them the UCL trophy.
Where will Allegri go next season is still a big mystery, however, there are a few clubs that would surely be interested in signing him. Chelsea for one could sign Allegri, being that Sarri’s future at the Stamford Bridge is still under a big question. Bayern Munich are also a strong candidate to sign Allegri, since they announced they are interested in parting ways with Niko Kovac this summer. Other speculations see Allegri joining PSG, as he has stated before he likes French football, and lastly, there is a possibility Allegri remains in Italy, where he could join Inter or Roma.
