BEVERLY HILLS, February 28, (THEWILL) – In the race for the Serie A Scudetto, the opportunity came for defending champions Juventus to catch up with the leading Milan clubs of Inter Milan and AC Milan when they contended against Hellas Verona at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Saturday.
Rather, owing much to lack of experience in defense and a competent Verona display, Juve was fortunate to escape Verona with only a point.
The 1-1 draw result means Andrea Pirlo’s team have seen themselves stumble again in their 2020/2021 failing attempt at defending the title. Pirlo, dealing with a defensive crisis, settled for Brazilian Alex Sandro as a centre back in the three-man backline. It was the best he could do under the circumstances.
The Hobson’s Choice the manager faced was obvious from the Matchday squad he put out for the encounter. Danilo Luiz da Silva could not be fielded as he was suspended. That was bad enough but Pirlo had extra baggage to deal with especially because two regular first-team defensive Italian veterans, 36-year-old Giorgio Chiellini and 33-year-old Leonardo Bonucci, were out injured and not expected back until sometime next month.
The calf injury to Chiellini and muscle injury to Bonucci only added to notable absentees in other departments of the squad. Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike partner Paulo Dybala was down with knee injury, Juan Cuadrado with muscle injury while Juve’s other striker Alvaro Morata was diagnosed with the lifelong Cytomegalovirus, a flu-like infection which remains in the body for life, after he fainted in the game against Porto (the virus appears to be harmless and can reside in a body without any diagnosis, with common symptoms similar to that of the flu).
However, la Vecchia Signora put all these aside and after the stalemate of the first half, opened the scoring in the second period. The breakthrough came four minutes into the second period courtesy of a Federico Chiesa and Ronaldo combination that saw the latter strike low for his 26th goal in all competitions.
The inexperience in the side was on display when, after taking the lead, they ought to either press for more with their superior mental advantage or consolidate in defense as fatigue began to set in. Juve failed to do either. This allowed Verona to benefit from the pressure they piled on to get back into the game.
This uncharacteristic casual approach from the Old Lady was punished by the hungrier hosts with just over ten minutes to go. Antonin Barak rose highest to aim a perfect header into the corner past Juve goalie Wojciech Szczęsny. What initially appeared to be a second victory of the week after Ronaldo’s leading goal, ended up being a huge two-point drop.
After conceding an equaliser minutes from time, Juve almost had the unfortunate outcome of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but for the sharp reflexes of Szczesny, who saved smartly from influential substitute Darko Lazovic at the closing stages of the match.
Pirlo’s side has looked fatigued for some time now. Without competent backups on the bench, the players on the pitch looked wearied as the game progressed. Indeed, by the time Aaron Ramsey was substituted with 22 minutes left to play, six of the remaining Juve players in the game were aged 23 or younger. Alessandro Di Pardo, introduced in place of Federico Chiesa late on, made it seven out of 11.
In the entire team of players available in the squad at the moment, only Alex Sandro (147), Rodrigo Bentancur (102), Federico Bernardeschi (98), goalkeeper Szczesny (92) and Ronaldo (84) had made more than 50 league appearances for Juve as a whole.
Alex Sandro, whom Pirlo drafted into defensive duties showed his unfortunate lack of experience in the position as he was complicit in the equaliser of the hosts when he was outjumped for Barak’s levelling header. And, but for the keeper, Verona could have consigned Juve to more misery. Szczesny made a number of impressive saves, twice tipping the ball onto the woodwork, and commanded his area well from corners.
With this outcome, Pirlo’s side are off the leading Milan club, Inter, by seven points while Verona remain in ninth place. Inter could widen the gap to ten points if they win on Sunday against 12th-planned Genoa. A big worry for the manager will be his team’s ability to kill off games with their shortage of experienced hands and lack of replacement options on the bench in key areas of the squad.
Pirlo has enough headaches as things stand in the title defence battle he is involved in and can only pray that there are no other injuries to first team players as he plots to turn things around quickly domestically and prosecute the return leg of their UEFA Champions League campaign against Nigeria’s Zaidu Sanusi’s Porto, after losing 2-1 away from home at the Estadio Do Dragao in Portugal.
Juve has cultivated the habit of winning the League, at the very least, every season for the past nine campaigns such that it has become the minimum requirement for their managers. Pirlo is a club icon and has been at the club for its most glorious years. It will be impossible to catalogue the club’s history without according the 41-year-old an honourable segment.
Yet, as dropped points like against Verona continue to be a reference to the unusual season for Juventus, even if it is a debut senior managerial career for the Juve icon, will he still be around to rebuild the team if they go through the season without silverware? Will the management be patient with Pirlo and afford him the opportunity to grow in the position especially with the financial strain a player like Ronaldo has on the budget yet without the UCL trophy he was acquired to help bring to Juve?
Or is time running out on Pirlo even before he can settle as a manager?
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
