Juventus will spend the summer celebrating with their fans as they reflect on an incredible year. They managed to capture only the second league-and-cup double in club history as well as a trip to the Champions League Final. The Turin giants overachieved in Europe this past year but that isn’t the way Massimiliano Allegri’s side sees it at all and neither do his players. Juventus wants to become one of Europe’s elite clubs and that means dominating both at home and in the Champions League for consecutive seasons. For that to happen, here is what needs to go right for the Serie A side for them to bring home the hardware again next season.
Keep The Old Guard In Place
They certainly won’t be able to play at an elite level forever but the reality is that the old guard was very good for Juventus this past year and they undoubtedly have at least one more quality year in them. Gianluigi Buffon is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world and even though he’ll be 38 halfway through next season, he’s still got it. And while there has been talk about Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba following Carlos Tevez out of town, the Bianconeri would do well to keep both of them in the fold. Buffon, Pirlo and Pogba were integral to Juventus’ success this past season and they will need to keep all three in the fold next year to reach the level of success they feel they can achieve.
Push The Young Stars Even Harder
The old guard can only carry the load for so long and looking forward to next year, it will be very important to continue to push the young stars on the team. Tevez’s exit will likely push Alvaro Morata in to an even bigger role up front as the lead striker at Juventus. Juve ended up pacing the Serie A with 72 goals and a lot of that was on the strength of Tevez’ shoulders. Morata will have to be just as dangerous if the team doesn’t want to experience any type of drop-off. Meanwhile, the likes of Stefano Sturaro and Roberto Pereyra will play crucial roles with the team as well. Juventus benefited from a tremendous mix of veteran talent and young stars this past year and they will need to continue to push them to have the same level of success next season.
Continue To Preach The Importance Of Tactics
One of the most overlooked aspects of Juventus’ success this past year was their tactics and the four-man defense that made them look so much more comfortable on the back end. They finished the season with just 24 goals allowed in Serie A play, which was the best in the league. Only one other team allowed less than 38 on the season.
It will be important for Allegri to continue to push the importance of structure and pace on his team and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the manager made a couple more important tweaks in order to make sure he gets the most out of his club once again next season.
Fill Out The Depth On The Roster
The core players in place proved that they could carry Juventus both at home in the Serie A and in the Champions League but injuries and other extenuating circumstances always have the potential to impact a series. That makes it so much more important to improve their depth. Sami Khedira will arrive for free once his contract with Real Madrid expires while Paulo Dybala will help up front but Juventus could still stand to improve its overall depth looking forward to next year –especially Tevez departing and so many veteran players in the fold. They’re more prone to injuries and that must be accounting for if they are going to rely on them so much.df
